District of Columbia War Memorial, south elevation, November 2001.
The District of Columbia War Memorial commemorates the citizens of the District of
Columbia who served in World War I. The memorial stands in West Potomac Park slightly off of 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, 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 (14.3 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 (13.2 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.
The memorial is administered by the National Park Service under its
National Mall and Memorial Parks unit.
References
External links
Coordinates:
38°53′15″N, 77°2′37″W
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