George Washington Masonic National Memorial
The George Washington Masonic National Memorial is a Masonic building and memorial located in Alexandria, Virginia, outside Washington, D.C. It is dedicated to the memory of George Washington, first president of the United States and charter Master of Alexandria Lodge No. 22 (now Alexandria-Washington Lodge, No. 22). The tower is fashioned after the ancient Lighthouse of Ostia in Ostia Antica (or Rome).[5][6][7] The 333-foot (101 m)[8][9] tall memorial sits atop Shooter's Hill[10][11][12] (also known as Shuter's Hill)[13] at 101 Callahan Drive. Construction began in 1922,[1] the building was dedicated in 1932,[2] and the interior finally completed in 1970.[14] In July 2015,[4] it was designated a National Historic Landmark[15] for its architecture, and as one of the largest-scale private memorials to honor Washington.[16]
George Washington Masonic National Memorial
Museum, observation
101 Callahan Drive, Alexandria, Virginia
June 5, 1922[1]
1932
May 12, 1932[2]
$6 million[3]
George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association
333 ft (101 m)
9
2
Harvey Wiley Corbett of Helmle & Corbett
Osgood & Osgood, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Percy Cranford Co., Washington, D.C.
July 21, 2015[4]
The memorial is served by the King Street–Old Town Metro station on the Blue and Yellow Lines of the Washington Metro.[10] The station is located about four blocks from the memorial.
Early memorial efforts and Washington Memorial Park[edit]
The idea to construct a Masonic memorial for George Washington was first proposed in 1852 by the Washington area's "mother lodge," Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4 (located in Fredericksburg, Virginia).[17] Funds were sought from Grand Lodges (state-level Masonic organizations) throughout the United States to construct a memorial Masonic Temple with a large statue in the vestibule.[18] Enough funds were raised to commission a life-size bronze statue of Washington in full Masonic regalia from the famous sculptor, Hiram Powers who was living in Rome, Italy.[19] The statue reached Alexandria in early 1861, just before the outbreak of the American Civil War.[19] It remained on display in Alexandria until the summer of 1863, when it was moved to Richmond, Virginia.[19] The statue was destroyed in the fire which occurred as Richmond surrendered to the Army of the Potomac on April 3, 1865.[19]
Plans for a Masonic memorial moved forward again in 1909 after work on a competing memorial began. The proposed site for the new memorial was Shooter's Hill, which at one time had been seriously considered by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson as the site of the United States Capitol building.[20][21] On May 8, 1900, citizens of Alexandria formed the "Washington Monument Association of Alexandria" (WMAA), a nonprofit organization whose mission was to build a memorial to George Washington in the city of Alexandria. Little was accomplished in the organization's first few years of life, but in February 1908 the WMAA purchased an option to buy a 50-acre (20 ha) tract of land on and around Shooter's Hill and the nearby Alexandria Golf Course.[22] Most of the land immediately on either side of King Street was subdivided into housing tracts and sold, with 25 acres (10 ha) on top of Shooter's Hill reserved for a memorial.[23] The sale of the housing subdivisions paid for the purchase of the entire tract, with enough left over to provide for construction of a memorial.[23]
Within a month of the purchase of Shooter's Hill, the WMAA decided to build a park rather than a memorial.[24] About 15 acres (6.1 ha) were set aside for the George Washington Memorial Park, while another 4.5 acres (1.8 ha) were set aside for a small memorial within the park.[24] The new subdivision, named Fort Ellsworth (after an American Civil War fort which used to occupy Shooter's Hill), was platted in November 1908, and public streets laid out.[25][26] The park was ready for dedication on April 30, 1909—the 120th anniversary of the inauguration of Washington as president. Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22 (George Washington's Masonic lodge, as well as the lodge he led as a Worshipful Master) was asked to preside over its dedication.[27] President William Howard Taft, Vice President James S. Sherman, Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon, Virginia Governor Claude A. Swanson, Virginia Lieutenant Governor J. Taylor Ellyson, the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia, Baltimore Mayor J. Barry Mahool, and numerous other dignitaries attended the dedication ceremony.[28] (Shooter's Hill was incorporated into the city of Alexandria on April 1, 1914.)[29]
Construction of the building[edit]
Building the foundation[edit]
Given the size and weight of the memorial, even in its early design stages, a solid foundation for the structure was critical. An initial test borehole into Shooter's Hill (which reached a depth of 200 feet (61 m)) found no bedrock, leading to concerns that the site might not be a suitable location for the building.[30] Daniel E. Moran, the foundation engineer, further investigated the earth beneath the building.[64] Moran drilled 125 feet (38 m) below the lowest point of the foundation and found gravel, hard clay, and sand.[30][64] Soil experts in New York City and with the United States Geological Survey analyzed the soil and provided a guarantee (backed up by a bond) that no settling of the building would occur due to soil conditions.[30][64]
