Central-Park-Conservatory-G

Central-Park-Conservatory-G

Image by Bogdan Migulski
The Garden is composed of three distinct parts, skillfully restored since the 1980s, and is accessible through the Vanderbilt Gate at Fifth Avenue and 105th Street, a quarter mile (400 m) south of the park's northeast corner. The Vanderbilt Gate (illustrated right) once gave access to the forecourt of Cornelius Vanderbilt II's chateau designed by George Browne Post, the grandest of the Fifth Avenue mansions of the Gilded Age, at 58th Street and Fifth Avenue, sharing the Plaza with the Plaza Hotel. The wrought iron gates with cast iron and repoussé details, were designed by Post and executed in an iron foundry in Paris.[3]
Below the steps flanked by Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas), the central section of the Conservatory Garden is a symmetrical lawn outlined in clipped yew,[4] with a single central fountain jet at the rear. It is flanked by twin allées of crabapples and backed by a curved wisteria pergola against the steep natural slope, that is dominated at its skyline by a giant American Sycamore. Otherwise there is no flower color: instead, on any fine Saturday afternoon in June, it is the scene of photography sessions for colorful wedding parties, for which limousines pull up in rows on Fifth Avenue.[5]
To the left on the south side, is the garden of mixed herbaceous borders in wide concentric bands around The Secret Garden water lily pool, dedicated in 1936 to the memory of Frances Hodgson Burnett, with sculpture by Bessie Potter Vonnoh.[6] Some large shrubs, like tree lilac, magnolias, buddleias and Cornus alba 'elegantissima' provide vertical structure and offer light shade to offset the sunny locations, planted by Lynden Miller with a wide range of hardy perennials and decorative grasses, intermixed with annuals planted to seem naturalized. This garden has seasonal features to draw visitors from April through October.


Untermyer Fountain/Three Dancing Maidens by Walter Schott
To the right of the central formal plat is a garden also in concentric circles, round the Untermyer Fountain, which was donated by the family of Samuel Untermyer in 1947. The bronze figures, Three Dancing Maidens by Walter Schott (1861-1938), were executed in Germany about 1910 [7] and formed a fountain at Untermyer's estate "Greystone" in Yonkers, New York.
This section of the Conservatory Garden has two dramatic seasons of massed display, of tulips in the spring and Korean chrysanthemums in the fall. Beds of santolina clipped in knotted designs with contrasting bronze-leaved bedding begonias surround the fountain, and four rose arbor gates are planted with reblooming 'Silver Moon' and 'Betty Prior' roses. Source: Wikipedia

Circle on quad - Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - Arlington National Cemetery - 2012

Image by dctim1
Looking south at the plaza east of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C., in the United States.

Arlington's first Amphitheater was constructed of wood in 1874, and soon proved far too small. Congress authorized construction of the Memorial Amphitheater on March 4, 1913. Ground-breaking occurred on March 1, 1915, and President Woodrow Wilson placed the cornerstone on October 15, 1915. It was dedicated on May 15, 1920.

Originally, the main entrance to Memorial Amphitheater had a rectangular granite plaza in front of it, from which some short marble steps led down to a slightly elliptical granite plaza surrounded by a marble balustrade. A retaining wall about 20 feet high formed the western end of the "Memorial Park" east of the Amphitheater. In front of the retaining wall, flagstone paths entered from the north and south (the curving paths led back up to the Amphitheater), joining to form a ellipsis with a grassy middle -- which you can see here. (The ellipsis is about 150 feet north-south and 50 feet east-west.) A rectangular grass lawn 50 feet wide extended about 200 feet eastward, ending in a series of short marble steps the led down to Roosevelt Drive. The lawn was bordered on either side with boxwood trees clipped into rectangular shapes.

Across Roosevelt Drive was another overlook. This shallow arc contained an Art Deco fountain made of polished bronze. It was anchored on either end with grey granite columns into which were carved by Art Deco eagles. A retaining wall dropped another 15 feet to Section 6 below the overlook.

