Daniel Webster Memorial | |
Location | Washington, D.C. |
---|---|
Coordinates | 38°54′26″N77°2′14.2″W / 38.90722°N 77.037278°W |
Built | 1900 |
Architect | Gaetano Trentanove (sculptor) Unknown (architect) Fonderia Galli (founder) |
Architectural style | Neoclassical |
NRHP reference No. | 07001063 [1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | October 12, 2007 |
Designated CP | August 25, 1978 (Sixteenth Street Historic District) April 24, 1997 (L'Enfant Plan) |
Designated DCIHS | February 22, 2007 |
The Daniel Webster Memorial is a monument in Washington, D.C., honoring U.S. statesman and lawyer Daniel Webster. It is located near Webster's former house, beside Scott Circle, at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, N Street, and Rhode Island Avenue NW. The person who commissioned the memorial was Stilson Hutchins, founder of The Washington Post , who greatly admired Webster. Congress approved the memorial in 1898 and the dedication ceremony took place in January 1900. Amongst the attendees at the ceremony were President William McKinley and his cabinet, members of Congress, and Supreme Court justices.
The 12-foot tall (3.7 m) bronze statue rests on an 18-foot (5.5 m) granite pedestal on the west side of Scott Circle. The statue depicts Webster as an orator. The pedestal features two bas-reliefs, one depicting the Webster–Hayne debate and the other Webster speaking at the Bunker Hill Monument dedication ceremony. There are inscriptions describing Webster's life and the sculptor's name. The memorial was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites in 2007. It is also a contributing property to the Sixteenth Street Historic District and the L'Enfant Plan, both of which are listed on the NRHP.
Daniel Webster (1782-1852) was a lawyer and politician who served in the House of Representatives and Senate, and served as Secretary of State twice. He was known as a great statesman and orator, which he often demonstrated in the Senate and in front of the Supreme Court. Some of the landmark cases Webster won in the Supreme Court include Dartmouth College v. Woodward , McCulloch v. Maryland , and Gibbons v. Ogden . In total, Webster spent 23 years serving in Congress, and served as Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, and Millard Fillmore. [2] [3]
To honor Webster in the nation's capital, it was proposed to build a memorial to him somewhere in the city. Scott Circle, a traffic circle located a few block north of the White House, already had the equestrian statue of Winfield Scott. There were two small lots on each side of the circle, and it was here where the memorial to Webster and the Samuel Hahnemann Monument would be located. [3] [4]
The person responsible for the idea of a memorial was Stilson Hutchins, founder of The Washington Post , who lived near Scott Circle and was a native of New Hampshire like Webster. Hutchins greatly admired Webster and told members of Congress he would pay for a statue to honor the man. Congress approved the commission on July 1, 1898, and allocated $4,000 to build the pedestal. [5] The architect chosen for the memorial is unknown, but the sculptor was Italian-American Gaetano Trentanove, whose other works in the city include the statue of Jacques Marquette in the National Statuary Hall Collection and the Albert Pike Memorial. He attended academies in Florence and Parma, before moving to the U.S. and later becoming a U.S. citizen. [3] The founder for the project was Fonderia Galli, who also worked on the Pike memorial. [5]
The date chosen for the memorial dedication ceremony was January 18, 1900, exactly 118 years since Webster was born. [3] The dedication took place at the Lafayette Square Opera House whilst the unveiling took place at the memorial site. Amongst the dignitaries in attendance were President William McKinley and his cabinet, members of Congress, and Supreme Court justices. The event began with a prayer from William Henry Milburn, a blind clergyman who was Chaplain of the United States Senate at the time. New Hampshire Senator William E. Chandler spoke on behalf of Congress, officially accepting the memorial. Secretary of the Navy John Davis Long accepted the memorial on behalf of the American people. Henry N. Couden, who was serving as Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives, delivered a benediction before the memorial was unveiled by Webster's great-grandon, Jerome Bonaparte, along with Hutchins' wife and a young lady, Katherine Deering. [6]
On February 22, 2007, the memorial was added to the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on October 12, 2007. The memorial is also designated a contributing property to the Sixteenth Street Historic District, listed on the NRHP on August 25, 1978, and the L'Enfant Plan, listed on April 24, 1997. [7] [8]