Ground for the memorial was broken at noon on June 5, 1922.[1] Louis Watres, president of the association, and Charles H. Callahan, vice president, broke ground in a driving rain.[1] The shovel and pick used to break ground, as well as four small stones from the first two spades of earth turned, were preserved by the Alexandria-Washington Lodge.[1] Excavation of the memorial's foundation began a few days later, with Cranford Paving Co. of Washington, D.C., doing the work.[1][56] The foundation was roughly hemispherical to provide the greatest stability,[30] and 25 feet (7.6 m) of the top of hill removed (lowering the elevation to just 108 feet (33 m)) in order to accommodate the 177-foot (54 m) wide by 195-foot (59 m) long foundation.[65] To ensure that the clay remained damp and did not dry out, which would cause the building to settle, a concrete pad 168 by 248 feet (51 by 76 m) was laid on top of the clay. This pad was 9 feet (2.7 m) deep in the center but only 6.5 feet (2.0 m) deep on the edges, and consisted of 9,000 cubic yards (6,900 m3) of concrete and 720 short tons (650 t) of reinforcing steel rods. The pad was allowed to set for several months before work began on the foundation itself.[66] The basement of the building was as large as the first two floors combined and was intended to house the structure's mechanical plant.[67] Although steam shovels were used to excavate the foundation, the earth was carried away by mule-drawn wagons.[30][68] A wide road was constructed to the top of Shooter's Hill to permit the transport of earth off the site and construction materials to the hilltop.[68]
By July 1922, the GWMNMA had received $700,000 in donations and another $900,000 in pledges.[60] Some time in the spring of 1922, the GWMNMA also obtained title to the 32-acre (13 ha) tract encompassing the rest of Shooter's Hill.[60] About 22 acres (8.9 ha) of the tract, valued at $1 million, was purchased from the city of Alexandria at almost no cost (essentially making it a gift from the city).[2][60] The total size of the tract owned by the Masons was now 36 acres (15 ha).[2]
By January 1923 the foundation was almost completed and the granite walls for the first floor were rising. Work proceeded very rapidly through June.[69] By February 1923, $1 million had been spent on constructing the foundation and walls and on landscaping.[62] Topsoil for the landscaping came from the Earl Strong Co. of Alexandria, the grass seed from O.M. Scotts and Sons of Ohio, and other trees, shrubs and landscaping products from C.F. Armiger of Washington, D.C.[56] Revenues easily exceeded these expenditures, as $1.8 million had been received in donations and pledges.[63] The same month, the GWMNMA expanded its board of directors from nine to 12.[63] By April 1923, the foundation had been fully excavated and the foundation walls constructed.[70] The Washington Post reported that the concrete foundation was the largest ever cast in a single piece.[56][71] The foundation (of articulate girder design) was 39,000 square feet (3,600 m2) in size, 4.5 to 9 feet (1.4 to 2.7 m) thick, and contained 9,000 cubic yards (6,900 m3) of concrete.[56][67] Plows pulled by mules had reshaped the side of the hill into its terraced form,[68] and most of the landscaping was now done.[70] Total cash donations received by April 1923 totaled more than $1 million.[70] Concrete for the first floor was poured in June 1923 and once it had set, the eight green 20 short tons (18 t) granite marble columns in the atrium were set in place. Each green marble column was 40.5 feet (12.3 m) high and 2.5 feet (0.76 m) in diameter when finished.[72] To prevent the columns from twisting or slipping, a mortise and tenon was used. A mortise approximately 3 feet (0.91 m) deep was created in the floor and a tenon carved on the bottom of the column base. A small amount of mortar mixed with small flat discs of metal was used to help fix the tenon into the mortise. Between the base and the first drum (or section of the column), between the drums and between the top drum and the capital were placed wedge-shaped thin sheets of lead to inhibit slippage.[73] By October 15, the first floor and granite outer walls were complete.[69]
In media and popular culture[edit]
A scene from the 2007 mystery-adventure film National Treasure: Book of Secrets was filmed in the Memorial Theater.[139][230] The stage in the theater was a stand-in for a lecture hall.[230] An additional scene was filmed in the Memorial Hall.[231]
The memorial also figured briefly in author Dan Brown's 2009 best-selling novel, The Lost Symbol.[139][232] The memorial is discussed in chapter 78, but not visited by the novel's protagonists.[233] When the book was released in 2009, the memorial attracted widespread media attention. The Discovery Channel filmed a portion of a documentary about Freemasonry at the memorial in August 2009 (it aired in October 2009).[234] Brown himself recommended that The Today Show co-host Matt Lauer visit the memorial, and Lauer subsequently filmed a segment in the Royal Arch room (it aired September 14, 2009, the day before Brown's book was released).[234] NBC Nightly News interviewed memorial staff around the same time, and Dateline NBC recorded a portion of a segment on Brown's book at the memorial as well (it aired October 16, 2009).[234]
C-SPAN aired a special program about the building, George Washington Masonic National Memorial, on December 21, 2010 (the 100th anniversary of the creation of the memorial's governing association).[235]