The entire "Memorial Park" was designed to create a formal, Neoclassical space which provided a vista that allowed people standing on the overlooks to see the western end of the National Mall across the Potomac River, and to see the Lincoln Memorial (which began construction in 1914 and was finished in 1922, almost two years to the day after the Memorial Amphitheater was finished).

But this soon changed...

Memorial Amphitheater was altered forever the year after its dedication. In 1917, America entered World War I. More than 1.3 million Americans served in Europe during the war, and more than 116,516 died. Just 4,221 were unidentified or missing; the missing (3,173) were the vast majority of them. Nonetheless, 1,100 "unidentified" American war dead was a burden on the national conscience, and the media focused heavily on grieving mothers with no body to bury. Some American generals suggested in 1919 that a "Tomb of an Unknown Soldier" be created in the United States. The idea didn't gain traction at first, but in 1920 both England and France held huge public ceremonies honoring their unknown dead. These received much press attention in the United States, and on February 4, 1921, Congress enacted legislation establishing a similar memorial. Some proponents of the memorial originally proposed burying the unknown soldier in the crypt beneath the Capitol Rotunda -- a crypt originally planned for George Washington (but politely declined by his family). Worried that the Capitol might become a mausoleum, Congress instead chose Arlington National Cemetery as the site for the new memorial. On March 4, 1921, with just hours left in his presidency, President Woodrow Wilson signed the legislation into law.

In the United States, preparation for the "Tomb of the Unknown Solider" was frantically under way. The newly-formed American Legion (a congressionally-chartered veterans' lobby group) was pressing as late as May 1921 for the body to be buried in the Capitol Crypt. This debate was not resolved until mid-July, and by then very little time remained to create the monument. Where to build the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery continued until October, when it was decided that the view from the Memorial Amphitheater's plaza was the most appropriate site.

The Tomb was cut unto the center of the short steps which led down to the granite overlook. Diggers buried downward until they reached the level of the lawn below. They then continued another 20 feet below the surface. The subsurface shaft was 16 feet from east to west and 9.5 feet from north to south, and filled with solid concrete. This formed the footings for the vault above. The footings had to be that deep and that large because tons of marble were going to be placed on top of them, and the memorial could not be permitted to sink or become destabilized. The vault itself was lined with marble. The vault's walls ranged in thickness from 7 feet at the bottom to 2 feet, 4 inches at the top. A plinth (or "sub-base") was set on top of the vault walls. The plinth serves as the base of the memorial proper, and also helps to conceal the rough, unfinished top of the vault walls. The plinth was made of three finished, rectangular pieces of marble which fitted over the vault walls like a collar. These are on the north, south, and west sides of the vault, and were the only part of the substructure visible in 1921. (They remain visible today; you can just see them in this image.) Four rectangular marble pieces form the actual base of the memorial. These were mortared to the top of the plinth. A rectangular marble capstone with curved sides was placed on top of the base. The capstone was pierced with the a hole to permit the coffin to be lowered into through the base, through the plinth, and to the bottom of the grave vault. The bottom of the vault was lined with 2 inches of French soil, taken from various battlefields in France.

The World War I unknown was interred as scheduled on November 11, 1921. More than 100,000 people attended the ceremonies, including the Premier of France, Aristide Briand; the former Premier of France, Rene Viviani (who led France through the war); Marshal Ferdinand Foch (who was Commander in Chief of Allied Forces in France); President Warren G. Harding, former President William Howard Taft, and former President Woodrow Wilson. One thousand "gold star mothers" (women who had lost a son in the war) attended the ceremony, as did every single living Medal of Honor winner. The entire United States Cabinet was there, and so was the entire United States Supreme Court. Every member of the House and Senate was present (although they had to stand in the colonnade). A large number of military personnel also attended the dedication. These included General John Pershing, who had led American forces in Europe; Lieutenant General Nelson Miles, former Commanding General of the Army; Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty of the United Kingdom; General Armando Diaz, Marshal of Italy; General Baron Alphonse Jacques de Dixmude of Belgium; Frederick Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan, commander of British forces in Italy; Arthur Balfour, former Prime Minster of the United Kingdom; and Tokugawa, Prince of Japan. Also conspicuous was Chief Plenty Coups of the Crow Nation, in full battle regalia and headdress.