The Daniel Webster statue is located on Reservation 62, a small parcel of land on the west side of Scott Circle. On the opposite side of the circle in Reservation 64 is the Samuel Hahnemann Monument. The equestrian statue of Winfield Scott, in Reservation 63, stands in the middle of the circle. [3] [9] The three monuments create a bowtie effect with the layout of Scott Circle. [7] Reservation 62 is at the intersection of N Street, Massachusetts Avenue, and Rhode Island Avenue NW. The statue is facing east towards Scott Circle. [3] The location of the statue is near Webster's former residence at 1603 Massachusetts Avenue NW. [4]
The bronze statue is approximately 12 feet tall (3.7 m), 4 feet wide (1.2 m), and 3 foot deep (0.9 m). [5] [9] It depicts Webster as an orator and, according to historian James Moore Goode, "The shoulders are thrown back in a defiant manner as if in answer to a challenge." [2] Historian Eve L. Barsoum said his face "portrays an intensity and sternness, indicative of his litigious and oratory skills. [3] Webster's right hand is holding a book, which rests on a stand. His clothing includes a long cape draped around his shoulders featuring epaulets. [3]
The rose granite pedestal is approximately 18 feet tall (5.5 m) and 14 feet (4.3 m) on each side. [5] The memorial's total height is 30 feet and reflects neoclassical architecture. [2] [3] On the pedestal are two bronze bas-reliefs, one on the west side and one on the east side, that portray pivotal moments of Webster's life. The bas-relief on the east side depicts the 1830 Webster–Hayne debate, a debate in the U.S. Senate between Webster and Robert Y. Hayne, and includes over 100 additional people in relief. The second bas-relief depicts Webster delivering a dedication speech from a flag-draped balcony at the Bunker Hill Monument in 1843. [2] [5] There is a quote from the illustrated speeches above each bas-relief. [5]
The inscription reads: [10]
G. Trentanove F. Galli Fuseri, Firenze 1898 Italia
(Front of base:)
DANIEL WEBSTER
LIBERTY AND UNION
NOW AND FOREVER
ONE AND INSEPARABLE
(Proper left bottom:)
BORN AT
SALISBURY, N.H.
JAN 18, 1782
DIED AT
MARSHFIELD MASS
OCT. 24, 1852
(Bottom rear:)
GIVEN BY STILLSON HUTCHINS
A NATIVE OF N.H.
DEDICATED JAN. 18, 1900
(Rear top:)
OUR COUNTRY
OUR WHOLE COUNTRY
AND NOTHING BUT
OUR COUNTRY
(Proper right, bottom:)
EXPOUNDER
AND DEFENDER
OF THE CONSTITUTION
Thomas Circle is a traffic circle in Northwest Washington, D.C., United States. It is located at the intersection of 14th Street, M Street, Massachusetts Avenue, and Vermont Avenue NW. A portion of Massachusetts Avenue travels through a tunnel underneath the circle. The interior of the circle includes the equestrian statue of George Henry Thomas, a Union Army general in the Civil War.
The James A. Garfield Monument stands on the grounds of the United States Capitol in Garfield Circle, a traffic circle at First Street and Maryland Avenue SW in Washington, D.C. It is a memorial to U.S. President James A. Garfield, who was elected in 1880 and assassinated in 1881 after serving only four months of his term. The perpetrator was an attorney and disgruntled office-seeker named Charles J. Guiteau. Garfield lived for several weeks after the shooting, but eventually succumbed to his injuries. The monument is part of a three-part sculptural group near the Capitol Reflecting Pool, including the Peace Monument and the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial in Union Square. The monument is also a contributing property to the National Mall and L'Enfant Plan, both of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites. The bronze statue rests on a granite pedestal that features three sculptures, each one representing a time period in Garfield's life.
The Peace Monument, also known as the Navy Monument, Naval Monument or Navy-Peace Monument, stands on the western edge of the United States Capitol Complex in Washington, D.C. It is in the middle of Peace Circle, where First Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW intersect. The surrounding area is Union Square, which the monument shares with the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial, James A. Garfield Monument, and the Capitol Reflecting Pool. The front of the monument faces west towards the National Mall while the east side faces the United States Capitol.
The John Paul Jones Memorial, also known as Commodore John Paul Jones, is a monument in West Potomac Park, Washington, D.C. The memorial honors John Paul Jones, the United States' first naval war hero, and received the Congressional Gold Medal after the American Revolutionary War ended. Jones allegedly said "I have not yet begun to fight!" during the Battle of Flamborough Head.
