Home > District of Columbia > Washington > District of Columbia War Memorial, West Potomac Park, Washington, District of Columbia, DC
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Item Title
District of Columbia War Memorial, West Potomac Park, Washington, District of Columbia, DC
LocationWest Potomac Park,
Washington, DC
Find maps of Washington, DC
Created/Published
Documentation compiled after 1933.
Notes
Survey number HABS DC-857
Unprocessed field note material exists for this structure (N994).
Building/structure dates:
1931 initial construction
Significance: The District of Columbia War Memorial was built to commemorate the citizens of the District of Columbia who served in World War I. Authorized by an Act of Congress in 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 Armistice Day of that year. It was the first war memorial to be erected in West Potomac Park, and remains the only local D.C. memorial on the National Mall.Designed by Washington architect Frederick H. Brooke, with the assistance of Washington architects Horace W. Peaslee and Nathan C. Wyeth, the district of Columbia War Memorial is a 47-foot tall circular, domed, Doric temple. Resting on concrete foundations, the four-foot high marble base defines a platform, 43'-5" in diameter, intended for use as a bandstand. 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'-tall fluted Doric marble columns support the entablature and dome.
Subjects
War (World War I)Circular BuildingsMemorials
Related Names
Brooke, Frederick H.
Peaslee, Horace W.
Wyeth, Nathan C.
James Baird Co.
Guastavino (Tile) Company
Schara, Mark, Field Team
Davidson, Paul, Field Team
Righi, Andrea, Field Team
O'Connell, Kristen, Historian
Boucher, Jack E., Photographer
Rosenthal, James, Photographer
Collection
Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)
Contents
Photograph caption(s):
South elevation, from above
Detail of dome, from above
South elevation
South elevation
South elevation
South elevation
West elevation
North elevation
Detail of northwest medallion at base (Great Seal of the United States)
Detail of west medallion at base (Seal of the District of Columbia)
Detail of southwest medallion at base (emblem of the U.S. Navy)
Detail of southeast medallion at base (emblem of U.S. Marine Corps)
Detail of east medallion at base (emblem from Victory Medal)
Detail of northeast medallion at base (emblem of U.S. Coast Guard)
Detail of eagle at frieze on north elevation
View of interior dome from below
View of interior dome from below
View of keystone-raising mechanism in interior space between exterior and interior domes
Detail of keystone and pulley
Detail of keystone
Detail of pulley and counterweight
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