President Harding bestowed on the unknown soldier the Medal of Honor and the Distinguished Service Cross (the latter was never awarded again). General Jacques presented the Croix de Guerre, Belgium's highest military honor. (He took from his own chest the medal, which had been bestowed on him by King Albert.) Admiral Beatty bestowed the Victoria Cross, which had never before been given to a foreigner. Marshal Foch bestowed the Medaille Militaire and the Croix de Guerre with palm, France's highest military honor. General Diaz gave the Gold Medal for Bravery, Prince Bibescu of Romania gave the Virtuta Militaire, Dr. Dedrich Stephenek of Czechoslovakia presented the Szechoslovakia War Cross, and Prince Lubomirski of Poland gave the Virtuti Militan. When the coffin was ready for lowering into the vault, Chief Plenty Coups removed his war bonnet and tenderly placed it and his coup-stick on the coffin. He raised his hands to the sky. "I place on this grave of this noble warrior this coup stick and this war bonnet," he said, "every eagle feather of which represents a deed of valor by my race. I hope that the Great Spirit will grant that these noble warriors have not given up their lives in vain and that there will be peace to all men hereafter." An artillery battery fired, and the coffin began to be lowered. An answering a battery of fire came from the ''USS Olympia'', an American destroyer lying at anchor in the Potomac River. "Taps" were played. Once the coffin lay on the floor of the vault, the centerpiece of the capstone was put in place and the tomb sealed.

But all that existed was the base. The actual cenotaph, which you see here, did not yet exist.

Congress authorized completion of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in July 1926. The Secretary of War held a design competition, with judges from Arlington National Cemetery, the American Battle Monuments Commission, and the Commission of Fine Arts. Only architects of national standing were permitted to enter the competition, and 74 submitted designs. Five were chosen as finalists, and required to submit plaster models of their proposals. Architect Lorimer Rich and sculptor Thomas Hudson Jones won the competition. Their design imitated a sarcophagus, but really was a solid block of marble. The design included a thin rectangular base to go on top of the existing capstone. Then there was the "die block" (the main monument), on top of which was a capstone. The die block featured Doric pilasters (fake columns) in low relief at the corners. On the east side (facing the Potomac River) was a sculpture in low relief of three figures, representing female Victory, Valor (male, to her left), and Peace (female). The north and south sides were divided into three sections by fluted Doric pilasters, with an inverted wreath on the upper portion of each section. On the west side (facing the amphitheater) was the inscription: "Here Rests In Honored Glory An American Soldier Known But To God." It is still not clear who came up with the phrase, but it had been used on crosses marking the graves of unknown soldiers in Europe as early as 1925. The judges asked that the approaches to the Tomb be improved as well. Clarence Renshaw designed the steps. The balustrade was removed, and the short series of steps extended outward and downward until they reached the lawn. A small landing exists two-thirds of the way down, after which the steps continue (wider than before). Congress approved funding for the memorial and new steps on February 29, 1929, and a contract to complete the Tomb was awarded on December 21, 1929. Quartermaster General Brig. Gen. Louis H. Bash oversaw the construction, which was done by Hegman and Harris.

The Vermont Marble Company provided the marble. This proved very problematic. The Yule Marble Quarry at Marble, Colorado, was chosen as the quarry. A year passed before suitable pieces of marble could be located at the quarry and mined. Three pieces had to be mined before a piece suitable for the 56-ton die block was found. Three pieces were mined and discarded before a fourth piece was found for the 18-ton base. But once the base arrived at Arlington, workers discovered an imperfection in the marble which caused it to be discarded. A fifth, sixth, and seventh piece of marble was then mined, but only the eighth piece was suitable and brought to the cemetery. Amazingly, a piece for the 14-ton capstone was found on the first try.