Major General John A. Logan, also known as the General John A. Logan Monument and Logan Circle Monument, is an equestrian statue in Washington, D.C., that honors politician and Civil War general John A. Logan. The monument is sited in the center of Logan Circle, a traffic circle and public park in the Logan Circle neighborhood. The statue was sculpted by artist Franklin Simmons, whose other prominent works include the Peace Monument and statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection. The architect of the statue base was Richard Morris Hunt, designer of prominent buildings including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and The Breakers in Newport, Rhode Island. Prominent attendees at the dedication ceremony in 1901 included President William McKinley, members of his cabinet, Senator Chauncey Depew, Senator Shelby Moore Cullom, and General Grenville M. Dodge.
The Luther Monument is a public artwork located in front of Luther Place Memorial Church in Washington, D.C., United States. The monument to Martin Luther, the theologian and Protestant Reformer, is a bronze, full-length portrait. It is a copy of the statue created by Ernst Friedrich August Rietschel as part of the 1868 Luther Monument in Worms, Germany. The version in Washington, D.C., inspired the installation of many other castings across the U.S. The statue is a contributing property to the Luther Place Memorial Church's listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites (DCIHS). It is also a contributing property to the Greater Fourteenth Street Historic District, which is also listed on the NRHP and DCIHS.
Edmund Burke is a bronze, full-length statue of British statesman, author, orator, political theorist, and philosopher Edmund Burke by British artist James Havard Thomas. The original statue is in Bristol, England, with a second cast in Washington, D.C. The statue in Washington, D.C., stands in Burke Park, at the intersection of 11th Street, L Street, and Massachusetts Avenue NW, on the southern border of the Shaw neighborhood. The statue was a gift from the Charles Wakefield, 1st Viscount Wakefield, on behalf of the Sulgrave Institution, an organization that wanted to celebrate United Kingdom–United States relations. One way the group did this was by exchanging statues and busts between the two countries.
Lieutenant General George Washington is an 1860 equestrian statue of George Washington, at Washington Circle, at the edge of the George Washington University's campus, in Washington, D.C. The statue was sculpted by Clark Mills, who also created the equestrian statue of Andrew Jackson in front of the White House. The traffic circle where the statue is located was one of the original city designs by Pierre Charles L'Enfant. The statue and surrounding park are in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood at the intersection of 23rd Street, New Hampshire Avenue, and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. The K Street NW underpass runs beneath the circle.
Major General George B. McClellan is an equestrian statue in Washington, D.C. that honors politician and Civil War general George B. McClellan. The monument is sited on a prominent location in the Kalorama Triangle neighborhood due to efforts made by area residents. The statue was sculpted by American artist Frederick William MacMonnies, a graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts whose best known work is a statue of Nathan Hale in New York City. MacMonnies was chosen to design the statue following a lengthy competition organized by a statue commission, led by then Secretary of War William Howard Taft. The monument was dedicated in 1907, with prominent attendees at the ceremony including President Theodore Roosevelt, New York City mayor George B. McClellan Jr., politicians, generals and thousands of military personnel.
Major General Marquis Gilbert de Lafayette is a statue in the southeast corner of Lafayette Square, in Washington, D.C., near the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Madison Place, across the street from the White House. The statue was erected in 1891 to honor Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, and his contributions in the American Revolutionary War. The square, originally part of the President's Park, was named in honor of the Marquis in 1824 during a visit he made to the U.S. The statuary was made by Alexandre Falguière and Antonin Mercié, and the architect who designed the marble pedestal was Paul Pujol. The monument comprises a bronze statue of the Marquis de Lafayette about 11 ft (3.4 m) high, standing on a French marble pedestal with four faces decorated with classical mouldings, accompanied by seven additional bronze statues, all larger than life size.
Major General George Henry Thomas, also known as the Thomas Circle Monument, is an equestrian sculpture in Washington, D.C. that honors Civil War general George Henry Thomas. The monument is located in the center of Thomas Circle, on the border of the downtown and Logan Circle neighborhoods. It was sculpted by John Quincy Adams Ward, best known for his work on the statue of George Washington in Wall Street, Manhattan. Attendees at the dedication in 1879 included President Rutherford B. Hayes, Generals Irvin McDowell, Philip Sheridan, and William Tecumseh Sherman, senators and thousands of soldiers.
