Dewey Arch

Last updated
Dewey Triumphal Arch and Colonnade
Dewey Arch, New York.jpg
(1900)
Dewey Arch
40°44′33″N73°59′20″W / 40.74250°N 73.98889°W / 40.74250; -73.98889
Location Manhattan, New York
Designer Charles R. Lamb
Type Triumphal arch
Material Staff [1]
Length70 ft (21 m)
Width30 ft (9.1 m)
Height85 ft (26 m)
Opening dateSeptember 1899
Dedicated to George Dewey
Dismantled date1900
Dewey Arch 1900 Color.jpg
External videos
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg The Dewey Arch, American Mutoscope and Biograph Co., 1899. Available through the National Screening Room at the Library of Congress.

The Dewey Arch was a triumphal arch that stood from 1899 to 1900 at Madison Square in Manhattan, New York City, United States. [2] [3] [4] It was erected for a parade in honor of Admiral George Dewey celebrating his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay in the Philippines in 1898. [5]

Contents

History

Planning for the parade, scheduled for September 1899, began early that year. The architect Charles R. Lamb built support for a triumphal arch among his fellow members of the National Sculpture Society. [6] A committee of society members, including Lamb, Karl Bitter, Frederick W. Ruckstull, John Quincy Adams Ward and John De Witt Warner, [7] submitted a proposal for an arch to the City of New York, which approved the plan in July 1899.

With only two months remaining before the parade, the committee decided to build the arch and its colonnade out of staff, a plaster-based material used previously for temporary buildings at several World's Fairs. Modeled after the Arch of Titus in Rome, [5] [7] the Dewey Arch was decorated with the works of twenty-eight sculptors and topped by a large quadriga (modeled by Ward) [7] depicting four horses drawing a ship. The arch was illuminated at night with electric light bulbs. [8]

After the parade on September 30, 1899, the arch began to deteriorate. An attempt to raise money to rebuild it in stone (as had been done for the arch in Washington Square Park) failed, owing to the growing unpopularity of the Philippine War. The arch was demolished in 1900, [4] and the larger sculptures sent to Charleston, South Carolina, for an exhibit, after which they were either destroyed or lost. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House</span> Building in Manhattan, New York

The Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House is a government building, museum, and former custom house at 1 Bowling Green, near the southern end of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Designed by Cass Gilbert in the Beaux-Arts style, it was erected from 1902 to 1907 by the government of the United States as a headquarters for the Port of New York's duty collection operations. The building contains the George Gustav Heye Center museum, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, and the New York regional offices of the National Archives. The facade and part of the interior are New York City designated landmarks, and the building is listed on both the New York State Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as a National Historic Landmark. It is also a contributing property to the Wall Street Historic District, listed on the NRHP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madison Square and Madison Square Park</span> Public square and park in Manhattan, New York

Madison Square is a public square formed by the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway at 23rd Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The square was named for Founding Father James Madison, fourth President of the United States. The focus of the square is Madison Square Park, a 6.2-acre (2.5-hectare) public park, which is bounded on the east by Madison Avenue ; on the south by 23rd Street; on the north by 26th Street; and on the west by Fifth Avenue and Broadway as they cross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower is a skyscraper occupying a full block in the Flatiron District of Manhattan in New York City. The building is composed of two sections: a 700-foot-tall (210 m) tower at the northwest corner of the block, at Madison Avenue and 24th Street, and a shorter east wing occupying the remainder of the block bounded by Madison Avenue, Park Avenue South, 23rd Street, and 24th Street. The South Building, along with the North Building directly across 24th Street, comprises the Metropolitan Home Office Complex, which originally served as the headquarters of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bayard–Condict Building</span> Office building in Manhattan, New York

The Bayard–Condict Building is a 12-story commercial structure at 65 Bleecker Street in the NoHo neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Built between 1897 and 1899 in the Chicago School style, it was the only building in New York City designed by architect Louis Sullivan, who worked on the project alongside Lyndon P. Smith. Located in the NoHo Historic District, the building was designated a New York City landmark in 1975 and has been a National Historic Landmark since 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manhattan Municipal Building</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

