page_title: Arlington Memorial Amphitheater
section_title: 1995–1996 renovations and controversy
hierarchical_section_title: Arlington Memorial Amphitheater / History / 1995–1996 renovations and controversy
caption_attribution_description: English: Decorative funerary urn on the south side of the apse at Memorial Amphitheater in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States. An identical urn stands on the north side of the apse. These decorative urns are not original to the amphitheater. The original urns were removed in the mid-1990s when Memorial Amphitheater was renovated.
context_page_description: Memorial Amphitheater is an outdoor amphitheater, exhibit hall, and nonsectarian chapel located in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States. Designed in 1913 as a replacement for the older, wooden amphitheater near Arlington House, ground was broken for its construction in March 1915 and it was dedicated in May 1920. In the center of its eastern steps is the Tomb of the Unknowns, dedicated in 1921. It has served as the site for numerous Veterans Day and Memorial Day services, as well as for memorial services and funerals for many individuals.
context_section_description: Extensive additional renovations in the amphitheater were made in the mid-1990s. Congress appropriated $4.82 million in fiscal 1992 to repair rainwater damage and fix leaks, and an additional $4.5 million in fiscal 1993 to restore damaged marble. Although the project was planned for completion in July 1995, a six-month delay occurred because of protests regarding the way the contracts were awarded. Bids for the project came in much lower than anticipated, creating $2.7 million in savings. The Army used $34,405 to make whole the bidder who had protested the improper contract award. About $1.4 million of these savings were used to build new wheelchair access ramps and improve access to the amphitheater for handicapped or disabled individuals. The remaining $1.3 million were used to build a columbarium at the cemetery. The repairs included installation of new waterproof membranes; removing water and rust stains; patching and repainting cement, marble, and stone; replacement of all deteriorated marble sculptures, balusters, and benches; replacement of worn and rusted iron railings and drinking fountains; replacement of worn and broken flagstone walkways; and installation of new and upgraded signage and trash containers. These repairs and improvements were almost complete by the end of March 1996.
  Clark Construction Group, which was the general contractor for these renovations, received an Excellence in Construction Award from the D.C./Virginia chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors for the outstanding quality of its work.
  Controversy about the renovation erupted in January 2011, however, when original decorative urns from the 1995–1996 renovation turned up at auction. The two 9-foot (2.7 m) tall urns, sculpted by Ulysses Ricci, formerly stood on either side of the stage in the amphitheater. By 1995, they had significantly weathered and many details had softened so much as to be unrecognizable. Omni Construction, one of Clark Construction's subcontractors, was assigned to dispose of the urns. Omni turned the urns over to Pagliaro Brothers Stone of Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Pagliaro Brothers Stone said they did not have records about the urns' ultimate fate, but in 1997 the urns ended up in the hands of an unidentified antiques dealer. The dealer sold them to DHS Designs, an antique shop in Queenstown, Maryland. The urns (priced at $125,000) never sold, and in 2010 the owner of DHS Designs closed his store and put the urns up for auction. Potomack Company, the Alexandria, Virginia, auction house assigned to handle the urns, advertised them in December 2010—which brought the urns to the attention of preservationists in the D.C. area. According to unnamed preservationist experts interviewed by The Washington Post, the historic urns should have been restored or placed in a museum—not donated to private owners for sale. The U.S. Army, which manages Arlington National Cemetery, said it could not find the 1995 renovation contract and was unable to say what provisions for the urns' disposal had been made nor whether federal property and preservation agencies had been consulted before the urns were replaced.
  Within a week of press reports about the sale, Arlington National Cemetery officials said that Clark Construction had been instructed to preserve the urns. These instructions met the requirements of Virginia law, which forbade the discard of historic artifacts. Alerted to the sale by The Washington Post, the Army asked Potomack Company to postpone the sale pending investigation of ownership.
  On January 24, 2011, DHS Designs returned the urns at no cost to Arlington National Cemetery.  The Army did not say whether it would display the urns at the cemetery or move them to another Army museum.
caption: A replacement urn on the south side of the stage in Memorial Amphitheater. The original urns were removed in 1996 and made their way into private hands; they were returned in 2011.
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