Women in Military Service for America Memorial
Encyclopedia
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
and honors all women who have served in the United States Armed Forces
United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
. New York architects Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi
Weiss/Manfredi
Weiss/Manfredi is an architectural firm headquartered in New York City, founded by Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi. Weiss currently teaches at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design...
, husband and wife, designed the memorial. Planning for the memorial began as early as 1985, with the groundbreaking occurring 10 years later on June 22, 1995. The Memorial was dedicated on October 18, 1997, and officially opened to the public on October 20, 1997.
Inside the memorial defined by a 30 foot high semicircular retaining wall and outdoor fountain and reflecting pool, and lit in daytime by 138 raised glass panels in the ceiling, the memorial includes exhibits, the Hall of Honor, a computerized Registry, a theater, and offices. The computerized Registry seeks to list all women who have served in the United States armed forces, as well as Cadet Nurses and women from service organizations who served overseas during time of war.
The Hemicycle
The Women's Memorial is located in the ceremonial entrance known as the Arlington Hemicycle. A number of public improvements and memorials were planned for construction in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area for the bicentennial of the birth of George WashingtonGeorge Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, the first President of the United States and American Revolutionary War hero. Among these were Arlington Memorial Bridge
Arlington Memorial Bridge
The Arlington Memorial Bridge in Washington, D.C. crosses the Potomac River, connecting the Lincoln Memorial and Columbia Island. The northeastern end of the bridge marks the western edge of the National Mall...
and the Mount Vernon Memorial Parkway (now known as the George Washington Memorial Parkway
George Washington Memorial Parkway
The George Washington Memorial Parkway, known to local motorists simply as the "G.W. Parkway", is a parkway maintained by the U.S. National Park Service. It is located mostly in Northern Virginia, although a short section northwest of the Arlington Memorial Bridge passes over Columbia Island,...
). To link the Virginia landing of the bridge with Arlington National Cemetery, a wide avenue known as Memorial Drive was constructed and a new entrance to the cemetery constructed to replace the old entrance, the McClellan Gate. Due to expansion of the cemetery toward the Potomac River, the McClellan Gate was now deep inside Arlington, and no longer functional as a ceremonial gateway.
A new ceremonial entry to Arlington, the Hemicycle, was constructed. Carved from the hillside that culminates in Arlington House
Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial
Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, formerly named the Custis-Lee Mansion, is a Greek revival style mansion located in Arlington, Virginia, USA that was once the home of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. It overlooks the Potomac River, directly across from the National Mall in Washington,...
, the Hemicycle is a Neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
semicircle 30 feet (9.1 m) high and 226 feet (68.9 m) in diameter. In the center is an apse 20 feet (6.1 m) across and 30 feet (9.1 m) high. In total, the Hemicycle covers 4.2 acres (1.7 ha). The Hemicycle was constructed of reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
, but faced with granite quarried at Mount Airy, Virginia
Mount Airy, Virginia
Mount Airy is the name of several places in the Commonwealth of Virginia:* Mount Airy, Richmond County, Virginia, a mid-Georgian plantation house built for Col...
. The walls range from 3 in 6 in (1.07 m) thick at the base to 2 in 6 in (0.762 m) at the top. The accent panels and coffers in the apse are inlaid with red granite from Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. The Great Seal of the United States
Great Seal of the United States
The Great Seal of the United States is used to authenticate certain documents issued by the United States federal government. The phrase is used both for the physical seal itself , and more generally for the design impressed upon it...
is carved in granite in the center of the apse arch, while on either side are seals of the United States Department of the Army
United States Department of the Army
The Department of the Army is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Department of the Army is the Federal Government agency which the United States Army is organized within, and it is led by the Secretary of the Army who has...
(south) and the United States Department of the Navy
United States Department of the Navy
The Department of the Navy of the United States of America was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, to provide a government organizational structure to the United States Navy and, from 1834 onwards, for the United States Marine Corps, and when directed by the President, of the...
(north). Along the facade of the Hemicycle were 10 false doors or niches—some up to 5 feet (1.5 m) deep, others just indentations in the wall—which were intended to house sculptures, memorial reliefs, and other artworks (which would act as memorials). The apse itself originally held a fountain, but the intention was to replace this with a major memorial in time.
Memorial Drive diverged north and south at the Hemicycle, passing through wrought iron gates into Arlington National Cemetery. The north gate is named the Schley Gate after Admiral Winfield Scott Schley
Winfield Scott Schley
Winfield Scott Schley was a rear admiral in the United States Navy and the hero of the Battle of Santiago Bay during the Spanish-American War.-Civil War:...
