Tributes

Pantheon, a burial place in Paris for many famous Frenchman, inlcuding Braille, Thoreau, Zola, and Hugo

Two of the seven wonders of the ancient world are tombs - the Great Pyramid of Giza, and the final resting place of King Maussollos. Some might be inclined to puzzle over the inclination to built such compelling accomodations for people who apparently cannot enjoy them, but there are two critical benefits. First, the pyramids were thought to be ideal for starting the journey to the afterlife, with a variety of needed tools nearby, and second, a sort of immortal fame can be gained from a daunting structure outliving its inhabitant.

The Taj Mahal. Reads a plaque: "The Taj Mahal was built between 1621 and 1653 by Emperor Shah Jahan (1627-1658) as the tomb for his wife Arjumand, better known as Mumtaz Mahal, "Ornament of the Palace." Born in 1592, the daughter of Asaf Khan, she married Shah Jahan in 1612 and died in 1631 after the birth of her fourteenth child. After his death the emperor was buried by her side.

The tradition of great structures for great men continued throughout the world, not just with statues, but in America with the infamously phallic Washington Monument, looming over the Washington, D.C. skyline. Its brethren, the Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, and now even the Franklin Delano Roosevelt, remind visitors of legacies left by the nation's most important leaders. Still elsewhere, everything from freeway overpasses to airports are named after notable figures, sometimes just tributes to the living, but eventually they, too, will be memorials. Some people even get holidays. Others make memorials on-line. Architecturally, the universally-recognized Taj Mahal, also, serves as a tomb.

What kind of great memorial would you like to see next? Who should it be for? Contribute your thoughts, and even small sketches of your proposals.

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