By Maria Carter
Kansas City, MO – Liberty Memorial has garnered another honor. The World War I memorial has been designated a National Historic Landmark. The Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne called Liberty Memorial one of the most compelling World War One Memorials. Museum director Eli Paul calls the national recognition an honor.
Eli Paul: "To become a national historic landmark, means that you have reached a significant level of importance both architecturally and historically to the nation that very few properties reach."
Liberty Memorial was built over a fifteen year period with construction ending in 1938. Surrounded by some 50 acres of ground, a single column rises 21 stories from a hill south of Union Station. Federal legislation passed in 2004 designated Liberty Memorial as the National World War I Museum.
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When this story originally aired, Liberty Memorial museum director Eli Paul was misidentified.