By Craig Howell
Washington, D.C.
Monday, February 6, 2023
Last year, the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia organized the highly successful ceremonies commemorating the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial, anchoring the western end of the National Mall. Too easily forgotten, though, last year also marked the centennial of the dedication of the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial at the opposite end of the Mall, at the foot of Capitol Hill. Sadly enough, the Grant Memorial has been hiding in plain sight for these past 100 years.
We have scheduled a visit for Monday February 20, 2023. Craig Howell will explain how this unusual Memorial honors not only Grant but the men who soldiered under his command. He also will tell us much about the Memorial's sculptor, Henry Shrady, who literally worked himself to death over a 20-year span to see his unique vision brought to life. Craig will also explain how this Memorial was originally intended to be as grand and as central to the national mall as the Lincoln Memorial--a role hardly imaginable today. LGDC members and their guests are invited to gather at 2 p.m. on Presidents Day, February 20, on the First Street (back steps) side of the Memorial, between the Garfield Monument at the foot of Maryland Avenue SW and the so-called Peace Monument at the foot of Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Craig's talk should end by 2:30.
There is no charge for this event. All Lincoln Group of DC members and guests are invited.
Those coming by Metro should get out at the Federal Center SW Station, turn left at the top of the escalators to walk north past Independence Avenue to Maryland Avenue, turn right on Maryland Avenue past the U.S. Botanical Garden and turn left at Garfield Circle to get to the back steps of the Grant Memorial.
[Photo Credit: Public Domain, Wikimedia; By Remember - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3662524]