The David N. Dinkins Municipal Building is a 40-story, 580-foot (180 m) building at 1 Centre Street, east of Chambers Street, in the Civic Center neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The structure was built to accommodate increased governmental space demands after the 1898 consolidation of the city's five boroughs. Construction began in 1909 and continued through 1914 at a total cost of $12 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">550 Madison Avenue</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

550 Madison Avenue is a postmodern skyscraper on Madison Avenue between 55th and 56th Streets in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee with associate architect Simmons Architects, the building is a 647-foot-tall (197-meter), 37-story office tower with a facade made of pink granite. It was completed in 1984 as the headquarters of AT&T Corp. and later became the American headquarters of Sony. A four-story granite annex to the west was demolished and replaced with a shorter annex in the early 2020s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hotel Wolcott</span> Hotel in Manhattan, New York

The Hotel Wolcott is a hotel at 4 West 31st Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Constructed between 1902 and 1904 by developer William C. Dewey, it was designed by John H. Duncan in the French Beaux-Arts and neoclassical styles. The hotel's namesake was Henry Roger Wolcott, a businessman, politician, and philanthropist. The hotel is a New York City designated landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Villard Houses</span> Historic buildings in Manhattan, New York

The Villard Houses are a set of former residences at 451–457 Madison Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by the architect Joseph Morrill Wells of McKim, Mead & White in the Renaissance Revival style, the residences were erected in 1884 for railroad magnate Henry Villard. Preserved as a historic landmark, the houses comprise a portion of the Lotte New York Palace Hotel, whose main tower is to the east. The residences are New York City designated landmarks and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Surety Building</span> Office building in Manhattan, New York

The American Surety Building is an office building and early skyscraper at Pine Street and Broadway in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City, across from Trinity Church. The building was designed in a Neo-Renaissance style by Bruce Price with a later expansion by Herman Lee Meader. It is 388 feet (118 m) tall, with either 23 or 26 stories. It was one of Manhattan's first buildings with steel framing and curtain wall construction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York Life Building</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

The New York Life Building is the headquarters of the New York Life Insurance Company at 51 Madison Avenue in the Rose Hill and NoMad neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. The building, designed by Cass Gilbert, abuts Madison Square Park and occupies an entire city block bounded by Madison Avenue, Park Avenue South, and 26th and 27th Streets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Empire Building (Manhattan)</span> Residential building in Manhattan, New York

The Empire Building is an office building and early skyscraper at 71 Broadway, on the corner of Rector Street, in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. It was designed by Kimball & Thompson in the Classical Revival style and built by Marc Eidlitz & Son from 1897 to 1898. The building consists of 21 stories above a full basement story facing Trinity Place at the back of the building and is 293 feet (89 m) tall. The Empire Building is a New York City designated landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). It is also a contributing property to the Wall Street Historic District, a NRHP district created in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Appellate Division Courthouse of New York State</span> Courthouse in Manhattan, New York

The Appellate Division Courthouse of New York State, First Department, is a courthouse at the northeast corner of Madison Avenue and 25th Street in the Flatiron District neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The courthouse is used by the First Department of the New York Supreme Court's Appellate Division. The original three-story building on 25th Street and Madison Avenue, designed by James Brown Lord, was finished in 1899. A six-story annex to the north, on Madison Avenue, was designed by Rogers & Butler and completed in 1955.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry K. Bush-Brown</span> American sculptor (1857–1935)

Henry Kirke Bush-Brown (1857–1935) was an American sculptor and the adopted nephew of sculptor Henry Kirke Brown. He was raised in Newburgh, New York and attended the National Academy of Design in New York City. He became known for historically accurate realist sculptures illustrating American history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadway–Chambers Building</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

The Broadway–Chambers Building is an 18-story office building at 277 Broadway, on the northwest corner with Chambers Street, in the Civic Center and Tribeca neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. Completed by 1900 to designs by architect Cass Gilbert, the Broadway–Chambers Building was the first of several that Gilbert designed in the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Army Plaza (Manhattan)</span> Plaza in Manhattan, New York

