Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Arch, Brooklyn, New York
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member LeoGeo
N 40° 40.380 W 073° 58.188
18T E 587068 N 4502968
Late-19th-century monumental arch dedicated "To The Defenders Of The Union 1861-1865" in Brooklyn's Grand Army Plaza.
Waymark Code: WMAF92
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 01/08/2011
Published By:Groundspeak Regular Member Sprinterman
Views: 13

This arch, modeled on Paris's Arc de Triomphe, was proposed by Frederic Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux (who also designed the adjacent Prospect Park, as well as Manhattan's Central Park), and designed by John H. Duncan (who later designed Grant's Tomb), and was dedicated in 1892. The large sculptural groups, by Frederick MacMonnies, were added 1898-1901.

The arch is located in Grand Army Plaza, where several major streets intersect, including Atlantic Ave., Flatbush Ave., Eastern Parkway, Union St., and Prospect Park West. (The plaza is not to be confused with Manhattan's identically-named Grand Army Plaza, which is at the southeast corner of Central Park.)

The main inscription reads: "To The Defenders Of The Union 1861-1865".

The sculptural groups added after the arch's original dedication include a "Quadriga" (a four-horse chariot carrying Columbia and two figures of Victory, like that on Berlin's Brandenburg Gate and several other famous arches) on top; soldiers on the proper right; and sailors on the proper left.

On September 11, 2001, it was possible to stand on the sidewalk across Flatbush Avenue from the nearby Brooklyn Public Library and view the burning World Trade Center towers through the center of the arch, under the inscription.

A large farmers' market takes place here on weekends.
Date Installed or Dedicated: 10/21/1892

Name of Government Entity or Private Organization that built the monument: Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument Commission (City of Brooklyn, which was not part of New York City before 1898)

Union, Confederate or Other Monument: Union

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