, son of American 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...
Commanding General Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....
and hero of the Battle of Santiago Bay during the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
. The south gate is named the Roosevelt Gate for President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
. In the center of each gate, front and back, is a gold wreath 30 inches (76.2 cm) in diameter. Each wreath cradles the shield of one of the armed services that existed in 1932: The United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
and United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
on Roosevelt Gate, and the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
and United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
on Schley Gate. (The United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
did not exist until 1947.) Each gate is divided into 13 sections by wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
fasces
Fasces
Fasces are a bundle of wooden sticks with an axe blade emerging from the center, which is an image that traditionally symbolizes summary power and jurisdiction, and/or "strength through unity"...
, and above six of the sections are iron spikes topped by gold stars. The granite pillars at either end of the Hemicycle and the pillars on eastern side of each gate are topped by decorative granite funeral urns. The freestanding granite pillar of each gate also is adorned with a gold-gilded lamp.
On top of the Hemicycle was a terrace
Terrace
A terrace may refer to:*Terrace , a leveled surface*Terrace , a raised flat platform*Terrace , a step-like landform that borders a shoreline or river floodplain...
24 feet (7.3 m) wide. Originally, access to the terrace was granted only by going to the south end of the Hemicycle, through a pedestrian gate, and up some stairs. Above each arched entrance to the pedestrian stairs was a granite eagle. But this entrance was never opened, and instead remained locked for more than 50 years.
The Hemicycle was never completed. No parking was available near its entrance, so no automobiles could park nearby. Pedestrians were forced to walk across Arlington Memorial Bridge and down Memorial Drive to access the Hemicycle, or walk from a streetcar
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
station some six blocks south of the entrance. The apse and niches were never filled with art. There rear of the Hemicycle was never developed, and remained a blank wall with a meadow in front of it.
By the 1980s, the Hemicycle was in serious disrepair. It had never been used for any ceremonial purpose, and Arlington officials largely ignored it.
Development of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial
In the early 1980s, women veterans began pressing for a memorial to women in the U.S. armed services. In 1988, the National Capital Memorial Commission, the National Capital Planning CommissionNational Capital Planning Commission
The National Capital Planning Commission is a U.S. government agency that provides planning guidance for Washington, D.C. and the surrounding National Capital Region...
, and the United States Commission of Fine Arts
United States Commission of Fine Arts
The United States Commission of Fine Arts , established in 1910 by an act of Congress, is an advisory agency of the Federal government.The CFA is mandated to review and provide advice on "matters of design and aesthetics", involving federal projects and planning in Washington, D.C...
approved the use of the Hemicycle as a site for the Women in Military Service for America Memorial. It was the first time a memorial to the living—rather than the dead—on the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery. Marion Gail Weiss and Michael Manfredi
Weiss/Manfredi
Weiss/Manfredi is an architectural firm headquartered in New York City, founded by Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi. Weiss currently teaches at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design...
won a national design competition for the memorial, and the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts voted unanimously for this design on April 6, 1995. The memorial was built in 1997.
Weiss and Manfredi's design created an artificial hill behind the Hemicycle, and buried the 33000 square feet (3,065.8 m²) women's memorial underground. The terrace behind the Hemicycle was incorporated into the memorial. As pedestrians walk along this rampart, they see 138 glass panels raised upward at an angle on the cemetery-facing side. Inscribed on these panels are quotations from some of the most famous women in U.S. Armed Forces history. (Many panels remain blank, to be inscribed in the future.) The raised panels also form a skylight which allows light to fall into the display room below, where the history of women in the armed forces is documented. At night, light from the display room shines upward through this skylight, helping to create an ethereal glow behind the Hemicycle. Also underground, further into the cemetery, are the gift shop, conference rooms, a theater, and the offices of the memorial.
Weiss and Manfredi utilized the 10 false niches along the Hemicycle's eastward-facing side to provide an entrance to the memorial. They pierced two of these on each side of the Hemicycle, and created stairs up to the terrace and to the interior of the memorial itself. To soften the severity of the plaza in front of the Hemicycle, a 200-nozzle fountain was placed in the apse. A reflecting pool was built in the center of the Hemicycle (which previously had just been a small circle of ill-kept, often dead grass). A short granite-enclosed spillway leads from the fountain to the reflecting pool, and a walkway was built around the reflecting pool to allow access to the entire Hemicycle and the entrances to the memorial.
External links
- Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation Web site
- Arlington National Cemetery Web unofficial website: Women In Military Service For America Memorial