ROCK SOLID HOMAGE TO WORLD HISTORY
By Pamela Price
The Museum of History in Granite, located in Felicity, CA, is the last place
you would expect to find one of the world’s most inclusive outdoor museums
literally created from and carefully carved in granite. The mission of the museum’s founder, Jacques-André Istel: "To Engrave in Granite Highlights of the Collective Memory of Humanity." During the last ten years I have attempted to describe this unusual Museum in a dozen travel columns in several languages and yet, there are nonbelievers who are certain I am writing a science fiction story. Should you be unable to locate “Felicity” on a map,
look for Yuma, Arizona which separates California from Arizona and bingo!
The two locations are approximately 12 miles apart by via I-8. I should mention you are also in the ‘dental zone’, as Algodones, the popular Mexican dental mecca for curing troubling dental issues from tooth A Raches to porcelain veneers is about 12 minutes (5.5 miles) from the Museum of History in Granite. As you enter this fascinating outdoor museum, you may be astonished to see a 25 ft. section of the original Eiffel Tower stairwell, which gives you a hint of the world-wide scope of the monuments contained in the museum. The museum’s founder confirmed it is Section 12 of the original staircase from the Eiffel Tower in Paris which he discovered during his travels and had delivered to the museum. However the star attraction of the museum are 900 granite panels, some more than 100 feet long, engraved and chronicling the story of world history.
“Historical events and personalities come to life in granite at this outdoor museum” said Sue Townsley, former Chair of the Cathedral City Public Arts Commission The wide open spaces becomes an encyclopedia of world history from diverse topics from Iconic Presidents- Truman and Eisenhower to Early Changes Brought by Inventive Americans.
The next exhibit opens on March 4, and is called “New Oceans of the World.” It will feature a 100 foot long granite monument with 30 panels depicting a variety of ocean scenes –from tidal basins to the deep, and even naval history. Visitors are Invited to meander through the outdoor exhibits as history takes on a new perspective , without a book in sight.
Visitors will take a visual journey in stone, exploring all manner of subjects, including the history of American entertainment, from vaudeville and opera to the cinema and Disney’s animated cartoons. There’s even an unexpected tribute to American beverages and food revealing one granite monument’s etching of a double decker hamburger !
Historically inspired events take place throughout the year at the Museum of History in Granite, tied in with exhibits such as The History of California, The Hall of Fame of Parachuting, The History of the French Foreign Legion and The Marine Corps Korean War Memorial. This season the museum is scheduled to close on March 30.
More information at www.historyingranite.org
Images: Courtesy of The Museum of History in Granite. Word count: 400
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