Architecture of the US Grant Memorial in NYC

Topics for Panel Discussions (and Video Projects)

The Civil War: 1861-1865, leading to the 13th Amendment• How Grant gets his start in the war.• Outlines of battles featuring General US

Grant (note the map at the Grant site!) • Surrender at Appomattox• How will this translate to your video project?

Grant the President March 1869-

March 1877• Civil Rights legislation (15th

amendment, enforcement acts, etc)• Dealing with the corruption of

Grant’s Cabinet • How will this translate to your video

project?After Grant’s Presidency, 1877-1885 • Supreme Court tearing down the

Civil Rights laws, the ride of segregation with Plessy v Ferguson decision

• Dealing with the Lost Cause of the confederacy, protecting the history of our country’s fight for civil rights and Grant’s legacy.

• How will this translate to your video project?

The Architecture and Art at the Grant Memorial Site• Basically a digital tour of the site.

Document it, maybe interview Ranger Don and Ranger Jamie?

• Describe the architecture, the history of changes at the site, etc.

• How does the historical image of Grant relate to his memorial?

• How will this translate to your video project?

The more professional your research and video, the higher the likelihood that your video will be on view at the Grant Site.

AMALGAM TOPIC

Confronting alternate views

of HistoryUse all of these

categories to form the bigger picture of who Grant was, and how he fits into these alternate

narratives of history.

Monday1. Civil War2. Presidency

Tuesday1. Architecture2. Post-Presidency

Wed1. Amalgam2. Grant-early life (joie)

Friday: March 4th 2016 C.E.MYAR: Grant’s Ghost

Choosing our groupsYour group should be made up of people you

are comfortable working with, and respectfully disagreeing with.

We have $250 to split amongst these groups. If we have 5 groups, that’s $50 per group to cover the cost of props, costumes, etc.

Choose the 4-5 people you would like to work with. Together, you’ll be assembling:– Academic Research– Panel Discussions (presentations and Q&A)– Video Project

Write these names down on a sheet of paper to hand to Kozak tomorrow.If you would prefer to work alone, that’s fine, please let me know.

Grades for this unit….

• Productivity while doing Research• Outline for Panel Discussion– Topics– Sources clearly organized (book, web, interview, etc.)

• Panel Discussion (standard presentation rubric)

– Group Grade: How the group performs on the whole.– Individual Grade: How you contribute to the panel.– Audience participation – asking good quaastions

• Video Project– Group Grade for finalized video quality, (same standards apply)

– Individual Grade: How you contribute to the video making process.– Productivity while recording, editing, etc.

• Punctuality and Professionalism

General Grant Memorial

Why do you think so few actually visit this site?

• Jojo: I think because there’s all these myths about him that people believe…like the drunkard idea.

• Ruhith: Historians and the media have added this false idea of Grant in a negative way.

• Joie: Some folks just don’t know about him…he’s mentioned for the Civil War…but he’s not mentioned as some amazing guy.

• Myar: He doesn’t get the same recognition…because of historical slander. (libel…not slander.)

• Kenny: he’s only mentioned briefly in a Civil War sense…

• Kai: He’s dead, and people drag his name in the dirt, despite the positive things he’s done.


Why do you think so few actually visit this site?

• Tina: Back in the 1800s Grant was one of the top three presidents…but most people today only hear about stereotypes (butcher, drunk)

• Nyle: There’s not that much fascination, due to the amount of time that’s passed.

• Zenzi: He’s not spoken about as much as Washington…we just know him as a General. Not a president.

• Guzzy: Agree with ZENZI! We don’t really learn about him. Also, people just wanna forget about the Civil War Era skipping forward to the Jim Crow era.

• Jakara: It’s kind of something that you stumble upon…people aren’t all like “LETS GO TO THE TOMB!!!

ANTEBELLUM ??


VIDEO: http://www.biography.com/people/ulysses-s-grant-9318285

Designer: John DuncanMaterial: Granite and MarbleStyle: Neo-Classical, based on Napoleon’s Tomb in Paris, FranceClaim to Fame: Largest Mausoleum in the USA.

Field tripWEDNESDAY MARCH 9th

General Grant MemorialField tripWEDNESDAY MARCH 9th


Field tripWEDNESDAY MARCH 9th


Allegorical Figures “Victory” and “Peace” Support the granite block that reads Grant’s own words:

“LET US HAVE PEACE”

Contrary to popular belief, this memorial site was not funded by the US government. The Grant Monument Association helped to raise 600,000 dollars from private donations in the 1890s to realize this site. At this time in history the most expensive monument in America was the Statue of Liberty, which cost around 200,000.



Though the National Park Service now maintains the monument. There’s a small National Park Service visitor center well-hidden across the southbound lanes of Riverside Drive and down a flight of stairs.

