The Making of the Defenders Arch

The Defenders Arch (aka Soldiers and Sailors Arch) at the entrance to Prospect Park at Flatbush and Eastern Parkway has a rocky history, we were interested to learn. According to a fascinating article in the most recent issue of the Park Slope Reader, the park’s architect, Calvert Vaux, originally filled the plaza with plants and small statues. While the park was a hit, the plaza design flopped when it was completed in 1873, and in 1889 Brooklyn Mayor Seth Low held a competition for a monument to fill the space. A classic Roman-style design by John Hemenway Duncan (who would later design Grant’s Tomb) was chosen but also failed to win the public’s admiration and so Stanford White was called in to do some damage control. With the help of Frederick ManMonnies, architect and master sculptor, White oversaw the addition of new statues and structural additions to house them. By 1902, the arch as we know it was completed, though the oval site on which it sits did not start being called Grand Army Plaza until 1926. In 1973, the arch received landmark status.
Story of a Brooklyn Icon [Park Slope Reader]