District of Columbia War Memorial
District of Columbia War Memorial
District of Columbia War Memorial is located in Central Washington, D.C.
District of Columbia War Memorial
LocationIndependence Ave. between 17th & 23rd Sts., Washington, D.C., United States
Coordinates38°53′15.32″N 77°02′36.6″W / 38.8875889°N 77.043500°W / 38.8875889; -77.043500
Built1931
ArchitectFrederick H. Brooke,
Horace W. Peaslee,
Nathan C. Wyeth
Architectural styleDoric order
NRHP reference No.14000388
Added to NRHPJuly 11, 2014

The District of Columbia War Memorial commemorates the citizens of the District of Columbia who served in World War I. Located on the National Mall, it was constructed in 1931 as a domed, peristyle Doric temple.

History

The memorial at night.

The memorial was built to honor World War I soldiers that died in the war. It stands in West Potomac Park slightly off Independence Avenue in a grove of trees. Authorized by an act of Congress on June 7, 1924, funds to construct the memorial were provided by the contributions of both organizations and individual citizens of the District. Construction of the memorial began in the spring of 1931, and the memorial was dedicated by President Herbert Hoover on November 11, 1931 (Armistice Day). It was the first war memorial to be erected in West Potomac Park, part of the National Mall near the Lincoln Memorial, and remains the only local District memorial on the National Mall.

Designed by Washington architect Frederick H. Brooke, with Horace W. Peaslee and Nathan C. Wyeth as associate architects, the District of Columbia War Memorial is in the form of a 47-foot (14 m) tall circular, domed, peristyle Doric temple. Resting on concrete foundations, the 4-foot (1.2 m) high marble base defines a platform, 43 feet 5 inches (13.23 m) in diameter, intended for use as a bandstand. Preserved in the cornerstone of the District of Columbia World War Memorial is a list of 26,000 Washingtonians who served in the Great War. Inscribed on the base are the names of the 499 District of Columbia citizens who lost their lives in the war, together with medallions representing the branches of the armed forces. Twelve 22-foot (6.7 m) tall fluted Doric marble columns support the entablature and dome.

In September 2008, Rep. Ted Poe of Texas, with the support of Frank Buckles, then the last living US veteran of World War I, proposed a bill in Congress stating the memorial should be expanded and designated the national memorial to World War I.[1][2][3]

In July 2010, the National Park Service announced that restoration work, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, would soon begin on the memorial.[4] Work began in October 2010,[5] and the memorial reopened on November 10, 2011.[6] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.[7]

The memorial is administered by the National Park Service under its National Mall and Memorial Parks unit.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Courson, Paul (2009-12-03). "Last U.S. veteran of World War I testifies for memorial". CNN. Archived from the original on 2012-10-05.
  2. ↑ Henry, Beth (2009-12-04). "Buckles seeks dedication of national WWI memorial". The Journal. Archived from the original on 2011-09-14. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
  3. ↑ "Frank Buckles World War I Memorial Act". OpenCongress. Archived from the original on 2009-02-12. Retrieved 2009-03-10.
  4. ↑ "World War I memorial to get stimulus-funded makeover". Washington Times. Associated Press. 2010-07-18. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
  5. ↑ "Renovations begin on neglected World War I memorial on National Mall". CNN. 2010-10-11. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
  6. ↑ "WWI memorial reopens". The Washington Post. 2011-11-03. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
  7. ↑ "Weekly list of actions, 7/7/14 through 7/11/14". National Park Service. Retrieved 2014-07-28.

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