The arch was built to honor Rosedale soldiers who fought in World War I. After the monument fell into disrepair, the community has spent decades restoring it. Now, neighbors are throwing the arch a birthday party to celebrate. The Rosedale Memorial Arch in Kansas City, Kansas, turns 100 years old on Saturday. The arch, inspired by the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, was completed in 1924 to honor the U.S. Army’s 42nd Infantry Division in World War I. “The original dedication ceremony was Sept. 7, 1924, and it was a very large event for Rosedale, which had just newly become part of Kansas City, Kansas,” says Sarah Oltvedt, events director with the Rosedale Development Association. The arch has since become an important community landmark that reminds residents of Rosedale’s history, she says. The unit it honors became known as the “Rainbow Division” because its members came from 26 different states. Of those service members, 375 men came from the Kansas City, Kansas, area. In June 1917, Lt. Col. Frank L. Travis assembled the soldiers on top of Mount Marty in Rosedale, where the arch now stands near the University Of Kansas Medical Center. Source: KCUR News