Work began on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in September 1931, but stopped for three months after a flaw in the base was found. Work resumed in December, and all three pieces were in place on December 31, 1931. Fabrication was completed on-site, with sculptor Jones working five days a week. The Tomb was completed and opened to the public on April 9, 1932. There was no dedication ceremony, and the memorial has never been officially named.

Unfortunately, the Tomb began to fall apart almost immediately. Chips and spalls (pieces broken off after heating and contracting) were found coming off the base in 1933. By 1963, a huge horizontal and secondary vertical crack had appeared in the die block -- probably caused by the release of pressure after the marble was mined. Acid rain and pollution have caused the marble sculptures to wear down appreciably, such that today they are only about half as sharp as they once were. Although there is no likelihood that the monument will collapse, debate continues to rage as to whether the monument should be replaced.

Beginning on July 2, 1937, the U.S. Army began permanently stationing an honor guard at the Tomb. The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment ("The Old Guard") formally took over these duties on April 6, 1948. It is guarded 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year long. The guard is changed once every hour, on the hour. Out of respect for the dead, the guard carries his rifle on the outside shoulder -- away from the Tomb. The guard is not permitted to speak or break his march, unless someone enters the restricted area around the Tomb. If this happens, the guard must come to a halt and bring his rifle (loaded with live ammunition) to port-arms. This is usually enough to make the person move back. (No one has ever gone further than the sharp slap of the rifle in the guard's hands.)

In June 1946, Congress approved the burial of unknown American from World War II at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Thirteen American unknowns were exhumed from cemeteries in Europe and Africa and shipped to Epinal, France. Maj. Gen. Edward J. O'Neill, U.S. Army, chose one of these caskets on May 12, 1958, as the "trans-Atlantic Candidate unknown." This casket was transported by air to Naples and placed aboard the USS Blandy. Two American unknowns were disinterred from the National Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii and four American unknowns disinterred from Fort McKinley American Cemetery in the Philippines. The six unknowns were taken by air to Hickam Air Force Base. On May 16, 1958, Col. Glen Eagleston, U.S. Air Force, selected a "trans-Pacific Candidate unknown," which was placed aboard the USS Canberra. The Blandy and Canberra rendezvoused off Virginia in May 1958, at which time the trans-Pacific Candidate unknown was transferred to the Canberra. Hospitalman First Class William R. Charette, the Navy's only active enlisted holder of the Medal of Honor, then placed a wreath at the foot of the casket on his right. (The other remains were buried at sea.) This individual became the World War II Unknown.

In August 1956, Congress approved the burial of a Korean War unknown at the Tomb. The remains of four unknown Americans from the Korean conflict were exhumed from the National Cemetery of the Pacific. On May 15, 1958, Master Sergeant Ned Lyle placed a wreath on the fourth casket to choose the Korean War Unknown. (The other three unknowns were reinterred in the National Cemetery of the Pacific.)

Because so much time had passed, the World War II and Korean War unknowns were chosen at the same time. The Unknown of Korea was transported aboard the Canberra at the same time as the "trans-Pacific Candidate unknown."

After the World War II Unknown was chosen, both the WWII and Korean War remains were taken back to the Blandy, which transported them to Washington, D.C. Like the World War I Unknown, they lay in state in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol. Both were interred in vaults on the west side of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Memorial Day, May 30, 1958. Rather than enlarge the WWI vault, new vaults were dug in the plaza on the west side of the Tomb.

Congress authorized the entombment of a Vietnam War casualty in 1973. But with advances in identification of remains, no unknown remains could be found. Pressure from Vietnam veterans' groups was making the issue politically potent by the early 1980s, especially with Republican Ronald Reagan in office as president. And that's where the scandal began... In May 1972, 24-year-old U.S. Air Force pilot Michael Blassie was shot down in South Vietnam close to the Cambodia border. In October 1972, American ground patrols found Blassie's identity card, some American money, shreds of a USAF flight suit, and some skeletal remains near where Blassie went down. The I.D. card and money went missing soon thereafter. Pentagon officials declared the remains "likely to be" Blassie's, but no firm identification was ever made. By 1980, only four sets of Vietnam War-era remains could be declared unidentified, and one of these were the Blassie remains. In 1980, for unknown reasons, an Army review board ruled that the bones were not Blassie's. Soon thereafter, all documents in the file were removed and destroyed.