General Grant MemorialThe Visitor Center…


Designer: John DuncanMaterial: Granite and Marble

Style: Neo-Classical, based on Napoleon’s Tomb in Paris, FranceClaim to Fame: Largest Mausoleum in the USA.


Designer: John DuncanMaterial: Granite and MarbleStyle: Neo-Classical, based on

Napoleon’s Tomb in Paris, FranceClaim to Fame: Largest Mausoleum in

the USA.


Red granite sarcophagi of Ulysses and Julia Grant


Similarities with Napoleon’s Tomb?Tina: The tomb is in the center of the whole structure.

Nyle: the sarcophagi are on large platforms Zen: The details in the ceiling designs are reminiscent of

greco-roman architecture. (Raph)RD: People look DOWN at it.


Similarities with Napoleon’s Tomb?Jean: the whole dome is massive and powerful looking

Jojo: Statues that surround napoleon reminiscent of the generals that surround Grant and Julia

Myar: there’s a lot of empty space surrounding the coffins. Kevin: Circular design makes the crypt look POWERFUL and

significant, at the center.

John H DuncanJohn H. Duncan was the chief architect for the General Grant

Memorial. He was born in Binghamton, New York, and worked as an architect in the New York City area. His best known projects include

Grant's Tomb in Riverside Park, Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Arc at Brooklyn's Grand Army Plaza, and the Hotel Wolcott.

4 west 31st streetGrand Army Plaza

When grant died…

Joan WaughHistorian 2011

“When Grant died on July 23, 1885, he was the most famous of all Americans both at home and abroad. More than a million people watched his funeral procession in New York City on Aug. 8. The dedication of his massive tomb in Manhattan on the 75th anniversary of his birth on April 27, 1897, drew another million plus. Grant’s Tomb, the largest mausoleum in North America, remained New York City’s most popular tourist site until 1929.”

ALLEGORICAL FIGURES!!

Faschio!

Fascio (Fasci, plural)In the 1800s, the Fascio came to be a symbol of strength through unity. An individual stick, while weak on its own can be strong in numbers, when bound together. Later on, in the 20th century, this symbol gets co-opted by individuals who would call themselves “Fascists.”

General Grant MemorialThe Grant Memorial has undergone many small changes since it was first created. Many of which were done by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s. Two eagles, carved out of stone, from a nearby Post Office were installed on the outside of the site. The laborers of the WPA worked on several projects throughout the 1930s, including roof restoration, electric lighting and heating systems, and removing the purple stained glass windows.


Civil War Era Flag


The WPA was also in charge of the Civil War Battle Murals that were painted on the walls. Battles which Grant fought in are noted with a double sword insignia, (a badge rank or an official emblem).In 1938 the Federal Art Project selected artists William Mues and Jeno Juszko to design the busts of Generals Sherman, Sheridan, Thomas, McPherson, and Ord. The WPA installed these five busts in the circular wall of the entombed atrium surrounding the sarcophagi.

Source: Waugh/ Kahn

Side chambers…


Pedro Silva?

Some new additions from collaborations with artists and students in the neighborhood…“The Rolling Bench,” a series of 17 mosaic-covered concrete benches, was installed around the monument in 1974.

WPA mosaics

In the 1960s three “lunettes” that adorn the walls of the Grant Memorial were also given a reboot. These stood blank for many years due to a lack of funding, but in the 1960s were designed by artist Allyn Cox.

WPA mosaics

Generals Lee and Grant at Appomattoxmosaic mural in a lunette Artist: Allyn Cox (1966)

A brief tangentOther representations of this historic moment…

A brief tangentPeace in Union

Illustration by Thomas Nast, 1895

A brief tangentSurrender at Appomattox

Made in 1965 By Tom Lovell

A brief tangentLee’s Surrender to Grant

Wood engraving by Alfred R. Waud ,1887

WPA mosaicsHow do these different

versions compare to this representation of

Appomattox?

• .• .• .

When grant died…

Joan WaughHistorian 2011

“Grant’s beautiful memorial sculpture in Washington, D.C., was dedicated on the 100th anniversary of his birth, in 1922. At the foot of Capitol Hill facing down the Mall toward the Lincoln Memorial, the equestrian statue with flanking figures took 20 years to complete and is one of the largest [equestrian statues] in the world.”

President Grant’sPeace Policy for Indians

• “ The proper treatment of the original occupants of this land—the Indians one deserving of careful study. I will favor any course toward them which tends to their civilization and ultimate citizenship.”

-From Grant’s first inaugural addressA counterpoint: President Ulysses S. Grant advances a “Peace Policy” to remove corrupt Indian agents, who supervise reservations, and replace them with Christian missionaries, whom he deems morally superior.

Architecture of the US Grant Memorial in NYC

Education

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