page_title: Women in Military Service for America Memorial
section_title: Construction of the memorial
hierarchical_section_title: Women in Military Service for America Memorial / Building the Women in Military Service for America Memorial / Construction of the memorial
caption_attribution_description: English: Workers construct the interior of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial on February 7, 1997. The memorial is being constructed behind the Hemicycle, the ceremonial entrance to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States.
context_page_description: The Women in Military Service for America Memorial is a memorial established by the U.S. federal government which honors women who have served in the United States Armed Forces. The memorial is located at the western end of Memorial Avenue at the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States. The structure in which the memorial is housed was originally known as the Hemicycle, and built in 1932 to be a ceremonial entrance to the cemetery. It never served this purpose, and was in disrepair by 1986. Congress approved the WIMSA memorial in 1985, and the Hemicycle approved as the site for the memorial in 1988. An open design competition was won by New York City architects Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi. Their original design was leaked to the public, and caused significant controversy. Two years of fund-raising and design revision followed. A revised preliminary design was approved in July 1992, and the final design in March 1995. Ground was broken for the memorial in June 1995, and the structure dedicated on October 18, 1997.
  The memorial is notable for its successful mixing of Neoclassical and Modern architecture.
context_section_description: Clark Construction of Bethesda, Maryland, was hired to be the general contractor for the Women in Military Service for America Memorial. The New York firm Lehrer, McGovern Bovis oversaw construction management. Clark subcontracted excavation work to Kalos Construction Co. Clark had recently renovated Arlington National Cemetery's Memorial Amphitheater, and had experience working under the restrictions required by the cemetery. A construction manager was required because the site was small, there was little room for construction equipment or offices, and access to the site was highly limited. Because both pile driving and excavation would be conducted, extreme care was needed to avoid disturbing any of the graves near the memorial site.
  Construction began in January 1996. Almost 3,500 truckloads of soil were removed, and piles driven in the earth for the foundation. Workers then constructed the walls, and placed more than 25 stone (0.16 t) of Yule marble on the 12,000 square feet (1,100 m²) of interior walls. (This was the same type of marble used for the Tomb of the Unknowns memorial and Lincoln Memorial.) Nine hundred slabs of marble from Vermont were used to line the rear wall. The terrace was then reconstructed. By February 1997, construction of the memorial reached the halfway point. The terrace was almost complete, and frames to hold the glass panels in place were being mounted.
  The last element in the construction process was the restoration of the Hemicycle. This included abrasive blasting of the wall. Installation of the fountain, rill, reflecting pool, and landscaping elements came last. The construction project lasted nearly two years, and cost $21.5 million.
  By October 1, the glass panels in the skylight were in place. However, the auditorium seats and the sod in the plaza remained uninstalled.
  Nearly all of the construction managers were women. These included the on-site project manager, Margaret Van Voast; the assistant on-site project manager, Michelle Stuckey; the project manager, Joan Gerner; and historic preservationist Beth Leahy.
caption: Construction of the interior of the memorial
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