FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 9, 2018
Lyman Allyn Art Museum
Press Contact: Rebecca Marsie, Director of Communications
860.443.2545 x2112 / [email protected]>
DEDICATORY SERVICE HELD AT McCOURT 9/11 MEMORIAL GARDEN
New London – On Sunday, October 14, 2018 the McCourt 9/11 Memorial Garden Committee will hold a gathering for community members for the re-dedication ceremony of a memorial stone honoring Juliana McCourt beginning at 2:00 PM. The memorial stone, previously installed on the campus of Mitchell College will have a new home appropriately placed in the McCourt 9/11 Memorial Garden on the grounds of the Lyman Allyn Art Museum.
The McCourt Memorial Garden was built to honor the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A number of people in southeastern Connecticut lost a family member or friend in the attacks of that day. Among the New London area residents lost were Ruth McCourt and her four-year old daughter, Juliana, who were aboard the aircraft that struck the world Trade Center.
Ruth McCourt and her mother Paula Clifford Scott were members of the New London Garden Club and avid gardeners. In honor of Ruth and Juliana’s memory, and that of all the victims from the area, several members of the Garden Club, and members of the New London Police Department and New London Fire Department, developed the concept and original construction of the McCourt 9/11 Memorial Garden. Designed by Jeanne Shelburne, a noted landscape architect and longtime New London Garden Club Member, the McCourt 9/11 Memorial Garden is enthusiastically supported by the Garden Clubs of America and the Federated Garden Clubs of America.
As Ruth was an active member of the Lyman Allyn Art Museum and her daughter a student at the Museum’s Children’s Dance Center, the Memorial Garden Committee created this meaningful tribute on the Museum grounds. The garden features a bird sanctuary, a picturesque bridge, gorgeous plantings, a terrace and children’s picnic area, and a grassy performance area.
Sunday’s schedule of events will feature the re-dedication ceremony of the memorial stone in the McCourt Memorial Garden. A reception will be held afterwards with a selection of food and drink in the Lyman Allyn’s Hendel Library. In the event of rain, the ceremony will be moved to the Lyman Allyn’s Lehman Auditorium.
About the Lyman Allyn Art Museum
The Lyman Allyn Art Museum welcomes visitors from New London, southeastern Connecticut and all over the world. Established in 1926 by a gift from Harriet Allyn in memory of her seafaring father, the Museum opened the doors of its beautiful neo-classical building surrounded by 12 acres of green space in 1932. Today it presents a number of changing exhibitions each year and houses a fascinating collection of over 16,000 objects from ancient times to the present; artworks from Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe, with particularly strong collections of American paintings, decorative arts and Victorian toys and doll houses.
The museum is located at 625 Williams Street, New London, Connecticut, exit 83 off I-95. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, Sundays 1:00 – 5:00 pm; closed Mondays and major holidays. For more information call 860.443.2545, ext. 2129 or visit us on Facebook or the web at: www.lymanallyn.org.