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Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument (New York)
Encyclopedia
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...
. It is located at 89th Street and Riverside Drive in Riverside Park
Riverside Park (Manhattan)
Riverside Park is a scenic waterfront public park on the Upper West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, operated and maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. The park consists of a narrow four-mile strip of land between the Hudson River and the gently...
in the Upper West Side
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 125th Street...
of 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...
. It was dedicated on Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
, 1902.
The white marble monument was designed after a public competition by architects Charles and Arthur Stoughton
Stoughton and Stoughton
Stoughton and Stoughton was a New York-based architectural firm comprising the partnership of Charles and Arthur Alexander Stoughton who were born in Mount Vernon, New York...
. The ornamental features were carved by Paul E. Duboy (1857–1907) who also was the architect of The Ansonia, an apartment building also on the Upper West Side. The monument takes the form of a peripteral Corinthian temple
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
raised on a high base, with a tall cylindrical rusticated
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
cella
Cella
A cella or naos , is the inner chamber of a temple in classical architecture, or a shop facing the street in domestic Roman architecture...
, that carries a low conical roof like a lid, ringed by twelve Corinthian columns
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
. Plinths at the entrance to the raised terrace are incised with the names of the New York volunteer regiments and the battles in which they served, as well as Union generals. The monument measures approximately 29 meters tall.
It stands at the center of a complex sequence of balustraded formal paved terraces and stairs that rationalize the steep natural slopes to north and west. Its siting at a curve in Riverside Drive makes it visible from a distance, a desirable feature for a monument in the City Beautiful movement, of which this Beaux-Arts monument is a prime example.
Its distant forebear is the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates
Choragic Monument of Lysicrates
The Choragic Monument of Lysicrates near the Acropolis of Athens was erected by the choregos Lysicrates, a wealthy patron of musical performances in the Theater of Dionysus to commemorate the award of first prize in 335/334 BCE, to one of the performances he had sponsored...
in Athens, to which it has interposed an attic with sculptured eagles and a base with banded rustication
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
.
The interior, open one day annually at Openhousenewyork
Openhousenewyork
openhousenewyork is a non-profit cultural organization founded in 2001 in New York City, to promote awareness and appreciation of New York's architecture, design and cultural heritage through year-round, educational programs...
, is entirely revetted with the same veined white marble used on the exterior. It is in two stages, with six niches
Niche (architecture)
A niche in classical architecture is an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size, retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse. Nero's Domus Aurea was the first semi-private dwelling that possessed rooms that were given richly varied floor plans, shaped with niches and exedras;...
in the lower stage, corresponding to the exterior basement and an upper stage of tall Corinthian pilasters flanking plain panels; above is a ribbed interior dome with a central lantern. The floor is a mosaic star centered on a bronze relief medallion of the US arms, with crossed oak and laurel sprays.
Since 2004, the monument has served as the home of the Hudson Warehouse
Hudson Warehouse
The Hudson Warehouse is a not-for-profit theatre company in New York City whose mission is "to present the classics in exciting productions inspired by our past and relevant to our present day." Known as "The Other Shakespeare in the Park," the company was founded in 2004 with the intention of...
theatre company.
The colonnade carries an entablature adorned with a full frieze containing the inscriptions "To the memory of the Brave Soldiers and Sailors Who Saved the Union," A cresting of eagles alternating with cartouches surmounts the cornice. The monument terminates in a low conical roof crowned by a richly decorated marble finial.
External links
- 2005 Seth Kugle, "Seeking a Little Respect for a Long-Suffering Monument" New York Times 10 July 2005
- New York Architecture: Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument
- Michael Minn 89th St Soldiers and Sailors Monument
- Riverside Park Fund
- Historical Marker Database