Joan of Arc, Washington, DC
Posted by: 
seventhings
N 38° 55.244 W 077° 02.144
18S E 323517 N 4309950
Joan of Arc is the District of Columbia's only bronze woman on horseback, and is located in Meridian Hill Park.
Waymark Code: WM8KC
Location: District of Columbia, United States
Date Posted: 03/08/2006
Views: 91
The bronze equestrian statue of Joan of Arc sits on top of a five-foot tall granite pedestal at the southern end of the northern section of Meridian Hill Park in the Adams Morgan section of Washington, DC. The figures of Joan and her horse are approximately life-sized. Joan is depicted with a raised sword in her extended right hand, but the sword blade has been lost (probably to vandals). Her (unnamed horse) has two hooves raised – the right front and left rear. The statue was donated by the Women of France to the Women of the United States, and was dedicated in 1922. The statue is a replica of the statue by Paul Dubois at Rheims Cathedral in France, and is the only equestrian statue of a woman in Washington, DC.
Joan of Arc was born in Domremy, France in 1412. Starting at about age 12, she began to experience visions and (she believed) receive instructions from various Saints to lead military forces against France’s enemies (the English and the Burgundians) in the Hundred Years’ War. She convinced the (uncrowned) King Charles VII to allow her to command forces in the relief of Orleans, and was spectacularly successful. Her following military exploits were less successful. She was captured by the Burgundians, turned over to the English, and tried for heresy by a court that was under the control of the invading English forces. The illegal court found her guilty of heresy, and she was burned at the stake in Rouen in 1431 (at age 19). In 1456, Pope Callixtus III vacated her conviction and directed an investigation and posthumous trial that established her innocence and pity. In 1920, Pope Benedict XV canonized Joan as a Saint of the Roman Catholic Church.
To reach the statue from the Washington Monument, go north on 15th Street for about 2.1 miles to the intersection with W Street NW and the southeast corner of Meridian Hill Park. Continue north on 15th Street for another 300 yards to the intersection with Chapin Street leading east. Park on the west side of 15th Street opposite Chapin and enter the park at the gate located there. Walk southwest for about 85 yards to the statue.
Immediately south of the statue is a large, stepped fountain: don’t miss it. Meridian Hill Park is bounded by 16th Street NW on the west, 15th Street NW on the east, W Street NW on the south and Euclid Ave NW on the north. It is also known locally as Malcolm X Park despite the fact that an initiative to change the park’s formal name failed several years ago. Also note: although the park is located in the fairly safe and prosperous neighborhood of Adams Morgan, the park has a reputation as a drug trade center after dark. Meridian Hill Park is administered by the National Park Service: additional information is available at:
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visit link)