Central Vancouver in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia — Canada’s West Coast (North America)
Warren G. Harding Memorial
Photographed By Adam Margolis, October 9, 2023
1. Warren G. Harding Memorial - closeup
[Left]
"What an object lesson of peace is shown today by our two countries to all the world. No grim-faced fortifications mark our frontiers, no huge battleships patrol our dividing waters, no stealthy spies lurk in our tranquil border hamlets. Only a scrap of paper, recording hardly more than a simple understanding, safe-guarding lives and properties on the Great Lakes, and only humble mile posts mark the inviolable boundary line for thousands of miles through farm and forest.
"Our protection is in our fraternity. Our armour is our faith. The tie that binds more firmly year by year is
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ever increasing acquaintance and comradeship through interchange of citizens and the compact is not of perishable parchment, but of fair and honorable dealing, which, God grant, shall continue for all time."
Erected by the Kiwanis International in memory of a great occasion in the life of two sister nations. Here on July 26, 1923 Warren Gamaliel Harding, twenty-ninth president of the United States of America, and first president to visit Canada, charter member of the Kiwanis Club of Marion, Ohio spoke words that are worthy of record in lasting granite
Dedicated September 16, 1925.
Erected 1925 by Kiwanis Club of Vancouver
this page online
Topics. This historical marker and memorial is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Charity & Public Work • Parks & Recreational Areas.
Location. 49° 17.948′ N, 123° 8.005′ W. Marker is in Vancouver, British Columbia, in Metro Vancouver. It is in Central Vancouver. Marker is on Pipeline Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 600 Pipeline Road, Vancouver BC V6G 3E2, Canada. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Stanley Park Rock Garden (within shouting distance of this marker); Vancouver's First Entertainment Hub (within shouting distance of this marker); The Rose Garden (about 210 meters away, measured in a direct line); Robert Burns (about 240 meters away); Shakespeare Garden (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Vancouver Rowing Club (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); A Position of Honour (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); First Known AIDS Memorial (approx. half a kilometer away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Vancouver.
Also see . . . President Harding’s Last Stand (Canada’s History, Jan. 17, 2017). Full title: “President Harding’s Last Stand. Vancouver gave him a hero’s welcome and then he sailed away and died.” Harding died in San Francisco on August 2, 1923.
Excerpt:(Submitted on December 5, 2023.)The Henderson steamed into Vancouver Harbour on the morning of 26 July to be greeted by a salute from the six-inch guns of the H.M.S. Curlew. After receiving an official welcome at dock-side, the president drove by motorcade the two miles to Stanley Park.Photographed By Adam Margolis, October 9, 20232. Warren G. Harding Memorial
Thousands of city residents filled the sidewalks to catch a view of the president as he waved to the crowd from his open car. The streets along the parade route were decorated with hundreds of Canadian, British, and American flags. Lamp posts were draped in bunting. Banners stretched between the buildings proclaimed greetings from the citizens of Vancouver.
In Stanley Park the president was welcomed by thunderous cheers as he walked from his car to the stage. An audience estimated at over 40,000—one of the best crowds the president received on his entire tour—listened with the aid of a specially installed amplifying system to the president’s formal speech.
President Harding’s Canadian reception seemed to take some American journalists by surprise. As one reporter wrote, “An American observer taking in the frequent outbursts of approval might easily have supposed that a popular candidate for public office in the United States was speaking to an audience of his most ardent supporters.”
Harding’s enthusiastic reception was in large part due to the fact that this was a history-making visit.Harding was the first American president, while in office, to set foot on Canadian soil and the city’s residents turned out in their thousands to witness the event.Photographed By Adam Margolis, October 9, 20233. Warren G. Harding Memorial [left]
![Warren G. Harding Memorial [left] image. Click for full size.](Photos7/759/Photo759565.jpg?11112023110300PM "Warren G. Harding Memorial [left]. Click for full size.")
![Warren G. Harding Memorial [right] image. Click for full size.](Photos7/759/Photo759566.jpg?11112023110400PM "Warren G. Harding Memorial [right]. Click for full size.")
Photographed By Adam Margolis, October 9, 2023
4. Warren G. Harding Memorial [right]
Photographed By Adam Margolis, October 9, 2023
5. Warren G. Harding Memorial
The eagle's beak was damaged in protests during the Vietnam War.
W.J. Moore (courtesy the Ohio History Connection), July 26, 1923
6. President Harding speaking into amplifier “The Famous Vancouver Speech.”
“In June 1923, President Warren G. Harding and First Lady Florence Harding embarked on an ambitious journey across the United States. Called the “Voyage of Understanding,” the historic trip included the first visit of a sitting president to the U.S. territory of Alaska, as well as the first international visit of an American president to Canada…” - Ohio History Connection
Credits. This page was last revised on December 5, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 11, 2023, by Adam Margolis of Mission Viejo, California. This page has been viewed 31 times since then and 16 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on November 11, 2023, by Adam Margolis of Mission Viejo, California. 6. submitted on December 5, 2023. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
