Statue of Gomidas Vartabed, Detroit, MI

[nimda]

Title	Statue of Gomidas Vartabed, Detroit, MI
Type of Memorial	Commemorative Plaque, Monumental Sculpture,
Sponsor(s)	Michael M. Assarian Foundation and the Armenian Monument Committee
Architect/Designer/Artist	Arto Chakmakjian
Placement	Freestanding sculptural work.
Physical Setting	On flat land.
Tourist Amenities	No
Physical Condition	Very well preserved.
Inscription	We Detroit Armenians dedicate this monument to the memory of our 1,500,000 Armenian martyrs massacred during the 1915 Genocide.
Location	Detroit, Michigan United States (In the center of Jefferson Avenue, at the intersection of Woodward Avenue- on the west side of that intersection)
Notable Visitors	Baroness Caroline Cox of the British House of Lords, April 1997.

[imported_anoush]

[Hovik]

GOMIDAS

WE DETROIT ARMENIANS
DEDICATE THIS MONUMENT
TO THE MEMORY OF OUR
1,500,000 ARMENIAN
MARTYRS MASSACRED
DURING 1915
GENOCIDE

THIS MONUMENT WAS A JOINT PROJECT OF
THE MICHAEL M. ASSARIAN FOUNDATION
AND THE ARMENIAN MONUMENT COMMITTEE

[Hovik]

Gomidas Vartabed
1869-1935

Father Gomidas The Foremost Composer
And Ethnomusicologist Of The Armenian
Nation Deeply Revered By All Armenians
And Respected By Secular And Folk
Music Communities Of The World.

He Was Among 300 Armenian Intellectuals
And Political Leaders Arrested
And Imprisoned On April 24, 1915 By The Then
Government Of Turkey. Only Through The
Dedicated Efforts Of United States Ambassador
Henry Morgenthau, Was Father Gomidas Released From Prison.

Though Freed, Father Gomidas' Spirit Had Been
Broken. He Was Reduced To A Mere Shell Of
His Former Self And Suffering From Mental
Anguish After Witnessing The Genocide Of His Beloved People And Nation.

Father Gomidas Died In Paris, With His Remains Now Resting In The "pantheon Hall Of
Armenian Giants" In The Present-day Yerevan
Armenia, In The Shadows Of The Beloved
Biblical Mt. Ararat Of The Armenian People.

Artist Sculptor
Arto Tchakmaktchian