WRIGHT, ORVILLE. Typed letter signed ("Orville Wright" to Senator Hiram Bingham in New Haven, Conn.; Dayton, Ohio 6 November 1928. 1 page, 4to, on Wright's imprinted personal stationery. ON THE WRIGHT BROTHERS MEMORIAL AT THE SITE OF THE KITTY HAWK FLIGHTS OF 1903 Senator Bingham and Congressman Lindsay Warren spearheaded a Congressional movement to construct a fitting memorial to the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk. A $50,000 appropriation introduced by Bingham "breezed through committee, passed both houses, and was signed into law by President Coolidge on March 2, 1927" (Tom Crouch, The Bishop's Boys; A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright (New York, 1989), p. 506 and Chapter 36 "Of Men and Monuments"). "Your telegram asking whether I favor a new coast guard station [at Kitty Hawk, South Carolina] as a memorial building is received. Any expression of gratitude or goodwill coming from the heart of the American people is appreciated to the full by me, but I would hesitate to suggest the giving of such an expression, or if given, in what form it should be. As I mentioned in my telegram of yesterday I have had no acquaintance with the country about Kill Devil Hills since 1911. I have no idea of the need for a coast guard station or a light house there. In 1911 the country about our camp was a bleak stretch of sand for miles, as shown in the enclosed photograph [no longer present]. There were neither grasses nor trees, only large sand dunes, to break the monotony of the sand plain. Kitty Hawk was five or six miles away to the north. It is hard for me to visualize this land being put to use. It is the sentiment, more than the form in which it is expressed, that is most appreciated by. I shall be pleased with anything that may be done...." In the end, Bingham and Warren decided upon a more traditional monument. An architectural competition for the design of the Wright memorial was held, the 90-foot dune called Kill Devil Hill was transformed into a stable foundation and a granite shaft erected on top, reaching an elevation of 151 feet: "a great pylon...with wings sculpted into the sides and an aeronautical beacon on top" (Crouch, ibid ., p. 505). The cornerstone was dedicated on 17 December 1928 by Orville, Amelia Earhart, Bingham and Warren.
WRIGHT, ORVILLE. Typed letter signed ("Orville Wright" to Senator Hiram Bingham in New Haven, Conn.; Dayton, Ohio 6 November 1928. 1 page, 4to, on Wright's imprinted personal stationery. ON THE WRIGHT BROTHERS MEMORIAL AT THE SITE OF THE KITTY HAWK FLIGHTS OF 1903 Senator Bingham and Congressman Lindsay Warren spearheaded a Congressional movement to construct a fitting memorial to the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk. A $50,000 appropriation introduced by Bingham "breezed through committee, passed both houses, and was signed into law by President Coolidge on March 2, 1927" (Tom Crouch, The Bishop's Boys; A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright (New York, 1989), p. 506 and Chapter 36 "Of Men and Monuments"). "Your telegram asking whether I favor a new coast guard station [at Kitty Hawk, South Carolina] as a memorial building is received. Any expression of gratitude or goodwill coming from the heart of the American people is appreciated to the full by me, but I would hesitate to suggest the giving of such an expression, or if given, in what form it should be. As I mentioned in my telegram of yesterday I have had no acquaintance with the country about Kill Devil Hills since 1911. I have no idea of the need for a coast guard station or a light house there. In 1911 the country about our camp was a bleak stretch of sand for miles, as shown in the enclosed photograph [no longer present]. There were neither grasses nor trees, only large sand dunes, to break the monotony of the sand plain. Kitty Hawk was five or six miles away to the north. It is hard for me to visualize this land being put to use. It is the sentiment, more than the form in which it is expressed, that is most appreciated by. I shall be pleased with anything that may be done...." In the end, Bingham and Warren decided upon a more traditional monument. An architectural competition for the design of the Wright memorial was held, the 90-foot dune called Kill Devil Hill was transformed into a stable foundation and a granite shaft erected on top, reaching an elevation of 151 feet: "a great pylon...with wings sculpted into the sides and an aeronautical beacon on top" (Crouch, ibid ., p. 505). The cornerstone was dedicated on 17 December 1928 by Orville, Amelia Earhart, Bingham and Warren.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
