The Loop District in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Heald Square Monument

Robert Morris • George Washington • Haym Salomon

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, October 30, 2024

1. Heald Square Monument

Inscription.
[Text on the base on the monument:]
The government of the United States which gives to bigotry no sanction to persecution no assistance requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.
President George Washington 1790
[Text of plaque on ground at base of the monument:]
Symbol of American tolerance and unity and of the cooperation of people of all races and creeds in the upbuilding of the United States this monument designed by Lorado Taft and completed by Leonard Crunelle was presented to the City of Chicago by the Patriotic Foundation of Chicago.

Honorary Chairman
The Mayor of Chicago - Edward J. Kelly

Co-Chairmen
Barnet Hodes - Albert A. Sprague

Treasurer
Laurance H. Armour

Dedicated on the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the American Bill of Rights

Erected 1941 by Patriotic Foundation of Chicago.

Topics and series. This monument and memorial is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Government & Politics • Heroes • War, US Revolutionary. In addition,

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it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #01 George Washington, and the Signers of the Declaration of Independence series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1790.

Location. 41° 53.228′ N, 87° 37.607′ W. Monument is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in The Loop District. It is at the intersection of East Wacker Drive and North Wabash Avenue, on the right when traveling west on East Wacker Drive. Touch for map. Monument is in this post office area: Chicago IL 60601, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial monument is in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 15 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Chicago Remembers (within shouting distance of this marker); 35 East Wacker Drive Building (within shouting distance of this marker); Viet Nam Memorial (within shouting

Plaque for Heald Square Monument image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, October 30, 2024

2. Plaque for Heald Square Monument

distance of this marker); Irv Kupcinet (within shouting distance of this marker); The Chicago Riverwalk (within shouting distance of this marker); Bataan- Corregidor Memorial Bridge (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); South Water Street (about 400 feet away); Mather Tower (about 400 feet away); Bataan-Corregidor Memorial Bridge (about 500 feet away); Old Dearborn Bank Building (about 500 feet away); Trail Blazer (about 500 feet away); IBM Building (about 500 feet away); Trump International Hotel & Tower (about 500 feet away); Marina City (about 600 feet away); Carbide and Carbon Building (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.

More about this monument. The statue itself shows Morris, Washington and Salomon holding hands in unity; the plaque explaining the memorial is at the foot of the memorial. The rear of the statue has a plaque that shows Lady Liberty with outstretched arms.

This memorial is generally known as the Heald Square Monument because of its location, a plaza formed by the intersection of Wabash Avenue, Wacker Drive and a diagonal jut in the Chicago River. Nathan Heald

Robert Morris, George Washington, Haym Salomon image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, October 30, 2024

3. Robert Morris, George Washington, Haym Salomon

was an Army officer who commanded Fort Dearborn (whose site is a block east of here) during the Battle of Fort Dearborn in 1812.

This memorial was one of 41 publicly owned monuments, plaques and artworks that were identified in by the city-led Chicago Monuments Project as potentially "problematic"; this one was identified because it honors a slaveowner, George Washington. The commission's final report in 2022 did not recommend its removal or alteration, but did suggest that the area could be revised to add narrative about the people being honored.

Regarding Heald Square Monument. This memorial was, in 1971, the first statue to be awarded Chicago Landmark status by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks, due to both its subject matter — George Washington flanked by two lesser-known patriots of the American Revolution — and the famed artists who designed it.

Development began in 1936 by the Patriotic Foundation of Chicago, a nonprofit driven by Chicago lawyer Barnet Hodes, who wanted to erect a memorial to Americans coming together in times of crisis. Lorado Taft, one of Chicago's most accomplished and revered sculptors, was commissioned

Lady Liberty relief on the rear of the Heald Square Monument image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, December 11, 2024

4. Lady Liberty relief on the rear of the Heald Square Monument

to design the statue, but he died later that year. The French-born Leonard Crunelle, who had come to prominence as a Taft protege and whose major works include the Victory memorial on the south side of Chicago, dedicated to Black veterans of World War I, was tapped to finish the project.

Hodes, a Polish Jewish immigrant, was particularly drawn to Haym Salomon, also a Polish Jewish immigrant and an oft-forgotten revolutionary figure who, alongside Robert Morris, had played a major role in helping the American colonies fund the war against Great Britain. Born in Poland in 1740, Salomon moved to America in 1775 and became a key supporter of the colonial cause. He was captured in 1776 by the British, who had accused him of being a spy, and he was held captive before escaping to Philadelphia, from where he continued to help the colonies raise money for the war. He died in 1785 at age 44, penniless because the debts owed to him by the government and others were never repaid to him.

Robert Morris was one of two people to sign the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution. A shipping magnate who

Robert Morris-George Washington-Haym Salomon Monument image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, October 30, 2024

5. Robert Morris-George Washington-Haym Salomon Monument

In the rear, across the river, are the IBM Building (left) and Trump International Hotel & Tower.

was one of the richest men in America at the time the war broke out, he eventually served as superintendent of finance and, with Salomon, helped the colonists fund their war with Great Britain. In 1788, he was selected as one of Pennsylvania's first two U.S. senators. In 1790, he gave his house in Philadelphia to George Washington, who lived there and used it as the first Executive Mansion. At the end of his life, Morris was unable to pay off immense debts he had accumulated, and he declared bankruptcy in 1797 and spent more than three years in debtors' prison. He was freed in 1801, thanks to the U.S.'s brand-new Bankruptcy Act of 1800. He died in 1806.

Also see . . .
1. Barnet Hodes’s Quest to Remember Haym Salomon, the Almost-Forgotten Jewish Patriot of the Revolution. (Submitted on June 18, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
2. Tolerance and Patriotic Unity: Chicago’s Heald Square Monument. From the Lakefront Historian blog

Excerpt: "With the impending peril of World War II, Chicago searched for American patriots who represented them and could serve as the city’s democratic role models. They discovered
Courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, circa December 1941

6. Heald Square Monument dedication, December 1941
the heroes they were looking for in Robert Morris, Haym Salomon, and George Washington. Barnet Hodes and the Patriotic Foundation of Chicago designed the Heald Square Monument to symbolize patriotic unity and tolerance during a global conflict. Today, however, this message is muddled due to its three patriots’ complicated legacies."

(Submitted on November 1, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

3. Haym Salomon. This article from the American Battlefield Trust looks at the life of Haym Salomon and his contributions to the American colonists' victory in the Revolutionary War.

Excerpt: "With the Yorktown Campaign in full swing, as the joint American-French Army moved south from New York to capture British General Lord Cornwallis’ army, Salomon made his most significant contribution to the American cause. The Continental Troops had yet to be paid. Washington had no money and neither did Congress. Rumbles of mutiny spread in the American ranks. Washington estimated that he needed $20,000 to conduct operations, feed, provision, and clothe his army. Robert Morris wrote Washington that there was no money no be had. As
Courtesy of DukeOfValencia (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons

7. Sculptor Leonard Crunelle with his wife and mother
a rejoinder, Washington demanded that Morris, 'Send for Haym Salomon.' Salomon once again put to work his exceptional financial skills securing the necessary loans for the cash that Washington needed. Thus, Washington and his French allies were able to defeat the British at Yorktown, Virginia and bring an end to eight years of fighting."

(Submitted on November 1, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Credits. This page was last revised on June 23, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 31, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 631 times since then and 176 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 31, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 4. submitted on December 11, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 5. submitted on October 31, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 6. submitted on November 1, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 7. submitted on September 29, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.