Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-01-16
A MEMORIAL ARCH.
A Monument Proposed to Permanently
Commemorate Columbus Discovery.

driven entirely from the public mind for the
time being, what is perhaps a prior question.
whether, namely, great industrial fair be the
only and most enduring memorial our nation
can make Of this interesting anniversary IL GER
tainly has not the merit of novelty. and great rs
Its beneficial effects in an educational and
commercial way would surely be such an exhi-
biuon has no permanence as a visible ana con-
spicuous monument after the display is over
Without, however lmilitating in the least against
the obvious useful results which a great inter-
national industrial fair would Internationally
yield, but rather leaving that important pro-
lect and the question of its site entirely aside
the present writer desires 20 sugges. a feature
OF the nations memorial which Is necessary 10
give II the pcrmanence aud lasting impressive
ness of aconsplcuous public monument
Already, II Is true. Senator Edmunds has pre-
scented ball ia Congress looking to the estab-
llshment of a great national university as o
quadri-centennial memorial. aud there is q
rumor abroad Of a project TO erect a vast mo-
mortal music or assembly hall 20 the same pur-
port, but neither would these any MOI than q
worlds fair by itself possess the desired char
acter of a distinct. imposing and endearing
monument, whose use Is to be solely the telling
Of a great story or the perpetuatng Of the
memory Of a great event. For such purpose
there Is no structure work of art as suitable
as that which from the earliest times all civil
| ized nations the world over have specially en-
ployed for this purpose. and that is the
MEMORIAL OR TRIUNPHAL ARCH.
Unlike the great religious monuments extant
IN temples and cathedrals, or the personal me-
| MORALS preserved in statues of marble or
bronze. the trlumphal or memorial arch seems
to have been peculiarly chosen 10 commem-
crate great events OF national or Worldwide
| importance and 10 have their purpose. like the
memorial stones set up in earliest times. in
| such commemoIation alone. Leaving religious
ana educational and even commercial uses TO
other lines of building or art these great struct-
| ures like our own Washington monument
| stand content simply 10 point through the
passing ages TO the great events in the worlds
| history which they were set up 10 record. We
/ need only recall for familiar and liiustrious
| examples of such memorial arches or gates in
/ the old world the beautiful Propylaea of the
| Acropolis at Athens, the arches of Constantine
| and OF Titus at Rome and in modern cities the
| splendid Simplon gate at Milan. the Branden-
| burg gate, two hundred feet wide. at the head
| OF the Linden avenue in Berlin, the
| classic Propylaea and majestic Siegesthor
OF Munich, and most notable of all, the
| Arc de iEtoile in Paris. erected to commem-
CRATE the victories of Napoleon the first.
" no that has been IN Paris can forget the i'm
preston made by that unrIyalied vista up the
| broad and gradually rising avenue of the
| Champs Elysees 10 where in the distance stands
| this mighty structure with Its massive entabla-
| ture rising far above all surrounding buildings,
and its noble archway ianked on either side by
| colossal groups in has relief OF Peace and War.
L have said tHa1cGlied. but not meaning that
| this view can never be rivalled, for on the con-
| trary believe that here IN our own national
| capital there exists site and an approaching
avenue which not only strikingly suggest a
| comparison with the view from the TuIleries
| up the Champs Elyses IN Paris. but which are
| probably unsurpassed IN any city of the world
| for the magnificent vista they afford. or for the
| placing of noble monument of national and
| even worldwide importance. | refer 10 10th
| street and the elevation at Its northern extern
| sion just beyond the boundary-the most con-
| splcuous and commanding site for public
monument IN the whole Dlstrlct-now, alas,
| disfgured by an empty and unsightly stand
| pipe, an eloquent reminder to every cultured
! foreign visitor to our much-boasted beautiful
| city of the amount of outrage TO good taste an
| American community can quietly nut up with
If the proper bills could be introduced and
passed by the present Congress for the improy-
ing of this site and for the erection of a me-
| mortal arch thereon of grand dimensions, TO
be called the Columbus arch, to be for ages to
| come a reminder of the gateway from tie old
world TO the new, opened by the great discoy-
| erer, and If the magnificent avenue leading
| thence. as 1t now does, straight 10 the portals
of the White House, the simple but ever beau
| tlful homestead and hearthstone of the nation,
| could be at the same time, IN place of its pres
| ent insignificant designation, be named Column
| bus avenue, believe the people OF the country
and of other American states and visitors from
| foreign lands long after the spendors of the
| worlds fair have vanished will be deeply i'm
| pressed with the digniied memorial thur left
| TO perpetuate the memory OF that great event.
| That the work should be undertaken and car
| ried through with the most liberal spirit and
| with the most enlightened direction that our
national government is capable of stands adj
| mitted as a matter of course. The structure
| should take rank for conspicuousness
| beside the Capitol and the Washington mon
ument, and so, challenging the criticism of
| the world. should embody the very best results
| obtainable of our American art and Architectural
| skill. with view to occupying wOrthily so
/ prominent a place among the worlds noted
monuments. While patriotism and the national
! significance OF the monument itself would de-
mand the design 10 be exclusively the work of
American architects and sculptors yet the erec-
| ton of the monument and the materials for Its
| artistic establishment need not be confined
\ to the United States alone.
On the supposition, for example, that the
| monument took the form of a massive quad
triangular structure admitting three thorough
fares, the central one lofty arch. with a lower
| one on either side, and that the spaces above
/ these smaller arches, on both the north and
south fronts, as also the spaces on the east and
/ west Sides be allotted for alegorical groups or
bias reliefs representing the great political di-
visions of both North ana South America, such
| as Canada, the United States, Mexico. the Gem
/ trail and the South American republics, these
| other American states would doubtless gladly
Il
| respective groups; the main positions, such
| the spaces above the great middle arch. the vast
| frieze and the inside wall space would naturally
be reserved for the sculptured representations
| of the landing of Columbus and of other
historic incidents connected with his voyage of
| discovery. The procuring of a suitable design
and the necessary preliminary arrangements
! for the erection OF the monument would
| quire such length of time as to demand that the
| project be taken in hand promptly If its COM
| pletion even its Inauguration, while yet in
| complete, is to be associated with the Quadri-
| centennial anniversary. The writer, while
| claiming no other influence than that Of any
| American citizen who is inspired with proper
| degree of national pride and love of country,
! believes, nevertheless, that he is not exceeding
| the rights and duties of the most modest
| citizenship in thus laying before the public q
| scheme for an enterprise of national benefit,
such as is above described; and it is in the earn
est hope not only that the public interest may
| be awakened, but that there will be found the
| Senators and Representatives in the present
Congress who will prepare and carry to
adoption bill enabling the government to
erect here in Americas capital city a triumphal
arch in memory OF Christophes Columbus and
| his discovery, which shall take worthy rank
among the most notable historic monuments Of
the ancient and the modern world
FRANK SEwALL, 1881 L st NV
Who Is the Richest Man?
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