Smith Memorial Arch

Smith Memorial Arch is an American Civil War monument at South Concourse and Lansdowne Drive in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Built on the former grounds of the 1876 Centennial Exposition, it serves as a gateway to West Fairmount Park. The Memorial consists of two colossal columns supported by curving, neo-Baroque arches, and adorned with thirteen individual portrait sculptures (2 equestrians, 3 figures, and 8 busts); two eagles standing on globes; and architectural reliefs of 8 allegorical figures.

1 History
2 Sculpture
3 References
4 Sources
5 External links

History

In 1891, Richard Smith (1821-1894), a wealthy Philadelphia electroplate and type founder, created a will which provided $500,000 for a memorial arch to be adorned with portraits of Pennsylvania's Civil War military and naval heroes. Smith deposited the model and designs for the memorial with the Fidelity Insurance Trust and Safe Deposit Company and stipulated that John B. Gest, president of Fidelity, should handle his request; that the architectural designs and construction should be handled by Philadelphia architect James H. Windrim; and that the selection and supervision of sculptors for the specified portraits should be handled by the Fairmount Park Art Association.^[1]

The will went into effect upon the death of Smith's wife in 1895, but it was not until 1897 that the Fairmount Park Art Association began work on selecting the sculptors. On May 8, 1898, the initial commissions were awarded, but it took until 1912 before the last sculpture was completed and installed on the arch.^[2]

The Estate of Richard and Sarah Smith also funded the creation of Smith Memorial Playground & Playhouse, in East Fairmount Park.

Sculpture

Statues

Major General George Gordon Meade by Daniel Chester French (atop south column).^[3]
Major General John Fulton Reynolds by Charles Grafly (atop north column).^[4]
Richard Smith (donor of the Memorial) by Herbert Adams (on pedestal of north column).^[5]

Equestrian statues

Major General George B. McClellan by Edward Clark Potter (atop south pier).^[6]
Major General Winfield Scott Hancock by John Quincy Adams Ward (atop north pier).^[7]

Busts

Major General John F. Hartranft by Alexander Stirling Calder.^[8]^[9]
Major General Samuel W. Crawford by Bessie Potter Vonnoh.^[10]
General James Addams Beaver by Katherine M. Cohen.^[11]^[12]
Admiral David Dixon Porter by Charles Grafly.^[13]
Admiral John A. B. Dahlgren by George Bissell.^[14]
Governor Andrew Gregg Curtin by Moses Jacob Ezekiel.^[15]
James H. Windrim (architect of the Memorial) by Samuel Murray.^[16]
John B. Gest (executor of Richard Smith's estate) by Charles Grafly.^[17]

Other sculpture

Two eagles standing on globes by John Massey Rhind.
Eight bas-relief allegorical figures by
The Memorial's frieze is carved with the names of 84 Pennsylvania veterans.
The Memorial's inscription reads:

THIS
MONUMENTAL MEMORIAL
PRESENTED BY
RICHARD SMITH
TYPE FOUNDER
OF PHILADELPHIA –
IN MEMORY OF
PENNSYLVANIANS WHO
TOOK PART IN THE CIVIL WAR
THEIR STRIFE WAS NOT FOR
AGGRANDIZEMENT AND WHEN
CONFLICT CEASED THE NORTH
WITH THE SOUTH UNITED AGAIN
TO ENJOY THE COMMON HERITAGE
LEFT BY THE FATHERS OF OUR
COUNTRY RESOLVING THAT
THEREAFTER ALL OUR PEOPLE
SHOULD DWELL TOGETHER
IN UNITY.^[18]

References

^ Smith Memorial Arch from Historic American Buildings Survey.
^ Smith Memorial from SIRIS.
^ Meade statue from Flickr.
^ Reynolds statue from Philadelphia Public Art.
^ Smith statue from Philadelphia Public Art.
^ McClellan equestrian statue from Philadelphia Public Art.
^ Hancock equestrian statue from Philadelphia Public Art.
^ For the eight portrait busts, the Fairmount Park Art Association decided that a uniform base was needed. The base designed by Alexander Stirling Calder for his bust of General Hartranft was chosen as the standard for all of the busts on the arch. Source: SIRIS.
^ Hartranft bust from Philadelphia Public Art.
^ Crawford bust from Philadelphia Public Art.
^ Beaver bust from Philadelphia Public Art.
^ Katherine M. Cohen from AskArt.
^ Porter bust from Philadelphia Public Art.
^ Dahlgren bust from Philadelphia Public Art.
^ Curtin bust from Philadelphia Public Art.
^ Windrim bust from Philadelphia Public Art.
^ Gest bust from Philadelphia Public Art.
^ Inscription from Flickr.

Sources

Fairmount Park Art Association, Sculpture of a City: Philadelphia's Treasures in Bronze and Stone (New York: Walker Publishing Company, 1974), pp. 168-179.
Penny Balkin Bach, Public Art in Philadelphia (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1992), p. 208.

External links

Pennsylvania in the American Civil War

Category Commons Main Article (American Civil War)

Campaigns & Battles	Gettysburg Campaign (template) Fairfield Gettysburg (template) Hanover Hunterstown

Fights & Skirmishes	Carlisle Chambersburg Monterey Gap Greencastle

Cities and Counties	Franklin County Harrisburg Philadelphia Pittsburgh

Units & People	Departments Monongahela Susquehanna Regiments (Category) 126th Pennsylvania Infantry 2nd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery

Posts & Hospitals	Camp Letterman Fort Mifflin Camp Curtin Camp Scott Camp Union Camp William Penn Carlisle Barracks Mower Hospital Satterlee Hospital York Hospital

Manufacturers	Frankford Arsenal Phoenix Iron Works

Civil War Museums and historic sites	Civil War and Underground Railroad Museum National Civil War Museum Gettysburg Battlefield Gettysburg National Cemetery Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center

Monuments and Memorials	North Carolina Monument The Pennsylvania State Memorial Smith Memorial Arch 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry Monument