French Park monument in Casco Viejo, Panama City, Panama

December 1969 Issue

French Park monument in Casco Viejo, Panama City, Panama

The monument shown in the photo in the December 2014 issue is located in Panama City's Plaza de Francia (French Park), at the tip of Casco Viejo, the city's colonial neighborhood. At the top of the obelisk, built in commemoration of those who died during construction of the Panama Canal, is a rooster, France's national symbol. Smaller monuments, each topped by a bust of a prominent French explorer, surround the obelisk.

The digging of the canal began in 1881 by a French company headed by Ferdinand de Lesseps, a former diplomat who developed Egypt's Suez Canal. In Panama, however, diseases like malaria and yellow fever along with extreme temperatures led to the deaths of more than 20,000 workers. France ceased working on the canal in 1889. It was completed by the United States in 1914.

Sixteen correct answers were submitted, and CANDACE and JERRY BRINEY of Peoria, Arizona, won the drawing. We thank Nili Olay of New York, New York, for submitting the photo.

Correct answers were submitted by:

Nanci & Keith Alexander, Lexington, KY; Lanie Anderson, Bloomfield Hills, MI; WINNER(s): Candace & Jerry Briney, Peoria, AZ; Doug Clark, San Diego, CA; Erik Davenport, Placerville, CA; Signe Haugen, San Carlos, CA; Sally Ingmanson, Escondido, CA; Greg Kelley, Hanford, CA; George C. Kingston, East Longmeadow, MA; Phil Lutzi, St. Pete Beach, FL; Linda McKeel, Dayton, OR; Raymond Prince, Maple Valley, WA; Sandra Robson, Brunswick, OH; Marlene Roeseler, Sheboygan, WI; Kathy Whitmer, Bellingham, WA; Becky Wusz, Fairview, OR.