Grant's Tomb
Grant's Tomb, officially the General Grant National Memorial, is the final resting place of Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president of the United States, and of his wife Julia. It is a classical domed mausoleum in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. The structure is in the middle of Riverside Drive at 122nd Street, adjacent to Riverside Park. In addition to being a national memorial since 1958, Grant's Tomb is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and its facade and interior are New York City designated landmarks.
"General Grant National Memorial" redirects here. For the memorial in Washington, D.C., see Ulysses S. Grant Memorial.Location
Riverside Drive and West 122nd Street
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
0.76 acres (0.31 ha)
April 27, 1897
80,046 (2005)
06101.001260
0900, 0901
October 15, 1966
August 14, 1958
June 23, 1980
November 25, 1975[2]
Upon Grant's death in July 1885, his widow indicated his wish to be interred in New York. Within days, a site in Riverside Park was selected, and the Grant Monument Association (GMA) was established to appeal for funds. Although the GMA raised $100,000 in its first three months, the group only raised an additional $55,000 in the next five years. After two architectural competitions in 1889 and 1890, the GMA selected a proposal by John Hemenway Duncan for a tomb modeled after the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. Following a renewed fundraising campaign, the cornerstone was laid in 1892, and the tomb was completed on April 27, 1897, Grant's 75th birthday.
Initially, the GMA managed the tomb with a $7,000 annual appropriation from the city. The tomb was extensively renovated in the late 1930s with help from Works Progress Administration workers, who added murals and restored the interior. The National Park Service took over the operation of Grant's Tomb in 1959. After a period of neglect and vandalism, the tomb was restored in the 1990s following a campaign led by college student Frank Scaturro. Despite various modifications over the years, some portions of the monument were never completed, including a planned equestrian statue outside the tomb.
The mausoleum's base is shaped like a rectangle with colonnades on three sides and a portico in front, on the south side. The upper section consists of a cylindrical shaft with a colonnade, as well as a stepped dome. Inside, the main level of the memorial is shaped like a Greek cross, with four barrel-vaulted exhibition spaces extending off a domed central area. The Grants' bodies are placed in red-granite sarcophagi above ground in a lower-level crypt. Over the years, the design of Grant's Tomb has received mixed commentary, and the tomb has been depicted in several films.
Design and construction[edit]
Unsolicited plans[edit]
As fundraising slowed down, people began to lose confidence in the Grant Monument Association,[101] and members of the public offered their own proposals for the memorial.[59][102] American Architect and Building News hosted a design competition in late 1885,[103][104] although some members of the public erroneously thought the competition was an official one.[105] Although the American Institute of Architects (AIA) recommended that the GMA host a formal architectural design competition, the association ignored this advice[106][107] and did not contact other groups that had built similar monuments.[107] Instead, in October 1885, the GMA started requesting proposals from "artists, architects, and all others".[106] Richard Greener had drafted plans for a design competition with a $400,000 budget, but the invitations never went out. Although the GMA promised in January 1886 to select a design "at once", this did not happen.[108][109]
The association continued to receive proposals through 1886.[109][110] According to historian David Kahn, one plan by Calvert Vaux was "so complicated that written descriptions give little idea of what it was actually intended to look like", while The New York Times said another plan would "frighten people ... completely away from the fund".[110] By November 1886, the GMA was planning to erect a permanent memorial.[111] Within a few months, the GMA had received "a number of designs, sketches and suggestions" from across America and Europe,[112] with 14 plans being submitted by February 1887.[113] Among the plans the association received were those by American sculptor William Wetmore Story,[112][114] German sculptor Joseph Echteler,[113][114] and architect George Matthias.[114][115] Greener began writing to other groups, such as the Garfield National Monument Association, for advice in early 1887, and he hired Napoleon LeBrun as consulting architect.[109][114]
Activities[edit]
Jazz concerts have been hosted outside the tomb since at least 1975.[520] Since then, concerts have regularly been held at or just outside Grant's Tomb. Examples include Jazzmobile, Inc.'s annual Free Outdoor Summer Mobile Concerts at Grant's Tomb.[521] The annual Grant's Tomb Summer Concert also featured West Point's United States Military Academy Band in 2009.[522] A ceremony is held at the memorial every year on April 27, Grant's birthday.[523]
Starting in the late 20th century, "Harlem Week" events took place outside Grant's Tomb.[524] According to About...Time magazine, "While many African Americans may never have visited the lesser-known sites, everybody in the New York City area knows Grant's Tomb" because of Harlem Week.[525] During the late 20th and 21st centuries, television station WNBC-TV also hosted Independence Day television specials featuring Grant's Tomb in the background.[526] These specials have showcased performers such as Bon Jovi and Beyoncé.[473][526] Other events at the tomb have included a spring picnic hosted by Bette Midler's New York Restoration Project.[527]