Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Arch

20 Grand Army Plaza | Park Slope | built 1892

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Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 1889

    October 30

    General Sherman speaks as the cornerstone of Brooklyn's Civil War memorial arch is laid

    The cornerstone of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch was set on October 30, 1889, at the southern end of Grand Army Plaza, and General William Tecumseh Sherman, the Civil War commander, gave a speech at the ceremony. The eastern abutment's foundation went in first, because streetcar tracks still ran across the spot for the western one. While digging, workers also struck a layer of muck left behind by a former pond.

    “The cornerstone of the arch was laid on October 30, 1889, and Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman spoke at the ceremony.”

    Source: Wikipedia

  2. 1892

    October 21

    President Cleveland dedicates the Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch during a citywide Columbus celebration

    The arch was dedicated on October 21, 1892, in a ceremony led by President Grover Cleveland. The day was also part of a citywide observance of the 400th anniversary of Columbus's expedition to the Americas. The monument had cost $250,000 to build. The ground around its base was still bare of plantings and ornament on the day.

    Source: Wikipedia

  3. 1895

    Thomas Eakins's Lincoln and Grant reliefs go up inside the arch and draw sharp criticism

    Thomas Eakins and William Rudolf O'Donovan had been hired around 1891 to carve bas-reliefs showing Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant mounted on horses, and the panels were installed in the archway in late 1895. Critics judged them poor, and the Brooklyn chapter of the American Institute of Architects called them disreputable. Park commissioner Timothy L. Woodruff at first refused to pay $7,500 of the $17,500 cost before agreeing to the money in July 1896.

    Source: Wikipedia

  4. 1901

    April 13

    Frederick MacMonnies's Army and Navy sculpture groups are dedicated at the arch

    The two bronze groups that Frederick MacMonnies designed for the arch's south side were dedicated on April 13, 1901. He had at first refused to install the Army group himself and gave in only when told he would not be paid otherwise. The Navy group was damaged while being shipped to the United States, repaired at a studio in Manhattan, and carried over the Brooklyn Bridge to the arch.

    Source: Wikipedia

  5. 1930

    A historical society president says the arch's soldiers were French; MacMonnies says they were Americans he saw in Paris

    In 1930 the president of the Kings County Historical Society claimed that the uniforms on MacMonnies's sculptures were based on French ones, and that the caps differ slightly from those of Civil War veterans. MacMonnies rejected the claim, saying he modeled the figures on Americans he saw in Paris, and that they carry the faces of himself and his friends. One of the wounded figures shows his former mentor, the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

    “MacMonnies refuted the claims, saying the figures were based upon Americans he saw in Paris. Specifically, the figures contain the faces of MacMonnies and his friends.”

    Source: Wikipedia

  6. 1976

    October

    The central figure of the arch's quadriga is left hanging by one screw in a windstorm

    A windstorm in October 1976 loosened the central figure of the quadriga on top of the arch, and Prospect Park administrator Mariella Bisson said it dangled by a single screw. Parks commissioner Martin Lang put the needed repairs at $200,000. The city's fiscal crisis held up the work for four years, until a $432,000 restoration contract went to Thomason Industries in November 1979 and the figure was put back in October 1980.

    “The central figure of the arch's quadriga came loose during a windstorm in October 1976; ... the figure was dangling by one screw.”

    Source: Wikipedia

  7. 2025

    June

    An $8.9 million restoration of the arch is completed after workers first scan its interior

    The arch's latest restoration was finished in June 2025 at a cost of $8.9 million. Work began in May 2023, and because the original blueprints had disappeared, workers first had to scan the interior. Maine stone from a quarry near the one that supplied the original stone took the place of some damaged blocks, and the project added brick reinforcement and restored the facade, drains, stairways, lights and roof.

    Source: Wikipedia

Further reading

Nearby

All 22 buildings with stories in Park Slope