On May 8, 1984, the no-longer-"likely" remains were declared "unknown." The Vietnam Unknown was selected by Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Allan Jay Kellogg, Jr. (a Medal of Honor recipient) at Pearl Harbor on May 17, 1984. The unknown's remains were transported by the USS Brewton to Alameda Naval Base in California. They arrived on May 23, 1984, and were transported by automobile to nearby Travis Air Force Base on May 24. The remains were transported by air to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on May 25, and lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda from May 25 to May 28. They were interred in a new vault in front of the Tomb on May 28, 1984. President Reagan presented the Medal of Honor to the unknown soldier.

The possibility that the remains were Blassie's was first raised by a man investigating missing-in-action cases. The story broke into the press in January 1998, and in April the two U.S. Senators from Missouri and Blassie's family were demanding answers. After a high-level Pentagon review, the Secretary of the Army recommended on April 26 that the remains be disinterred. The Secretary of Defense ordered exhumation on May 6, and the remains came above ground on May 13. A DNA sample was obtained from the remains on June 15, and on June 29 the remains were identified as Blassie's. Blassie was buried in his home town of St. Louis on July 10, 1998, with handfuls of soil from Arlington National Cemetery. The following month, Blassie's family asked to keep the Medal of Honor, but the Pentagon refused -- saying it was intended to go to the unknown, not to Blassie (who had not won it). In June 1999, with no further unidentified Vietnam War remains available, Pentagon officials said they would keep the vault empty. The Vietnam War crypt was rededicated on September 16, 1999.

Interestingly, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier caused some major changes to D.C. as well as Arlington National Cemetery.

The final piece of "Arlington National Cemetery" as we know it today came with the construction of Arlington Memorial Bridge, Memorial Drive, and the Arlington Memorial Entrance in 1932. The bridge, the drive, and the entrance were designed as a single project and were dedicated on January 16, 1932 by President Herbert Hoover. The U.S. Commission on Fine Arts required that the bridge act as a symbolic link between North and South.

In fact, the famous McMillan Commission (which established the National Mall and set the locations of the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials) had proposed the bridge in 1901, but no action had been taken. When President Harding dedicated the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in 1921, so many people swarmed over Highway Bridge (now the 14th Street Bridges) that it caused a three-hour traffic jam! Harding's own car had to abandon the roadway and take to the grass shoulder to get to the cemetery on time. Secretary of State Charles Evan Hughes had to walk across the bridge to make it.

Looking NE across quadrangle - Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - Arlington National Cemetery - 2012

Image by dctim1
Looking northeast across the grassy ellipsis (foreground) and the quadrangle (middle ground) east of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C., in the United States.

Arlington's first Amphitheater was constructed of wood in 1874, and soon proved far too small. Congress authorized construction of the Memorial Amphitheater on March 4, 1913. Ground-breaking occurred on March 1, 1915, and President Woodrow Wilson placed the cornerstone on October 15, 1915. It was dedicated on May 15, 1920.

Originally, the main entrance to Memorial Amphitheater had a rectangular granite plaza in front of it, from which some short marble steps led down to a slightly elliptical granite plaza surrounded by a marble balustrade. A retaining wall about 20 feet high formed the western end of the "Memorial Park" east of the Amphitheater. In front of the retaining wall, flagstone paths entered from the north and south (the curving paths led back up to the Amphitheater), joining to form a ellipsis with a grassy middle -- which you can see here. (The ellipsis is about 150 feet north-south and 50 feet east-west.) A rectangular grass lawn 50 feet wide extended about 200 feet eastward, ending in a series of short marble steps the led down to Roosevelt Drive. The lawn was bordered on either side with boxwood trees clipped into rectangular shapes.

