(soaring piano music) - [Narrator] No one alive today can imagine Canton, Ohio without the McKinley National Memorial.

(soaring piano music) - Obviously, it lasts and endures and meets the test of time.

- Not a lot of people have a president that lived in their own city and was buried there.

(soaring piano music) - We're so, so fortunate that it sits right along the highway, and people, you know, buzzing by I-77 have the chance to really check it out.

And it's a beacon, and people often say, "We just hopped off the highway, "because we had to see what this was."

- First of all, I was just blown away by how magnificent being there felt.

It's just a beautiful, beautiful place.

- This isn't a veneer of stone, which is the way we would build today.

This is actually, you know, solid blocks.

It's a great lasting legacy of both the art and the practice of architecture in the United States.

- [Narrator] Within these walls built by the sweat and craftsmanship of past generations lies a man of humble origin who rose to the height of power, claiming for the first time, the United States position of world power.

- I think most Americans going to the McKinley monument today, have no idea who he was.

- [Narrator] The splendor of the monument is a small reflection of the immense public sorrow.

When the 25th president's legacy is cut short by an assassin in 1901.

- He was the most popular president ever to die in office.

- [Narrator] In the monument, he lies with his wife, Ida McKinley, and their two daughters, who passed away at a very young age.

- They always had children around them, despite this horrible loss.

They have no heirs.

Their life is still always filled with the joy of children around them.

(children shouting) - [Narrator] Perhaps fittingly for the couple who loved children, the young seem to be a constant presence at the monument today.

- [Animatronic] Please make yourselves comfortable.

- [Narrator] Thousands visit the museum and memorial every year.

- It's very different from many other presidential grave sites.

So it's not inside a cemetery like many of them are, and it's not in kind of a monument collection.

It's here by itself, but it's a community icon.

And a lot of people don't necessarily think of it as a tomb.

So we have weddings that take place here.

People have all kinds of photo shoots for senior pictures.

Typically the monument has a lot of different activities that happen.

(fireworks exploding) - If you've seen the big fireworks display in DC or LA, kind of reminds me of that.

You don't want to miss it.

("Amazing Grace") - [Narrator] Climbing the more than 100 steps is driven by different purposes, whether it is honoring heroes from the 9/11 terrorist attacks, appreciating history and architecture, or working up a sweat.

Visitors cannot help thinking of the memorial's namesake.

- I think the statue of President McKinley that's present in the middle of the stairway is definitely a reminder of what McKinley brought to the community and to the nation as a president.

- [Narrator] Within this beautiful tribute are a president and first lady, who will forever impact Canton and the world.

(organ music) - She's the belle of Canton, right?

So she's the catch.

She's the one that everybody wants.

- McKinley married up, there's no doubt about it.

She was from a wealthy family.

She was very well-educated, one of the most educated first ladies.

- [Narrator] Some 150 years ago, William McKinley would change the course of history by marrying Ida Saxton at First Presbyterian Church in Canton.

The ceremony is reenacted in the spring of 2021 by current congregation members, in collaboration with the National First Ladies Library.

- I, William.

- Take thee, Ida.

- Take thee, Ida.

- [Narrator] The young attorney is the seventh of nine children born to the owner of a small iron foundry, William McKinley Senior, and his wife, Nancy, in Niles, Ohio.

The civil war veteran meets Ida as he is building his legal career, serving as Stark County prosecutor.

Unusual for women at the time, Ida works in her father's bank.

Each teaches Sunday school in their respective Christian churches.

- [Jennie] It was a charming story that they would pass each other on their way to church on Sunday.

At one point, William passes her a note.

The note has something along the lines of, "We walk past each other each day.

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if we walk together hand in hand?"

- [Narrator] The wealthy Saxtons, like McKinley, are known for supporting abolition and the right to vote for women.

- There was no other man that I know that I would rather give my daughter.

- This, of course, is great to marry into, because then it gives you connections.

It gives you connections in society.

It gives you connections to people with money.

- The couple welcomes Catherine, known as Katie, on Christmas Day, 1871.

2 years later, the McKinleys are expecting another baby, but sadly, baby Ida will only survive four months after becoming sick.

- She had diarrhea and perhaps vomiting that was not stoppable.

And she was small and frail.

And she got dehydrated.

- [Narrator] At around the same time, Ida is having seizures.

- And we believe it was probably a type of epilepsy.

This very vibrant, fun woman never knows when she's going to have a seizure.

So she is kind of, has to be very careful.

