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Buy THE Definitive Guide to D.C. Sculpture
The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C.
WRIGHT Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina
by Oskar Hansen
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(The photographer finished a personal best 3:59 in the full marathon). | ||||
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At the turn of the century, this large hill & the 3 hills surrounding it were known as the Kill Devil Hills. Wilbur & Orville Wright performed thousands of experimental glider flights here between 1900 & 1903. The culmination of those tests, a glider performing a simple turn, unlocked the secrets of controlled flight. With this flight, the 3 axes of control [pitch, roll & yaw] were mastered & the age of aviation was at hand. | ||||
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26 Acres of Shifting Sand Before construction of the memorial could begin, it would be necessary to stabilize the dune from which the Wright brothers conducted their glider experiments. Twenty-five years of steady winds had moved Big Kill Devil Hill 450 feet SW of its 1903 location. The U.S. Army Engineers, using exotic & native grasses & a covering of wood mold, succeeded in stabilizing the "shifting" dune. The Hill stands still now -- supporting a monument to man's greatest dream. | ||||
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The Best Design: Design competition among 35 entrants was won by Rogers & Poor, a NY architectural firm. A 60-foot tower, similar to those used to mark courses in air races, embellished with wings on its side & a 5-point star serving as the base, was to symbolize man's conquest of the air. No Simple Task: Designed with paper & pencil, it became an entirely different matter to carve 80 tons of solid granite. Using hand & pneumatic tools, the Mount Airy granite was transformed into surgically precise multifaceted blocks. Assembled, they formed the Wright Memorial at the final cost of over $285,000. | ||||
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