Across Roosevelt Drive was another overlook. This shallow arc contained an Art Deco fountain made of polished bronze. It was anchored on either end with grey granite columns into which were carved by Art Deco eagles. A retaining wall dropped another 15 feet to Section 6 below the overlook.

The entire "Memorial Park" was designed to create a formal, Neoclassical space which provided a vista that allowed people standing on the overlooks to see the western end of the National Mall across the Potomac River, and to see the Lincoln Memorial (which began construction in 1914 and was finished in 1922, almost two years to the day after the Memorial Amphitheater was finished).

But this soon changed...

Memorial Amphitheater was altered forever the year after its dedication. In 1917, America entered World War I. More than 1.3 million Americans served in Europe during the war, and more than 116,516 died. Just 4,221 were unidentified or missing; the missing (3,173) were the vast majority of them. Nonetheless, 1,100 "unidentified" American war dead was a burden on the national conscience, and the media focused heavily on grieving mothers with no body to bury. Some American generals suggested in 1919 that a "Tomb of an Unknown Soldier" be created in the United States. The idea didn't gain traction at first, but in 1920 both England and France held huge public ceremonies honoring their unknown dead. These received much press attention in the United States, and on February 4, 1921, Congress enacted legislation establishing a similar memorial. Some proponents of the memorial originally proposed burying the unknown soldier in the crypt beneath the Capitol Rotunda -- a crypt originally planned for George Washington (but politely declined by his family). Worried that the Capitol might become a mausoleum, Congress instead chose Arlington National Cemetery as the site for the new memorial. On March 4, 1921, with just hours left in his presidency, President Woodrow Wilson signed the legislation into law.

In the United States, preparation for the "Tomb of the Unknown Solider" was frantically under way. The newly-formed American Legion (a congressionally-chartered veterans' lobby group) was pressing as late as May 1921 for the body to be buried in the Capitol Crypt. This debate was not resolved until mid-July, and by then very little time remained to create the monument. Where to build the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery continued until October, when it was decided that the view from the Memorial Amphitheater's plaza was the most appropriate site.

The Tomb was cut unto the center of the short steps which led down to the granite overlook. Diggers buried downward until they reached the level of the lawn below. They then continued another 20 feet below the surface. The subsurface shaft was 16 feet from east to west and 9.5 feet from north to south, and filled with solid concrete. This formed the footings for the vault above. The footings had to be that deep and that large because tons of marble were going to be placed on top of them, and the memorial could not be permitted to sink or become destabilized. The vault itself was lined with marble. The vault's walls ranged in thickness from 7 feet at the bottom to 2 feet, 4 inches at the top. A plinth (or "sub-base") was set on top of the vault walls. The plinth serves as the base of the memorial proper, and also helps to conceal the rough, unfinished top of the vault walls. The plinth was made of three finished, rectangular pieces of marble which fitted over the vault walls like a collar. These are on the north, south, and west sides of the vault, and were the only part of the substructure visible in 1921. (They remain visible today; you can just see them in this image.) Four rectangular marble pieces form the actual base of the memorial. These were mortared to the top of the plinth. A rectangular marble capstone with curved sides was placed on top of the base. The capstone was pierced with the a hole to permit the coffin to be lowered into through the base, through the plinth, and to the bottom of the grave vault. The bottom of the vault was lined with 2 inches of French soil, taken from various battlefields in France.

The World War I unknown was interred as scheduled on November 11, 1921. More than 100,000 people attended the ceremonies, including the Premier of France, Aristide Briand; the former Premier of France, Rene Viviani (who led France through the war); Marshal Ferdinand Foch (who was Commander in Chief of Allied Forces in France); President Warren G. Harding, former President William Howard Taft, and former President Woodrow Wilson. One thousand "gold star mothers" (women who had lost a son in the war) attended the ceremony, as did every single living Medal of Honor winner. The entire United States Cabinet was there, and so was the entire United States Supreme Court. Every member of the House and Senate was present (although they had to stand in the colonnade). A large number of military personnel also attended the dedication. These included General John Pershing, who had led American forces in Europe; Lieutenant General Nelson Miles, former Commanding General of the Army; Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty of the United Kingdom; General Armando Diaz, Marshal of Italy; General Baron Alphonse Jacques de Dixmude of Belgium; Frederick Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan, commander of British forces in Italy; Arthur Balfour, former Prime Minster of the United Kingdom; and Tokugawa, Prince of Japan. Also conspicuous was Chief Plenty Coups of the Crow Nation, in full battle regalia and headdress.