- [Narrator] A few years after losing baby Ida, Katie passes away from heart trouble, a possible side effect from a childhood disease.

The girls will later be moved to lie with their parents, who became even closer in life through their mutual grief.

- There's not one thing that they don't do for one another.

For a male, a Victorian male to be so attentive to his wife is remarkable.

- [Narrator] Candidate McKinley benefits from his public devotion to his wife.

As his eventual campaign manager, Marcus Hanna, notices his appeal.

- [Michelle] He sees this magic, he would make a wonderful president.

He's so attentive to his wife, he's very smart.

I've read how McKinley could just make anyone feel like he'd just known you forever.

- [Narrator] The Republican will progress from Congress, to governor, and eventually president.

(upbeat inspirational music) Ida is known for crocheting thousands of slippers for friends and charity, using a treasured bag with her husband's picture displayed.

Often, she does this outside his office during meetings, so that she can listen and later be the sounding board that he desires.

("The Entertainer") As first lady, she brings music, including the popular ragtime, to state dinners for the first time.

Female relatives assist with her duties.

Doctors attempting to help Ida with her seizures end up over-medicating her with bromides, which have a sedative effect.

As a result, Ida loses energy and weight, reflected in her clothing from the time.

- The sleeves, they're so tiny that we can't even put normal mannequin arms in them.

They're, we have to fill them with tissue.

- [Narrator] Meanwhile, international challenges dominate the president's early days in office.

McKinley pushes back against forces that want to go to war against Spain for its brutal actions against an insurrection in its colony in Cuba.

The veteran who witnessed some of the bloodiest fighting in the Civil War prioritizes peace, reflected in his own writing inside the memorial.

- [Reader] "Let us ever remember that our interest "is in concord, not conflict, "and that our real eminence rests in the victories of peace, "not those of war."

President William McKinley, September 5th, 1901.

- [Narrator] After an American ship, the USS Maine, explodes while on a mission in Havana Harbor, many members of the president's own party blamed Spain, and demand retaliation.

There are also those who want the US to be imperialist and take over new land.

- And even though people were clamoring for this, and even his own eventual vice-president, Teddy Roosevelt, says he has no more backbone than a chocolate eclair, he insisted that there be an investigation.

The investigation came to the conclusion that this, that someone indeed had blown up the ship, which again, I think most historians agree that that's not true, but at least McKinley could then say, "Okay, we've done due diligence."

- [Narrator] The so-called "Splendid Little War" lasts only a few months before Spain is defeated, but its consequences forever change the United States.

In addition to influence in Cuba, America will take over the former Spanish colonies of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.

The Republic that fought for its own independence from Great Britain will find the tables turned as Filipino nationalists reject American rule.

For the first time, the United States is referred to as an empire.

- His own personal belief in imperialism was in many ways driven by what he felt was the humanitarian aspect of this, that we would be doing right by these people.

There were other imperialists at the time who didn't care at all about the Filipinos, at all, don't care at all about the Puerto Ricans.

They just wanted the land and the resources.

- [Narrator] Anti-imperialists oppose McKinley in the next election, but he easily wins the White House for a second time.

President McKinley is riding a huge wave of popularity in September of 1901, when he and the first lady attend the World's Fair in Buffalo, called the Pan American Exposition.

The anticipation is high among the crowd, waiting to hear what will be his last speech, which is depicted in the statue in the middle of the McKinley Memorial steps.

The next day, at the Hall of Music, an unemployed steel worker from Cleveland, Leon Czolgosz, waits in line to shake hands with the president.

Czolgosz is an anarchist, believing that government leaders are tyrants.

The president's protectors scan the crowd, focusing closely on a Black waiter named Jim Parker, who stands behind Czolgosz.

- They were kind of profiling him as being a potential threat.

And so they were, they completely took their attention off the guy who was going to shoot him.

- Czolgosz has bandaged a hand to conceal a gun.

- [Kevin] Czolgosz fires two shots, right, point blank range.

- [Narrator] Jim Parker jumps into action, later telling his story to newspaper reporters.

- [Reader 2] I was startled by the shots.

My fist shot out and I hit the man on the nose and fell upon him, grasping him about the throat.

I believe that if he had not been suffering pain, he would have shot again.

I know that his revolver was close to my head.

I did not think about that then, though.

Jim Parker, September 1901.

- [Narrator] Soon, Czolgosz is surrounded by an angry crowd.

- Here is one of the many reasons to like William McKinley.

The people around Czolgosz just start beating the crap out of him.

