Bell Memorial

43°8′28″N 80°16′5″W / 43.14111°N 80.26806°W / 43.14111; -80.26806

Bell Memorial
City of Brantford
The frontside of Bell Memorial
For the invention of the telephone
Unveiled	24 October 1917
Location	43°8′27.94″ N 80°16′4.88″ W near  Brantford, Ontario
Designed by	Walter Seymour Allward
Commemorating the invention of the telephone at Brantford by Alexander Graham Bell in 1874

The Bell Memorial (also known as the Bell Monument or Telephone Monument) is a memorial designed by Walter Seymour Allward to commemorate the invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell at the Bell Homestead National Historic Site, in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.

In 1906, the citizens of the Brantford and Brant County areas formed the Bell Telephone Memorial Association, which commissioned the memorial. By 1908, the association's designs committee asked sculptors on two continents to submit proposals for the memorial. The submission by Canadian sculptor Walter Seymour Allward of Toronto won the competition. The memorial was originally scheduled for completion by 1912 but Allward, aided by his studio assistant Emanuel Hahn did not finish it until five years later. The Governor General of Canada, Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire, unveiled the memorial on 24 October 1917.

Allward designed the monument to symbolize the telephone's ability to overcome great distances. A series of steps lead to the main section where the floating allegorical figure of Inspiration appears over a reclining male figure representing Man, transmitting sound through space, discovering his power to transmit sound through space, and also pointing to three floating figures, the messengers of Knowledge, Joy, and Sorrow positioned at the other end of the tableau. Additionally, there are two female figures mounted on granite pedestals representing Humanity positioned to the left and right of the memorial, one sending and the other receiving a message.

The Bell Memorial has been described as the finest example of Allward's early work. The memorial itself has been used as a central fixture for many civic events and remains an important part of Brantford's history. It was provided a heritage designation under the Ontario Heritage Act in 2005 and listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places in 2009.^[1]