President Harding bestowed on the unknown soldier the Medal of Honor and the Distinguished Service Cross (the latter was never awarded again). General Jacques presented the Croix de Guerre, Belgium's highest military honor. (He took from his own chest the medal, which had been bestowed on him by King Albert.) Admiral Beatty bestowed the Victoria Cross, which had never before been given to a foreigner. Marshal Foch bestowed the Medaille Militaire and the Croix de Guerre with palm, France's highest military honor. General Diaz gave the Gold Medal for Bravery, Prince Bibescu of Romania gave the Virtuta Militaire, Dr. Dedrich Stephenek of Czechoslovakia presented the Szechoslovakia War Cross, and Prince Lubomirski of Poland gave the Virtuti Militan. When the coffin was ready for lowering into the vault, Chief Plenty Coups removed his war bonnet and tenderly placed it and his coup-stick on the coffin. He raised his hands to the sky. "I place on this grave of this noble warrior this coup stick and this war bonnet," he said, "every eagle feather of which represents a deed of valor by my race. I hope that the Great Spirit will grant that these noble warriors have not given up their lives in vain and that there will be peace to all men hereafter." An artillery battery fired, and the coffin began to be lowered. An answering a battery of fire came from the ''USS Olympia'', an American destroyer lying at anchor in the Potomac River. "Taps" were played. Once the coffin lay on the floor of the vault, the centerpiece of the capstone was put in place and the tomb sealed.

But all that existed was the base. The actual cenotaph, which you see here, did not yet exist.

Congress authorized completion of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in July 1926. The Secretary of War held a design competition, with judges from Arlington National Cemetery, the American Battle Monuments Commission, and the Commission of Fine Arts. Only architects of national standing were permitted to enter the competition, and 74 submitted designs. Five were chosen as finalists, and required to submit plaster models of their proposals. Architect Lorimer Rich and sculptor Thomas Hudson Jones won the competition. Their design imitated a sarcophagus, but really was a solid block of marble. The design included a thin rectangular base to go on top of the existing capstone. Then there was the "die block" (the main monument), on top of which was a capstone. The die block featured Doric pilasters (fake columns) in low relief at the corners. On the east side (facing the Potomac River) was a sculpture in low relief of three figures, representing female Victory, Valor (male, to her left), and Peace (female). The north and south sides were divided into three sections by fluted Doric pilasters, with an inverted wreath on the upper portion of each section. On the west side (facing the amphitheater) was the inscription: "Here Rests In Honored Glory An American Soldier Known But To God." It is still not clear who came up with the phrase, but it had been used on crosses marking the graves of unknown soldiers in Europe as early as 1925. The judges asked that the approaches to the Tomb be improved as well. Clarence Renshaw designed the steps. The balustrade was removed, and the short series of steps extended outward and downward until they reached the lawn. A small landing exists two-thirds of the way down, after which the steps continue (wider than before). Congress approved funding for the memorial and new steps on February 29, 1929, and a contract to complete the Tomb was awarded on December 21, 1929. Quartermaster General Brig. Gen. Louis H. Bash oversaw the construction, which was done by Hegman and Harris.

The Vermont Marble Company provided the marble. This proved very problematic. The Yule Marble Quarry at Marble, Colorado, was chosen as the quarry. A year passed before suitable pieces of marble could be located at the quarry and mined. Three pieces had to be mined before a piece suitable for the 56-ton die block was found. Three pieces were mined and discarded before a fourth piece was found for the 18-ton base. But once the base arrived at Arlington, workers discovered an imperfection in the marble which caused it to be discarded. A fifth, sixth, and seventh piece of marble was then mined, but only the eighth piece was suitable and brought to the cemetery. Amazingly, a piece for the 14-ton capstone was found on the first try.

