Berlin Wall Memorial at the Baker Institute (Rice University)

In 2000, 11 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Rice University installed a section of the wall as a permanent part of the Baker Institute. Speaking at the opening ceremony for this monument, Rice University President Malcolm Gillis noted that the remnants of the Berlin Wall serve to remind us that no structure is capable of confining "the human mind and the human spirit in its quest for freedom." Also speaking at the event, German Ambassador to the United States Juergen Chrobog noted that the Berlin Wall came down "because the people of the former Germany in a display of remarkable courage exerted the will to be free."

These photographs of the monument were taken by Ann Ziker in 2008. Please also see the related press release that provides additional contextual information about the monument.