The first thing he says is, "Go easy on him, fellas."

The guy who has shot him.

And the next thought he has is, "Do be careful how you tell her."

He's worried about how Ida will react.

- [Narrator] At first, it seems like the president will pull through, but doctors cannot locate the bullet.

Soon, infection sets in.

Grim reminders of the tragedy are on display at the McKinley presidential museum.

- He lingered for days, he suffered.

It is believed that President McKinley was wearing this night shirt while he was recovering.

And what we see on the back is that it was ripped all the way down.

So we kind of assume that it was done in some kind of emergency situation.

- [Narrator] The devoted wife is left alone with advisors, who fear how she will bear the loss.

- They tried to keep her kind of sedated and away from all of the things that were happening.

- [Narrator] As the country mourns, Ida makes a single request of the new president, Teddy Roosevelt.

For time alone with her husband.

The coffin is brought to the house where she stays with him overnight.

- [Michelle] The next morning, there's a funeral held, but again, she's not allowed to be part of that.

- [Narrator] The president is interred under the watchful gaze of armed guards at Westlawn Cemetery.

The first lady will visit her husband daily at the receiving vault, while friends and advisors plan a more permanent home.

Canton, Ohio, where the president is mourned on a very personal level, is the clear choice for a memorial.

- When he came to Canton, he was just William McKinley, who had been the Stark County prosecutor.

You know, he's a guy that lives on Market Avenue.

He is also president.

So the outpouring of sympathy here was intense.

- [Narrator] The grief turns to action.

As the community fills small banks with money for a memorial.

The newly formed McKinley National Memorial Association sets a goal of $600,000.

Inside classrooms throughout the country, small donors make a huge impact.

School kids donate their pennies as a way to celebrate the late president's birthday in January of 1902.

- It's really, really clear just how very heartfelt the sympathy and the affection that the American people had for this president.

Again, he's probably one of the most popular presidents at the time of his death.

- [Narrator] In June of 1903, a national design contest draws more than 60 different designs for the memorial.

Architect Harold Van Buren Magonigle of New York City wins.

In the early 1900s, before the age of drones, birds have the best view of the story told in Magonigle's design.

Flying high above, you can see the dome forming the center of a cross, representing the martyred president.

That cross then becomes the handle of a sword, symbolizing his roles as veteran and commander in chief.

However, the blade of the sword, which used to reflect the monument, is much different today.

- What used to be here at this spot, was a spectacular, what's called a long water.

It was a water feature that was probably one of the main features of the design of the McKinley National Memorial.

There were five pools that descended down to a reflecting pool here at the bottom, where I'm standing, which gave a beautiful reflection of the monument when you came in the driveway here.

- [Narrator] Historian Richard Haldi has fond memories of the long water before 1951.

When the state of Ohio, which owned the Memorial for 30 years, ordered the feature covered, due to problems maintaining it.

Haldi hopes that with advances in filtration and pumps that someday the long water can be restored.

What remains unchanged is the stunning beauty of the dome, made of pink Milford granite.

Massive bronze doors secure the entrance to the mausoleum.

Decorative details lighten the doors, which were the largest cast in the world at the time of installation.

- They provide the beauty to the doorway, but because they are recessed, they reduce the thickness of the doors and make it somewhat lighter to manage.

- [Narrator] Going inside, you are surrounded by beautiful marble, a spirit of hushed reverence descends as you gaze upward to where the couple lies.

- It's often referred to as two sarcophagi, it's really only one large unit made out of a single block, a beautiful marble.

Some of the decorations include the gold panel of Laurel, which represents love conquering death.

And the names, of course, are written, bronze letters covered with gold leaf.

Below that, you can see the heads of lions angry, posed in an angry pose because they are protecting the bodies of the president and his wife.

- [Narrator] Four eagles also protect the tomb.

They look down from above the door's lunette, bearing presidential symbols and each of the marble alcoves.

- [M.J.] And their pose is dramatic, and it is threatening, ready to plunge down at any kind of a warning.

And they add a touch of energy and beauty in an otherwise very austere internal setting.

- [Narrator] At the highest point is a red, white, and blue stained glass window, with 45 stars representing the 45 states at the time of the president's death.

You may assume you are spying a skylight to the outside, but it is really the underside of a dome within a dome, designed to protect from weather and leaks.

- We're going to be going up 50 feet here.

Our first run, there's about three runs.

- [Narrator] Archivist Mark Holland takes us between the interior and exterior walls, where you are surrounded by some of the 2 million bricks, which support the monument.

