Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1885-06-18
For the ALEXANDRIA GAZETTE.
THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT.

This is the tallest but most unsightly of
artificial things, considering its cost and
purpose. The obelisk never pretty form
of monumental shaft, at best, but utterly
spoiled, as I think, in this instance, because
of the ungraceful and unartistic finish of its
terminal point, or pseudo.pyramidion, which
is neither Egyptian nor Chinese pagoda
style, yet more nearly the latter, to The eye,
than the former. owing to its straight lines,
instead of slightly swelling curves. as they
appear, when viewed from below, little
coRcare, most ungraceful outline in q
structure of this kind-adopted and fancied
by no nation in any age except That of the
Chinese, the pavilion or primitive habita.
ton, tent swag. The ancient Greeks in
their exquisite taste and superior knowl-
edge of The lines of beauty never, it is said,
in the building of their grandest and in
comparable temples and monuments, fol.
lowed straight lines, but rounded curves,
so as to overcome the optical defects above
alluded to, as in perspective the eye must De
pleased, humored, accommodated.
The speckled or patchwork appearance
of The outside, especially towards the top,
arising from slight difference of color,
ard the outlines of each block, of which
the shaft is composed, and the apparent
smal!ness of the blocks, robs The whole
of harmony and homogeneity and grandeur.
Their smooth finish has impaired q stiffness
10 the structure painful to look at. Had
The blocks been, in quarry phrase, "sca6bled"
instead of dressed on the outer face, except
on the edges, the shaft would have appear
ed far better and taller. The style of ter
minal finish shows better on paper than it
5, does in reality on the monument. A feeling
of disappointment is experienced when it ls
viewed from any point or distance. The
obeisk sgually lacks the proper terminal
fuish Of hat style of structure, being unlike
the Bunker Hill monument and all other
regularly constructed pillars of the kind.
When the finish at the base shall have
| been added that may help the general ap-
pearance and give some relief to its appa-
rent loneliness and trigid rigidness, but to
do this so as TO make the whole somewhat
attractive will require q very large add.
tional outlay of money-far more than the
whole is worth-artisticaly speaking.
Hence my suggestion and advice, decidedly,
is 10 take the pile down and with the mate
rial erect column similar-only higher-to
that Of Trajan in the Campus MartiuS OF
Rome, and of Napoleon in Place Vendome
in Paris, both of which the writer has seen,
by far the most beautiful, and imposing and
appropriate that has ever been or can be
adopted. Else strike off the pyramidon and
set colossal likeness of Washington in its
place, ION top). Lastly, if nothing more can
he done, let that dazzling white surface be
stained exact ccrnlean blue, easiest 10 the
e,e) anything but what it is; violet, indigo,
black, green, yellow, orange, or red, would
| la for ponra nra faro lilo
The site is bsd-being on tide water-the
foundation perhaps infrm, resting on silt,
some of the blocks near the base have
cracked through, but not opened, many
have slightly scaled off at the seams, iudi-
eating early DETACHMENT and decay and
eventual DETECTION, or perhaps tumble in
after ages, if it can be rendered artisticaIly
invulnerable from the rude shocks of that
most subtle of elements, the electric fluid,
or there is no telling how soon it may be
wrecked. VIAToR.