New National Landmarks Honor U.S. History, Cultural Heritage

The heads of the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service announce four new national historic landmarks honoring U.S. history and cultural heritage.

A groundbreaking mural series in the heart of Detroit is among four new national historic landmarks designated by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis on April 23.

The Detroit Industry Murals at the Detroit Institute of Arts were created between July 1932 and March 1933 by Diego Rivera, a leader of the 1920s Mexican Mural Movement. Critics consider the murals the United States’ finest modern monumental artwork devoted to industry.

The other newly designated landmarks include the Adlai E. Stevenson II Farm in Illinois (the home of a two-time U.S. presidential candidate and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations), the George Nakashima Woodworker Complex in Pennsylvania (workshop of an internationally renowned furniture designer), and the 1956 Grand Canyon TWA-United Airlines Aviation Accident Site in Arizona (an accident that spurred an unprecedented effort to modernize and increase safety in America’s postwar airways).

“These four new national historic landmarks are as diverse as our American heritage, telling stories of triumph and tragedy, of dedicated public service and artistic beauty,” Jewell said. “As part of a nationwide network of unique, historic sites, they help ensure the journey we have taken as a nation is remembered and interpreted both now and for future generations.”

The sites announced April 23 join 2,540 other sites across the country recognized as places that possess exceptional value and quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States.