Tag: statues

Allegorical Figures, American Leaders, Monumental History, National Mall

Lincoln Memorial

“This Memorial is less for Abraham Lincoln than those of us today, and for those who follow after.”

The Lincoln Memorial is the most visited monument in Washington, D.C. According to the National Park Service statistics, nearly 8 million people visited the memorial in 2015. The site is open to the public all day, every day, and it is rare to see it without any visitors. Thousands of drivers pass it every day coming to or from Arlington or West Potomac Park.

Plans for the construction of a monument to Lincoln began less than three years after his death. Clark Mills – the sculptor of the Andrew Jackson statue in Lafayette Park and George Washington’s at Washington Circle – was chosen for the task. His design called for a monument 70 feet high with 36 bronze sculptures, including six equestrian statues. At the top would have been Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation. The monument, which would have stood next to the Capitol, was never made due to a lack of funds.

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International Figures, Monumental History

Samuel Hahnemann

“The physician’s highest calling, his only calling, is to make sick people healthy.”

In a triangular park on the east side of Scott Circle is one of the least known and most beautiful monuments in Washington. Bounded by Corregidor Street, Massachusetts Avenue, and Rhode Island Avenue, the bronze statue of Hahnemann – the progenitor of homeopathy – faces west toward the monuments to General Winfield Scott and Daniel Webster.

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Dedication of the Hahnemann Monument

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Allegorical Figures, Monumental History

Civil War Monuments

“Death comes to all, but great achievements build a monument which shall endure until the sun grows cold.”

Most prominent among the statuary found around Washington are those of Civil War generals. Of the 18 grouped together by the National Register of Historic Places, half of them are equestrian statues. Only three of the non-equestrian statues are dedicated to a single individual. Not included on the list – but more than worthy of inclusion – is the African American Civil War Memorial that was completed 70 years after the last memorial was built.

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Ten of the 18 monuments had dedication ceremonies that were attended by sitting presidents; three didn’t even have a ceremony. The first was dedicated in 1874 (nine years after the end of the war) and the last (before the African American Civil War Memorial was built) was dedicated in 1927. Read more for quick facts about these 19 monuments. Continue reading “Civil War Monuments”

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American Leaders, Monumental History

John Aaron Rawlins

“We will stand by the flag of our country and appeal to the God of Battles!”

In a quiet park in Foggy Bottom, between 18th and 19th Streets NW, stands the statue of General John A. Rawlins. South of the General Services Administration and north of the Department of the Interior, the park doesn’t see many visitors even though it has a fountain, two reflecting pools, and plenty of benches. The park is also lined with tulip magnolias, which put on a vivid show of pink blossoms in March.

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American Leaders, Monumental History, Revolutionary War

Washington Circle

“First in war – first in peace – and first in the hearts of his countrymen”

Sandwiched between West End and Foggy Bottom, at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and New Hampshire Avenue, is Washington Circle. Two concentric circles of sidewalk ring the equestrian statue Lieutenant General George Washington that stands in the middle of the park. Benches line the sidewalks and trees provide shade for pedestrians and students from nearby George Washington University.

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International Figures, Libertadores, Monumental History

General José Gervasio Artigas Arnal

“Liberty of America is my design and its attainment my only objective.”

In a small park at the intersection of Constitution and Virginia Avenues stands one of the early leaders of South American independence, José Gervasio Artigas Arnal. Crowned by a copse of trees and frequently flanked by tour buses, this 9-foot bronze statue is often overlooked despite the heavy traffic that swarms around it.

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American Leaders, Monumental History, National Mall

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial

“With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.”

In the middle of a crescent-shaped park in South West D.C., a 30-foot granite sculpture of Martin Luther King, Jr. rises above its surroundings and peers south across the tidal basin. At all hours of the day visitors come to the park to pay their respects to the man who helped lead the civil rights movement of the 1960s and to learn why his legacy is so important to the United States.

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