Building of the Day: Soldier's & Sailor's Monument

The BOTD is a no-frills look at interesting structures of all types and from all neighborhoods. There will be old, new, important, forgotten, public, private, good and bad. Whatever strikes our fancy. We hope you enjoy.

Address: Grand Army Plaza
Name: Soldier’s and Sailor’s Monument: the Arch
Neighborhood: Park Slope
Year Built: 1889-92, basic arch, 1894-1901 present version
Architectural Style: Textbook Neo-Classical
Architects: John Duncan (1889-92 version) McKim, Mead & White (1894-1901)
Landmarked: Yes

Why chosen: In 1889, influential Brooklynite Seth Low sponsored a competition for something special honoring the Union dead in the elliptical entrance to Prospect Park. Winner John Duncan, who would later design Grant’s Tomb, designed an 80’x80′ granite arch. It was dedicated in 1892, and was very plain, unadorned, and unpopular. In an attempt to beautify the entrance, Parks Commissioner George Brower hired McKim, Mead & White to design the rest of the entrance to the park. In 1894, Stanford White and sculptor Frederick MacMonnies started on the arch. White added shelves to support statues, and bronze relief panels were placed on the inner walls depicting Lincoln and Grant. MacMonnies carved more reliefs in the spandrels, but it is his three groups of bronze sculptures on the arch itself that make this one of America’s finest works of public art. The sculptures on the piers of the arch are called The Army: Genius of Patriotism Urging American Soldiers on to Victory, and The Navy: American Sailors boarding a Vessel at Sea Urged on by the Genius of Patriotism. The most famous and visible work is on top of the arch, and is called The Triumphal Progress of Columbia. This composition is called a quadria, because the figure of Columbia, holding the Great Seal of the United States, is in a chariot pulled by four horses, accompanied by two trumpeting angels. It was installed in 1898. The Army and Navy groups were dedicated in 1901. In 1976, Columbia fell out of the chariot, crashing to the ground. The sculptures and the rest of the arch were restored in 1980, and again in 2000. Today, even though most of the symbolism is now forgotten, the Arch is still one of the most impressive sights in the entire city, and the crown jewel of Brooklyn.