NPR : Present at the Creation: "Monopoly. The Hollywood Sign. 'The Raven.' The Lincoln Memorial. Overalls. 'New York, New York.'

NPR : Present at the Creation: "Monopoly. The Hollywood Sign. 'The Raven.' The Lincoln Memorial. Overalls. 'New York, New York.' Those and dozens of other uniquely American icons will be the subject of a year-long NPR series called Present at the Creation.

Present at the Creation grew out of the success of the Peabody Award-winning NPR 100 series featuring the most important American musical works of the 20th century. The new series will examine the creative process behind the designs, sounds, images and writings that helped shape American culture.

Initially, members of the NPR News and Cultural Programming staffs compiled a long list of creative works that included visual arts, film, television, music, photography, games, advertising, literature, fictional characters, places and monuments. Nominations had to meet two of the following three criteria: 1) The work had to be widely recognized. 2) It had to have been created in order to express an idea or value. 3) It had to have moved people or inspired awe. "