- We just get a great appreciation for them being up and down these ladders, and these ladders are probably a luxury compared to how they got up and down.

And I'm between the inner dome and the outer dome.

- [Narrator] The climb is not for the faint of heart.

Towards the end, you end up on all fours.

The destination is a small room at the top.

Here, you see the flip side of the stained glass, with small holes that allow a glimpse below.

If you are brave enough, you can scale the final ladder and come at least partially outside, some 100 feet above the ground.

- [Elwin] Let's do it.

- [Narrator] Kent State architecture professor Elwin Robison and Steve Coon, who works in historic restoration, visit the presidential library to see firsthand how the architect planed to execute his vision.

- It's pretty clever, because at the end, they built the dome and then all they had to do was unbolt their tower.

And they probably took it out the front door stick by stick.

- [Narrator] The very detailed, hand-drawn plans show each stone labeled for its precise destination, to be assembled one level at a time like a Lego.

This labor intensive approach would probably not happen today.

- Labor was a lot cheaper.

In today's world, you would probably switch to a precast concrete instead of stone.

And what you would do is you would cast big panels, bring them in by a crane, plop them into position.

Bolt them up.

- It's almost like a Disney world kind of thing.

You know, you go to Disney world, that's a castle, but it's really not like a castle that you would see over in Europe.

It's more to kind of fool and trick you and give you the image of that's what they want.

But this is the real deal.

- We had heavy equipment that could actually, like, move these heavy stones.

But in his day, they just had horses and, you know, sheer brute force to move them.

This is a really impressive building.

He built buildings all over the country, but I'm sure this one was the biggest he ever did.

- [Narrator] Joe Robertson's grandfather, Davey Robertson, is the highly skilled foreman who oversees work on the monument.

- Right there, in the white coveralls.

- [Interviewer] Oh, wow.

- [Narrator] Davey's stone cutting and setting expertise, developed in his native Scotland, makes him ideal for the job.

The crew constructs a massive derrick with a boom arm.

They will use hand cranks to lift each stone into place.

- Once the stone was in place, they'd have bars, they'd have steel bars, and they would push it and they would move it just to get it in the right spot, because every stone sits on top of the other stone.

And if the stone is not in place, then the other stones further down the line are not going to fit right.

So everything's gotta be perfect.

- [Narrator] The workers have no hard hats or guarantee of medical care as they work with the heavy stone that arrives by rail.

- He had been injured a lot of times on different jobs.

At one point, you have a piece of stone fell and actually cut off a couple of toes.

So, you know, it was dangerous, hard work.

And that's what these men did.

- [Narrator] Workers from many nationalities will make their mark on history.

Former slaves from the Southeast arrive, reportedly out of a deep respect for the deceased president, while some criticized McKinley for not doing enough to help Black Americans suffering at the time.

These workers praise McKinley as a Union soldier who fought to end slavery, and as a commander in chief.

- Black people love McKinley because he advocated Black soldiers fighting in the Spanish American war.

Was it political expediency, probably.

But from the Black community's point of view, he is a slight opening, because it's always been about proving ourselves worthy of inclusion in a larger American society.

(upbeat march music) - [Narrator] Two years of hard work pay off on Dedication Day in September of 1907, when thousands celebrate in Canton with a parade and ceremony at the monument.

President Theodore Roosevelt's speech blows away on the windy day.

Sadly, Ida McKinley, who eagerly watched the construction daily, died a few months earlier.

As the years go by, the monument faces challenges to its upkeep.

Steve Coon worked on a large restoration project under his dad at the age of 15.

- Building, really, back then was kind of invisible.

It was so dirty that nobody really noticed it.

Once we cleaned it, and the building literally came back to life, and people saw the beauty of the granite and how the doors look now, that's, it's a focal point of downtown Canton and the park system.

- [Narrator] Visitors to the memorial often do not know that it is privately owned and receives no federal funds for its upkeep.

- We still need help from local people to make sure that we can keep this running well and everything that should be done to the president's resting place.

- [Narrator] The president and his family's story, told inside and outside this treasured building, continues to inspire visitors who take the time to pay attention.

- It's never really sad to me.

It's more of, "Wow, here's a powerful couple "that made it to the very top."

And it was hard for them to do that, but it was a life that was very unique and lovely.

And I feel that when I go in there, and then you even walk outside and you see it's up on that big mountain, you know, and you can see the city and you see the world and it's like this is yours.

What are you going to do with it now?

(soaring inspirational music)