Women in Military Service for America Memorial - Arlington, VA
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 38° 52.973 W 077° 04.105
18S E 320588 N 4305813
The memorial honors all women who have served in the the United States armed forces.
Waymark Code: WMW34H
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 07/04/2017
Views: 4
County of building: Arlington County
Location of site: 1 Memorial Drive, Hemicycle, Arlington
Architects: Marion Weiss & Michael Manfredi
Dedicated October 18, 1997
Proper Description: The memorial, located on over four acres of land near the ceremonial entrance to Arlington National Cemetery, is a semicircular granite structure with thirty-two inch deep walls. Staircases leading though the memorial to a terrace represent the barriers women have climbed over to be accepted in the military. There are 108 glass tablets, some of which are engraved with tributes from women veterans, others of which are blank tablets that will be engraved with tributes by future women in the military. Inside the memorial there is a database with information on over 250,000 female veterans. ~ Smithsonian American Art Museum
"The Women in Military Service for America Memorial (WIMSA) is a memorial established by the U.S. federal government which honors women who have served in the United States Armed Forces. The memorial is located at the western end of Memorial Avenue at the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States. The structure in which the memorial is housed was originally known as the Hemicycle, and built in 1932 to be a ceremonial entrance to the cemetery. It never served this purpose, and was in disrepair by 1986. Congress approved the WIMSA memorial in 1985, and the Hemicycle approved as the site for the memorial in 1988. An open design competition was won by New York City architects Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi. Their original design was leaked to the public, and caused significant controversy. Two years of fund-raising and design revision followed. A revised preliminary design was approved in July 1992, and the final design in March 1995. Ground was broken for the memorial in June 1995, and the structure dedicated on October 18, 1997.
"The memorial is notable for its successful mixing of Neoclassical and Modern architecture. The memorial largely retained the Hemicycle, but added a widely praised skylight on the Hemicycle terrace that incorporates not only memorials to servicewomen but also acts as a transition to the memorial below. Construction of the memorial, however, generated a lawsuit when a nearby pylon (part of the gateway to the cemetery) was damaged. Raising funds to pay off the construction debt incurred by the memorial took several years." ~ Wikipedia