Grand Army Plaza is a public square at the southeast corner of Central Park in Manhattan, New York City, near the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Central Park South. It consists of two rectangular plots on the west side of Fifth Avenue between 58th and 60th streets. The current design of Grand Army Plaza dates to a 1916 reconstruction by the architectural firm of Carrère and Hastings. The plaza is designated as a New York City scenic landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surrogate's Courthouse</span> Historic courthouse in Manhattan, New York

The Surrogate's Courthouse is a historic building at the northwest corner of Chambers and Centre Streets in the Civic Center of Manhattan in New York City. Completed in 1907, it was designed in the Beaux Arts style. John Rochester Thomas created the original plans while Arthur J. Horgan and Vincent J. Slattery oversaw the building's completion. The building faces City Hall Park and the Tweed Courthouse to the south, as well as the Manhattan Municipal Building to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch</span> Triumphal arch in Brooklyn, New York

The Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch is a triumphal arch at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, New York, United States. Designed by John Hemenway Duncan and built from 1889 to 1892, the arch commemorates American Civil War veterans. The monument is made of granite and measures 80 feet (24 m) tall, with an archway opening measuring 50 feet (15 m) tall and 35 feet (11 m) wide. The arch also includes spandrels by Philip Martiny, equestrian bas-reliefs by Thomas Eakins and William Rudolf O'Donovan, and three sculptural groups by Frederick MacMonnies. It is one of New York City's three major triumphal arches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania Station (1910–1963)</span> Former train station in New York City

Pennsylvania Station was a historic railroad station in New York City that was built for, named after, and originally occupied by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). The station occupied an 8-acre (3.2 ha) plot bounded by Seventh and Eighth Avenues and 31st and 33rd Streets in Midtown Manhattan. As the station shared its name with several stations in other cities, it was sometimes called New York Pennsylvania Station. Originally completed in 1910, the aboveground portions of the building were demolished between 1963 and 1966, and the underground concourses and platforms were heavily renovated to form the current Pennsylvania Station within the same footprint.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Horace Greeley (City Hall Park)</span> Statue in Manhattan, New York, U.S.

An outdoor bronze sculpture of Horace Greeley by artist John Quincy Adams Ward and architect Richard Morris Hunt is located in City Hall Park in Manhattan, New York. Cast in 1890, the seated statue is set on a Quincy granite pedestal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York Stock Exchange Building</span> Building in Manhattan, New York

The New York Stock Exchange Building is the headquarters of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), located in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is composed of two connected structures occupying much of the city block bounded by Wall Street, Broad Street, New Street, and Exchange Place. The central section of the block contains the original structure at 18 Broad Street, designed in the Classical Revival style by George B. Post. The northern section contains a 23-story office annex at 11 Wall Street, designed by Trowbridge & Livingston in a similar style.

References

  1. Brody, David (2010). Visualizing American Empire: Orientalism and Imperialism in the Philippines. University of Chicago Press. p. 133. ISBN   978-0-226-07534-1.
  2. "The Dewey Arch". Architects' and Builders' Magazine. Vol. 32. W.T. Comstock. 1900. p. 1. ISSN   0749-3088. OCLC   8754926 . Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  3. Cusack, Andrew (January 19, 2005). "The Dewey Arch". andrewcusack.com. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Art and Artists – Destruction of Dewey Arch" (PDF). The New York Times. December 30, 1900. p. 16. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 Gray, Christopher (May 10, 1992). "Streetscapes: Monumental Parallels; The Arch and the Bandshell". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  6. Lamb, Charles Rollinson (2020). "Charles R. Lamb scrapbook on the Dewey Arch, 1899–1901". Smithsonian. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 Sharp, Lewis I (1985). John Quincey Adams Ward: Dean of American Sculpture. University of Delaware Press. p. 52f. ISBN   978-0-87413-253-3.
  8. Nye, David E. (1992). Electrifying America: Social Meanings of a New Technology, 1880–1940. MIT Press. p. 51. ISBN   978-0-262-64030-5.