page_title: Arlington Memorial Bridge
section_title: McMillan Plan proposal
hierarchical_section_title: Arlington Memorial Bridge / Early attempts to build a bridge / McMillan Plan proposal
caption_attribution_description: English: A black-and-white version of a watercolor showing the general position of the proposed Arlington Memorial Bridge across the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., in the United States. The image also shows the location of the proposed Lincoln Memorial, upper right. The bridge extends across the Potomac River to a greatly refigured Columbia Island, and then across teh Boundary Channel to the Virginia shoreline.
context_page_description: The Arlington Memorial Bridge is a Neoclassical masonry, steel, and stone arch bridge with a central bascule that crosses the Potomac River at Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. First proposed in 1886, the bridge went unbuilt for decades thanks to political quarrels over whether the bridge should be a memorial, and to whom or what. Traffic problems associated with the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in November 1921 and the desire to build a bridge in time for the bicentennial of the birth of George Washington led to its construction in 1932.
  Designed by the architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White, decorated with monumental statues depicting valor and sacrifice by sculptor Leo Friedlander, cast by Ferdinando Marinelli Artistic Foundry, Florence, Italy, Arlington Memorial Bridge defines the western end of the National Mall. The bridge's draw span was permanently closed in 1961. The bridge has received minor repairs, but as of 2013 has never had a major overhaul and is deteriorating. The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
context_section_description: In 1900, the U.S. Senate created the Senate Park Commission to reconcile competing visions for the development of Washington, D.C., and especially the National Mall and nearby areas. Popularly known as the McMillan Commission after its chairman, Senator James McMillan of Michigan, the commission issued its report (commonly referred to as the "McMillan Plan") on January 15, 1902.
  The McMillan Plan proposed siting a major new bridge and memorial at the western end of the National Mall, an area also known as West Potomac Park. Almost none of the National Mall west of the Washington Monument grounds and below Constitution Avenue NW existed prior to 1882. After terrible flooding inundated much of downtown Washington, D.C., in 1881, Congress ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge a deep channel in the Potomac and use the material to fill in the Potomac shoreline (creating the current banks of the river) and raise this and much of the land near the White House and along Pennsylvania Avenue NW by nearly 6 feet (1.8 m) to prevent future flooding. This "reclaimed land" — which included West Potomac Park, East Potomac Park, the Tidal Basin — was largely complete by 1890, and designated Potomac Park by Congress in 1897. Congress first appropriated money for the beautification of the reclaimed land in 1902, which led to the planting of sod, bushes, and trees; grading and paving of sidewalks, bridle paths, and driveways; and the installation of water, drainage, and sewage pipes.
  Although Congress did not formally adopt the McMillan Plan, it began to implement it piecemeal over the next several years. In 1910, Congress enacted legislation establishing the United States Commission of Fine Arts, a body of federally-appointed architects, landscape architects, and others who began to formally push for construction of the bridge envisioned by the McMillan Plan. On March 4, 1913, Congress enacted the Public Buildings Act which, among other things, created and funded an Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission whose purpose was to settle on a design for the bridge and report back to Congress. Its members included the President of the United States, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the chairs of the committees on public grounds and buildings of the House and Senate (or their designees). But Congress appropriated no money for the commission's operation due to the onset of World War I, and it remained inactive.
caption: The Senate Park Commission's proposal for the location of Arlington Memorial Bridge over the Potomac River.
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