Brevet Lt. General Winfield Scott is an equestrian statue in Washington, D.C., that honors career military officer Winfield Scott. The monument stands in the center of Scott Circle, a traffic circle and small park at the convergence of 16th Street, Massachusetts Avenue and Rhode Island Avenue NW. The statue was sculpted by Henry Kirke Brown, whose best-known works include statues of George Washington in New York and Nathanael Greene in Washington, D.C. It was the first of many sculptures honoring Civil War generals that were installed in Washington, D.C.'s traffic circles and squares and was the second statue in the city to honor Scott.
Doctor John Witherspoon is a bronze sculpture and granite pedestal which depicts John Witherspoon, a Presbyterian minister, member of Congress, and signer of the Declaration of Independence. Born in Scotland, Witherspoon immigrated to the U.S. in the 1760s and later became president of the College of New Jersey. He strongly supported the Thirteen Colonies in their fight to obtain freedom from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
The statue of John Barry commemorates the "Father of the United States Navy", Commodore John Barry (1745-1806). Barry was an Irish-born sailor who joined the American colonists in fighting for independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Barry became the first commission by the Second Continental Congress. He captained several ships during the war, and not only fought in the Continental Navy, but also the Continental Army. He was the first American to capture an enemy ship and was promoted to commodore by President George Washington in 1794. Barry's last ship, the United States, fought in the Quasi-War. He retired in 1801, but remained head of the United States Navy until his death in 1806.
Major General Nathanael Greene is a bronze equestrian statue honoring Nathanael Greene, a military leader during the American Revolutionary War. Greene was from modern-day Rhode Island and after laws passed by the Kingdom of Great Britain, along with the burning of one of his ships, Greene formed a state militia. He was later promoted to brigadier general in the Continental Army where he became a trusted adviser to Commander-in-Chief General George Washington. Greene played an active role during the war, participating in battles, sieges, and campaigns from New England to the Southern Colonies. For his service to the war, Greene was offered free land and settled in Georgia with his family. He died a few years later from a heatstroke.
The outdoor statue of Benjamin Franklin in Washington, D.C., is located near the intersection of 12th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, in front of the Old Post Office. The statue was a gift from Stilson Hutchins, founder of The Washington Post, who wanted to display his and the newspaper's stature in the city. The designer, Ernst Plassmann, and sculptor, Jacques Jouvenal, were both German-American artists. The architect of the memorial was J. F. Manning.
General Casimir Pulaski is a bronze equestrian statue of Casimir Pulaski, a military man born in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He joined the military at a young age, fighting for removal of the king, who was backed by Russia. After his side lost the war, he fled to Paris, where he met Benjamin Franklin. Impressed by Pulaski, Franklin wrote a letter of recommendation to George Washington, suggesting he would be a helpful soldier during the American Revolutionary War. After arriving in the U.S., Pulaski eventually was promoted to Brigadier General and commanded a cavalry unit, the Pulaski's Legion. He died in 1779 due to injuries sustained in battle.
The Albert Pike Memorial is a public artwork in Washington, D.C., erected in 1901, and partially demolished in 2020 by protestors responding to the murder of George Floyd. It honors Albert Pike (1809–1891), a senior officer of the Confederate States Army as well as a poet, lawyer, and influential figure in the Scottish Rite of freemasonry. The memorial—which now only includes the base and Goddess of Masonry sculpture—sits near the corner of 3rd and D Streets NW in the Judiciary Square neighborhood. The memorial's two bronze figures were sculpted by Gaetano Trentanove, the Italian-American sculptor of another Washington, D.C., sculptural landmark, the Daniel Webster Memorial. The dedication ceremony in 1901 was attended by thousands of Masons who marched in a celebratory parade.
The Samuel Gompers Memorial is a bronze collection of statues in Washington, D.C., sited on a triangular park at the intersection of 11th Street, Massachusetts Avenue, and N Street NW. Samuel Gompers was an English-born American who grew up working in cigar factories, where he witnessed the long hours and dangerous conditions people experienced in factory jobs. He helped with growing the Cigar Makers' International Union, and a few years later, founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The number of members rose from 50,000 to 3,000,000 during his time as president of the union. He was not only successful in expanding the power of the labor movement, but also increased its prestige.
The Samuel Hahnemann Monument, also known as Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, is a public artwork dedicated to Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy. It is located on the east side of Scott Circle, a traffic circle in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. The Classical Revival monument consists of an exedra designed by architect Julius Harder and a statue sculpted by Charles Henry Niehaus, whose works include the John Paul Jones Memorial in Washington, D.C., and several statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection. The monument is significant because Hahnemann is the first foreigner not associated with the American Revolution to be honored with a sculpture in Washington, D.C.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)