The Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch is a New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 memorial "To the Defenders of the Union, 1861-1865

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

". The eastern end with a stairway to the observation deck and crowning sculpture is open to the public, while the remainder of the interior is sometimes opened for art shows and performances (the western end with degraded stairway is only used for storage).

History

An August 6, 1889, William R. Ware and Charles B. Atwood, who had been appointed by the Soldiers and Sailors Monument Commission, selected John H. Duncan

John H. Duncan

-Biography:He was the designer of the Wolcott Hotel. One of the most famous architects in the United States at the turn of the 20th century, his popularity rose after being selected as the architect of what is now Grant's Tomb, another "reconstruction" of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus .Another of...

's design for the arch from 36 designs submitted the previous year. In collaboration with architect Stanford White, Samuel Parsons

Samuel Parsons

Samuel H. Parsons Jr. . Parsons was a well-known American landscape architect remembered primarily for his "Beaux-Arts" designs in New York City, the development of Central Park, San Diego’s Balboa Park, and for serving as a founding member to the American Society of Landscape Architects...

 and Calvert Vaux

Calvert Vaux

Calvert Vaux , was an architect and landscape designer. He is best remembered as the co-designer , of New York's Central Park....

 produced the arch beginning with two and a half months of site preparation; then William Tecumseh Sherman

William Tecumseh Sherman

William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...

 was the speaker at the 1889 cornerstone, and President Grover Cleveland

Grover Cleveland

Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...

 lead the 1892 unveiling.

The McKim, Mead and White firm recommended the bronze statues for the City Beautiful movement

City Beautiful movement

The City Beautiful Movement was a reform philosophy concerning North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of using beautification and monumental grandeur in cities. The movement, which was originally associated mainly with Chicago,...

, and park Commissioner Frank Squire engaged Frederick MacMonnies 1894 to design the three bronze sculptural groupings. The interior arch faces have bas-reliefs of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

 by Thomas Eakins

Thomas Eakins

Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator...

 and of Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

 by William O' Donovan that were added in 1895. Also added in 1895 by sculptor Frederick MacMonniesare the Army and Navy sculptures and the allegorical crowning sculpture which depicts, following victorious combat (the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

) by the winged goddess of victory with instruments of war--sword, colors, flag staff, and quadriga

Quadriga

A quadriga is a car or chariot drawn by four horses abreast . It was raced in the Ancient Olympic Games and other contests. It is represented in profile as the chariot of gods and heroes on Greek vases and in bas-relief. The quadriga was adopted in ancient Roman chariot racing...

 (the Union Army)--winged attendants removing 2 of the 4 quadriga horses for peacetime use (postbellum recovery) while trumpeting the victory and freedom (Emancipation

Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution officially abolished and continues to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. It was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, passed by the House on January 31, 1865, and adopted on December 6, 1865. On...

).

The arch was designated a landmark in 1973,http://www.prospectpark.org/about/history/historic_places/h_gap and the crowning sculpture was restored after the chariot's figure fell out in 1976.