Tag: Greek Style

The Washington Monument

The Washington Monument, which is visible from almost everywhere in Washington,
D.C., is truly a city landmark. The 555-foot tall obelisk has punctuated the National Mall
since 1884. It honors George Washington, Father of the United States, who was
unanimously elected the nations first President.

When George Washington died in 1799, Congress praised him as First in war, first in
peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen. Politicians proposed a Washington
monument in the early 1800s, but they disagreed about details. For example, should the
monument include Washingtons tomb? Would it be appropriate to depict him in ancient
Greek style? When a statue was eventually presented, people objected to the half-clad
classical Greek sort of George. Congressional quibbling ultimately led to the creation of a
private monument foundation.

The National Monument Society was formed in 1833. The members raised a considerable
amount of money within a few years, and in 1836 they announced a design competition
for the memorial.

An artist named Robert Mills submitted the winning design. He proposed a 600-foot
obelisk that would protrude from a circular base. The base and obelisk would be
decorated with statues and frescoes of national heroes, including a toga-clad George
Washington in a horse-drawn chariot. In the end, however, the obelisk would be a bit
shorter, and the artists plan for statues and frescoes would not be realized.

The monuments cornerstone was laid amid great celebration in 1848. Ceremonially, the
National Monument Society ensured that the stone was set with the same trowel George
Washington had used when setting the Capitols cornerstone years earlier. The city
celebrated that night with fireworks.

With the cornerstone set, the National Monument Society increased its efforts to fund the
project. Ordinary citizens were urged to pledge $1 each. Businesses, professional
organizations, foreign governments and Native American tribes contributed stones.
Sometimes the stone donations were engraved with messages that didnt speak to the
theme of George Washington; one block of stone read, We will not buy, sell, or use as a
beverage, any spiritous or malt liquors, Wine, Cider, or any other Alcoholic Liquor.
Engraved stones make up interior walls of the hollow monument.

Scandal erupted around a stone donation in 1854, and the entire project came to a halt.
The anti-Catholic Know-Nothing Party stole and smashed a donation made by Pope Pius
IX. They dumped the stone chips into the Potomac River. This resulted in Congress
rescinding an approval for $200,000 in memorial funds. The Know-Nothings then
assumed management of the monument society, but their legacy is unimpressive.
Everything they added to the monument was eventually removed, and no real progress
was made until after the Civil War.

Because of the cut in funding, the monument ended up being shorter than originally
planned, and without the statues envisioned by Mills. A lag in construction time also led
to stone being sourced from different quarry layers, so the coloring of the monument is
not uniform.

Work was finally completed in 1884. The monument, though short of its goal, was the
largest structure in the world until the Eiffel Tower was completed five years later. It was
much larger than the Egyptian obelisks that inspired it; these are typically about 100 feet
tall. The walls were made fifteen feet thick at the base and narrowed to 18 inches near the
top. The monument was capped with a 100-ounce aluminum pyramid. At the time,
aluminum was scarce and was valued like silver. This was the largest cast-aluminum item
in the world.

Starting in 1888, adult male visitors were allowed to travel up the Washington Monument
in a twenty-minute steam-powered elevator ride. Somehow the ride was deemed too risky
for women and children; they would have to climb the 800 stairs for a view!
Progressively speedier elevators were installed since then, and for safety reasons people
are now forbidden to use the stairs.

From the top of the Washington Monument, tourists can see most of Washington, D.C. as
well as parts of Maryland and Virginia. In March and April, flowering cherry trees can be
spotted in West Potomac Park below.

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The Lincoln Memorial

Inside a Greek-style temple, a 19-foot statue of Abraham Lincoln looks out over
Washington, D.C. Above him are the words, In this temple, as in the hearts of the people
for whom he saved the Union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.

Some say that the grandeur of Abraham Lincolns memorial does not suit his style; he
was a modest man why immortalize him in a 99-foot tall Greek temple? But supporters
celebrate his grand achievements. Shortly after Abraham Lincoln became US President,
several states seceded from the Union. Before his presidency ended, Lincoln saw his
country through civil war, preserved its union, and passed the 13th Amendment
abolishing slavery.

The President was assassinated in 1865 just six days after the Confederate General Lee
surrendered. Congress formed the Lincoln Monument Association two years later.
However, they did not choose the site in West Potomac Park until 1901. It was 1911
before they appropriated funds; President Taft approved a bill for $2 million. (The
memorials final cost was $1 million more.) In February of 1914, on Lincolns birthday,
the first stones were set. The white marble memorial was completed in 1922. It was
dedicated on Memorial Day that year, 57 years after the presidents death. Tens of
thousands of people were in attendance, including many veterans from the Civil War.

The work was the collective effort of an architect and several artists. The New York
architect named Henry Bacon designed the building. He chose a Doric Greek style, much
like the Temple of Zeus in Olympia, Greece, complete with the traditional 36 columns.
After constructing the columns, he realized that there had also been 36 states in the nation
at the time of Lincolns death. He then had each column engraved with a state name, and
added above them the names of all 48 states that existed by 1922. (Alaska and Hawaii
were later mentioned on an inscription leading to the memorial.) The building is massive,
with each column measuring more than 23 feet around its base.

From inside the stone building, Lincoln gazes out over the Reflecting Pool and toward
the Washington Monument. His larger-than-life figure appears to be a continuous piece
of marble, but its actually made of 28 interlocking blocks carved by the artist Daniel
French. Several types of marble are used throughout the monument, perhaps to symbolize
Lincolns force for unity; stone is used from Indiana, Colorado, Georgia and Tennessee.
One marble wall features an inscription of the Presidents famous Gettysburg Address.
Another displays his second inaugural speech. The memorial also has murals entitled
Emancipation and Union by Jules Guerin. Ernest Bairstow and Evelyn Longman also
contributed to the memorials carvings.

The building has been used as a backdrop for events related to civil rights. In 1939, the
African American singer Marian Anderson was told by the Daughters of the American
Revolution that she would not sing to an integrated crowd at Washington, D.C.s
Confederate Hall. Eleanor Roosevelt, who immediately resigned her own DAR
membership, suggested the Lincoln Memorial as a stage. Anderson opened her act with
My Country Tis of Thee. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his I Have a Dream
speech at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. This was also the scene of Vietnam protests and
the Million Man March.

The memorial is staffed from 8 a.m. to midnight every day but Christmas. The lower
level of the monument houses a bookstore, restrooms, and the Lincoln Museum, which
was funded with pennies from schoolchildren. At night, spotlights illuminate the outside
of the Lincoln Memorial. The lights seep inside and cast shadows across Lincolns face
for a spectacular view.

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