A lasting memorial to… you

by Barry Silverstein

A few weeks ago, the world’s tallest skyscraper, Burj Dubai was renamed Burj Khalia (Khalia Tower).

Khalia, you see, is Sheikh Khalia Bin Zayed Al Nahyan – the guy who pumped $10 billion into Dubai to keep it from bankruptcy. Khalia is president of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Abu Dhabi.

Could there be a more fitting tribute to a human being than to get his name emblazoned on the highest building in the world – literally reaching the height of perceived immortality? The Sheikh is set for life, and the hereafter.

We humans have a way of putting our mark on inanimate objects. It undoubtedly represents our understanding that life is fleeting, and lasting recognition is only achieved through permanent memorials.

At the highest level, it’s naming cities, airports, buildings and facilities. People who fly out of Dulles, JFK, LaGuardia, O’Hare, or Reagan may not give a second thought to the individuals for whom those airports were named. New York and Chicago residents live or work in buildings named the Trump Tower. Around the world, travelers stay at Marriott and Hilton hotels.

To political wonks, the Jefferson, Lincoln and Washington Memorials, and the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, have their proper place. To Duke sports fans, the Michael W. Krzyzewski Center for Athletic Excellence may be a tongue-tying mouthful, but it is no less significant. And who would argue with the lasting value of Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute or Stanford University’s Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital?

For the ultra-rich, a building may not be quite enough. That’s why we have such organizations as The Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Then there are those for whom higher education represents the most fitting tribute. Students attend Babson College, The Medill School of Journalism, The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. (Never mind the professorships named for people.)

Of course, as we travel down the food chain, there are less extravagant memorials to people both living and dead – mountains and hiking trails, benches and streets, bridges and overpasses. Even rocks.

Wines, liquors, and mixed drinks are named after people. If you’re friends with Arnold Palmer or Tom Collins, you know what I’m talking about.

Food dishes are also named after people. Perhaps you’ve eaten Bananas Foster, Chateaubriand, a Caesar salad, or Eggs Benedict. But naming foods has gone mainstream, too. On the menu of the popular restaurant chain, Moe’s Southwest Grill, you’ll find the Art Vandalay burrito, the John Coctostan quesadilla, and the Billy Barou nachos.

There’s something oddly fascinating about memorializing someone’s life with an inanimate object. A life of experiences, friendships and accomplishments gets distilled into a rock or a bridge or a building. Maybe over time the object becomes more well known than the person (I’m looking at you Dulles). It seems a little depressing, but then again, I guess anything is a step up from a tombstone.