Type an address to search for nearby blocks
Whitepaper
Explore More
Sign Up / Log In
Military History | Monument Américain, Tours — Sold Back to France for One Franc
· 1932
Unreviewed contributionBy kevin · · Report an issue
Search by address
Search
Loading...
Highlighted Moments
Featured Memories
Find memories left by people near you.
Distribute Bounty
Total to distribute
0 MR
Qualifying memories
0
This will distribute the bounty equally among all qualifying memories. This action cannot be undone.
Cancel Bounty
Refund amount
0 MR
Are you sure you want to cancel this bounty? The remaining amount will be refunded to your account.
Success!
Operation completed successfully.
Error
Something went wrong.
Back to map
Back
This memory is part of
Military History | Monument Américain, Tours — Sold Back to France for One Franc
kevin
1932
Listen
Directions
The American Battle Monuments Commission's 1938 volume enters this under "Memorial at Tours" and captions its plate "Memorial Fountain at Tours." The French national inventory registers it as a fontaine dite Monument Américain. It commemorates the Services of Supply, the rear organisation of the American Expeditionary Forces, whose headquarters sat at Tours from January 1918 until August 1919. The commission's own strength figures for that organisation disagree with each other: 644,540 soldiers and 23,772 civilian employees in the 1938 volume, almost 645,000 and 24,000 in a 2019 brochure, 650,000 on its website today.
The ground was not given. It held the Cirque de Touraine, a working music hall, and the commission bought it — the municipal archives record a purchase in 1927 for 100,000 francs and demolition on 3 April 1928. Under a Franco-American agreement of 29 August 1927 France then bought the cleared land back for one franc, and granted the United States the use and free disposal of it in perpetuity. The title is French. The use is American.
What went up was not a monument but a fountain, plumbed and still running, its basin thirty-two metres round. A.D. 1932 is cut on the rim between AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION and ARTHUR LOOMIS HARMON · ARCHITECT. The dedication runs in English on the landward arc and in French on the river arc; the four allegories on the pier are labelled in English only — ADMINISTRATION, CONSTRUCTION, PROCUREMENT, DISTRIBUTION.
The commission's website today carries a heading, "Background," with nothing under it. The circus, the franc and the architect's name are not there. The name is on the stone.
📸 Cover: the fountain from the landward side, the dedication legible round the basin, photograph by Benjamin Smith, 7 April 2025, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. Second image: the allegory labelled PROCUREMENT on the pier, photograph by Chabe01, 19 May 2023, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Related Memories
Memory Marks
You marked this memory as
InspiringHeartwarmingEnjoyableSolemn!
You have 0 Memory Marks left to give today
Nice work! You have given out all your memory marks today!
Come back tomorrow or own more Blox to get more daily Memory Marks!
Thank you for alerting us of this Memory. We will review within the next 24 hours.
Save to Collection
Military History | Monument Américain, Tours — Sold Back to France for One Franc
New Collection
No collections yet
Create one above to get started
0
Do you want to remove this memory from the collection?
Do you want to save
changes?
changes?
The changes you made have been saved
Root to Blockchain
Do you want to root this memory to IPFS with 1 Metablox Coin?
You currently have Metablox Coins
Root to Blockchain
You need 1 Metablox Coin to root this memory to IPFS.
You don't have enough Metablox Coins
Uploading to Blockchain…
Preparing your memory for IPFS. Please don't close this window.
Upload Failed
Something went wrong while connecting to IPFS. Your Metablox Coin was not deducted. Please try again later.
Push New Version
Create a new version of this memory, preserving its current state on IPFS.
Cost: 1 Metablox Coin
You currently have Metablox Coins
New Version is on its way to the Blockchain!
Your updated memory will be available on IPFS within 10 minutes.
Your Memory is on its way to the Blockchain!
You'll be able to access it on IPFS within 10 minutes.
Uploading your memories
Are you sure you want to
delete this memory?
delete this memory?
Are you sure you want to delete this memory?
Keep
Delete
Take Photo
Add your photos
Add more photos
Preview your memory
Uploading your memory
You have successfully preserved a memory!
We detected that you have a Blox in your crypto wallet! We will import the Blox into your account.
Click on done below to complete the import.
Welcome Back!
Sign in to preserve cherished moments
Don't have an account?
Welcome!!
Sign up and start preserving cherished moments
Password Recovery
Enter the email associated with your account
Check your inbox
Use the link in the email to reset your password
Would you like to level up
?
?
Cost
MetaRent
Would you like to level up
?
?
Cost
MetaRent
reached Level !!
MetaRent / day
Max Storage
Coins Earned
+
reached Level !!
MetaRent / day
Max Storage
Coins Earned
+
Add your
photos
Tell us about this
Moment
Description (Optional)
/140 characters
Where is this moment?
location
Try searching for: Golden Gate Bridge, Miami Beach, or an address.
Uploading your moment
You have successfully preserved a memory!
Your moment is now
on .
You have successfully preserved a memory!
Your moment is now
on .
Uploading
htid
Hidden in 89hrs
Global Blox
Sep 03, 2026
At the airport again …
exoangel
Hidden in 87hrs
Global Blox
Sep 03, 2026
Seagull against blue sky
htid
Hidden in 128hrs
Htid's Pride
,
Global
Sep 02, 2026
My beautiful hallertau beer hops
exoangel
Hidden in 86hrs
Global Blox
Sep 02, 2026
Fettuccine and Salmon
htid
Hidden in 74hrs
Global Blox
Sep 01, 2026
Making music 🎶
exoangel
Hidden in 59hrs
Global Blox
Aug 31, 2026
Sprouts sandwich
exoangel
Hidden in 58hrs
Global Blox
Aug 30, 2026
Sunday beach time
exoangel
Hidden in 35hrs
Global Blox
Aug 29, 2026
Weeekend scene
exoangel
Hidden in 13hrs
Global Blox
Aug 28, 2026
Feeding the birds
You marked this moment as
InspiringHeartwarmingEnjoyableSolemn!
You have 0 Memory Marks left to give today
Nice work! You have given out all your memory marks today!
Come back tomorrow or own more Blox to get more daily Memory Marks!
Choose your payment method
Buy with Metablox Credit
Do you want to mint Blox with Metablox Credit?
Which Crypto would you like to use?
Payment confirmed!
Your Blox is being minted on-chain. This usually takes under a minute.
Check your Metamask extension
Step 1: Click "Confirm" to give Metamask permission to access your crypto
Important: When the extension shows up, scroll down and hit "Confirm" to mint.
Important: You must change the suggested gas fee to High in order to process the transaction.
DO NOT refresh or close the page before seeing this.
We're processing your order...
This sometimes takes a few mins.
Please bear with us 💪
DO NOT refresh or close the page
Contact the Devs
We're very sorry this happened
Your transaction record has been submitted to our team. We'll solve this situation ASAP
Purchase Confirmed!
Your Blox is being minted on-chain and will appear in your profile shortly.
Log in or sign up to claim your Blox.
How many credits do you want to buy?
$100 USD = 1 Metablox Credit = 1 Blox.
Use Metablox Credit to mint any Blox you want on the map.
expand_more