The Arlington Memorial Bridge (often shortened to Memorial Bridge) is a neoclassical steel and stone arch bridge that spans the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., linking the National Mall to Arlington National Cemetery. 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.
The bridge was designed by the architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White. It is decorated with monumental statues depicting valor and sacrifice, designed by sculptor Leo Friedlander and cast by the Ferdinando Marinelli Artistic Foundry of Florence, Italy. The central section, a bascule (drawbridge) which had not been used since 1961, was replaced in 2018 by one that does not open.
Early attempts to build a bridge
Early memorial bridge proposals
Congress first proposed a bridge at the site of the current structure on May 24, 1886. The resolution required that the United States Department of War study the feasibility of a bridge at the site, and a wide design was proposed later that year. The following year, the War Department suggested a "Lincoln-Grant Memorial Bridge". The Washington Post supported the idea of naming the bridge after both Robert E. Lee and Grant.Horn, Jonathan. (2015). The Man who would not be Washington: Robert E. Lee's Civil War and his decision that changed American History. New York: Scribner. p. 249. Congress again passed a resolution requesting another design, and in late 1887 the department proposed a "General Ulysses S. Grant Memorial Bridge". The new bridge would be a suspension bridge high, with of clearance below it. Designs for the bridge at this time included a bare steel truss bridge, a low masonry arch bridge, and a Romanesque Revival structure by Paul J. Pelz with two massive central towers, two barbicans on each end, and exuberant ornamentation.Myer, p. 142. Senator John W. Daniel sponsored legislation in 1897 funding a survey of the bedrock in the Potomac River. Congress approved the legislation the same year, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers began the survey in July. The survey was delivered in March 1898.;
Because the bridge was conceived as a memorial to Grant, Congress repeatedly blocked funding for the bridge. But after the Corps' survey was complete, Congress authorized the Secretary of War to expend $5,000 ($ in dollars) on a bridge design competition. To help improve the prospects for a bridge, a "National Memorial Bridge Association" was formed. In July, four prominent bridge engineers from New York City — George S. Morrison, Leffert L. Buck, William H. Burr, and William R. Hutton — were invited to submit designs for a memorial bridge to honor American war dead. A five-member board appointed by the Secretary of War selected a design by William H. Burr and architect Edward P. Casey (designer of the Taft Bridge). Their design, based on the 1887 winning plan, called for a drawbridge made of steel and stone with 36 arches. A "classical" tower sat over each end of the draw span, on top of which would stand bronze statues of Victory. Statues of famous generals and statesmen (in either bronze or granite) would line both sides of the bridge.
Senator George F. Hoar blocked the bridge from being built in June 1900 because he opposed the design. The National Memorial Bridge Association began pushing again for a bridge in October 1900, and commissioned Connecticut architect George Keller to design plans. Keller's design went on display in Washington in November. Contrary to almost all previous designs, his bridge was low to the water and eliminated a draw span. His design featured a monumental Romanesque Revival arch for the D.C. approaches and a memorial column celebrating the Union on the Virginia side, both to be placed in traffic circles. Keller's design was published in architectural magazines, and by 1901 was widely seen as the appropriate design for the bridge.
In 1901, the American Institute of Architects proposed that the bridge extend New York Avenue NW (which then ended at 23rd Street NW) over the Potomac to Arlington National Cemetery. But once more, Congress did not act.
McMillan Plan proposal
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 to prevent future flooding. This "reclaimed land" — which included West Potomac Park, East Potomac Park, and 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.
Construction: 1922–1932
On November 11, 1921, President Warren G. Harding traveled to the dedication ceremony for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. He became caught in a three-hour traffic jam because Highway Bridge (on which he traveled) could not handle the traffic. Resolving to prevent that from happening again, Harding sought an appropriation of $25,000 in 1922 to fund the work of the bridge commission. Congress approved his request on June 12, 1922.
Initially, the Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission proposed a site for the bridge at the New York Avenue site, upstream from its current position. But the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), which had legislative authority to approve the siting and design of memorials, opposed the plan. With President Harding presiding, the Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission held a joint meeting with Vice President Calvin Coolidge and the Commission of Fine Arts on December 18, 1922, at which time it was unanimously decided to adhere to the McMillan Plan and build the bridge on a line of sight between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House in Arlington National Cemetery. The parties also agreed to seek to construct a low (rather than monumental) bridge with a bascule (drawbridge) in the center to permit ship traffic to reach the Georgetown waterfront.
Bridge design considerations
The bridge commission asked the Commission of Fine Arts whether there should be an open design competition (as in the past) or whether the bridge commission should pick a designer itself. The CFA recommended a direct selection, and provided the names of three firms: Charles A. Platt, who designed the Freer Gallery of Art; Paul Philippe Cret, who designed the Pan-American Union Building; and the firm of McKim, Mead and White. The bridge commission chose a direct selection, and picked McKim, Mead and White on April 4, 1923. Architect William Mitchell Kendall was the lead designer.
Members of the D.C. business community pressed for an immediate decision on whether the bridge would have a draw span. Merchants in Georgetown wanted their small harbor to be reachable by large ships. On February 17, 1923, Colonel C.O. Sherrill of the Army Corps of Engineers stated that the Corps would only approve a bridge with a draw span.;
Kendall's first design, submitted to the CFA in May 1923, was generally well received. His plan envisioned a low, Neoclassical arch bridge. Two statues stood atop each pier on both sides of the bridge. The D.C. approaches consisted of a traffic circle around the Lincoln Memorial linked to the Potomac River by a plaza and monumental steps (the "watergate"). Two memorial columns were to be placed in this plaza. On the Columbia Island landing, Kendall envisioned a large intersection circumscribed by a grassy ellipse, with traffic circles at the terminus of the north and south arms of the crossroad. The traffic circles would accommodate Lee Highway and the Mt. Vernon Memorial Parkway. Within the ellipse would be placed two tall memorial columns. Two circular Greek Revival temples were planned for the western shoreline. The commission was especially pleased that Kendall had the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway linked to the traffic circle around the Lincoln Memorial rather than passing beneath the bridge via an arch. (Kendall had, in fact, intended to pass it through one of the bridge's arches but forgot to make the change.) However, CFA members asked that he consider widening the bridge to from the proposed . The CFA also discussed at length its long-standing proposal for a major traffic circle on Columbia Island, within which would be placed a memorial to Robert E. Lee. There was also concern whether enough space had been allotted to permit the Mount Vernon Memorial Parkway, Lee Highway, and Memorial Drive (which was planned to cross the Boundary Channel via the Boundary Channel Bridge into Virginia and link with the main gate to Arlington National Cemetery). When the CFA gave its preliminary approval to the bridge design (but withheld a resolution on the approaches), models of the bridge went on public display in February 1924.
Legislative approval
A bill authorizing construction of Arlington Memorial Bridge was introduced in the U.S. Senate on April 25, 1924, by Senator Bert M. Fernald. The Senate Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds reported out the bill in mid-May. But the legislation languished. With Congress due to adjourn on March 4, 1925, the Senate finally passed the bridge bill on December 30, 1924. Senator William Borah made a motion to reconsider the bill in late January 1925, Borah's motion did not ask the House to return the Senate-passed bill, so his motion would not affect the bill's passage either way.