Work began on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in September 1931, but stopped for three months after a flaw in the base was found. Work resumed in December, and all three pieces were in place on December 31, 1931. Fabrication was completed on-site, with sculptor Jones working five days a week. The Tomb was completed and opened to the public on April 9, 1932. There was no dedication ceremony, and the memorial has never been officially named.

Unfortunately, the Tomb began to fall apart almost immediately. Chips and spalls (pieces broken off after heating and contracting) were found coming off the base in 1933. By 1963, a huge horizontal and secondary vertical crack had appeared in the die block -- probably caused by the release of pressure after the marble was mined. Acid rain and pollution have caused the marble sculptures to wear down appreciably, such that today they are only about half as sharp as they once were. Although there is no likelihood that the monument will collapse, debate continues to rage as to whether the monument should be replaced.

Beginning on July 2, 1937, the U.S. Army began permanently stationing an honor guard at the Tomb. The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment ("The Old Guard") formally took over these duties on April 6, 1948. It is guarded 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year long. The guard is changed once every hour, on the hour. Out of respect for the dead, the guard carries his rifle on the outside shoulder -- away from the Tomb. The guard is not permitted to speak or break his march, unless someone enters the restricted area around the Tomb. If this happens, the guard must come to a halt and bring his rifle (loaded with live ammunition) to port-arms. This is usually enough to make the person move back. (No one has ever gone further than the sharp slap of the rifle in the guard's hands.)

In June 1946, Congress approved the burial of unknown American from World War II at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Thirteen American unknowns were exhumed from cemeteries in Europe and Africa and shipped to Epinal, France. Maj. Gen. Edward J. O'Neill, U.S. Army, chose one of these caskets on May 12, 1958, as the "trans-Atlantic Candidate unknown." This casket was transported by air to Naples and placed aboard the USS Blandy. Two American unknowns were disinterred from the National Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii and four American unknowns disinterred from Fort McKinley American Cemetery in the Philippines. The six unknowns were taken by air to Hickam Air Force Base. On May 16, 1958, Col. Glen Eagleston, U.S. Air Force, selected a "trans-Pacific Candidate unknown," which was placed aboard the USS Canberra. The Blandy and Canberra rendezvoused off Virginia in May 1958, at which time the trans-Pacific Candidate unknown was transferred to the Canberra. Hospitalman First Class William R. Charette, the Navy's only active enlisted holder of the Medal of Honor, then placed a wreath at the foot of the casket on his right. (The other remains were buried at sea.) This individual became the World War II Unknown.

In August 1956, Congress approved the burial of a Korean War unknown at the Tomb. The remains of four unknown Americans from the Korean conflict were exhumed from the National Cemetery of the Pacific. On May 15, 1958, Master Sergeant Ned Lyle placed a wreath on the fourth casket to choose the Korean War Unknown. (The other three unknowns were reinterred in the National Cemetery of the Pacific.)

Because so much time had passed, the World War II and Korean War unknowns were chosen at the same time. The Unknown of Korea was transported aboard the Canberra at the same time as the "trans-Pacific Candidate unknown."

After the World War II Unknown was chosen, both the WWII and Korean War remains were taken back to the Blandy, which transported them to Washington, D.C. Like the World War I Unknown, they lay in state in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol. Both were interred in vaults on the west side of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Memorial Day, May 30, 1958. Rather than enlarge the WWI vault, new vaults were dug in the plaza on the west side of the Tomb.

Congress authorized the entombment of a Vietnam War casualty in 1973. But with advances in identification of remains, no unknown remains could be found. Pressure from Vietnam veterans' groups was making the issue politically potent by the early 1980s, especially with Republican Ronald Reagan in office as president. And that's where the scandal began... In May 1972, 24-year-old U.S. Air Force pilot Michael Blassie was shot down in South Vietnam close to the Cambodia border. In October 1972, American ground patrols found Blassie's identity card, some American money, shreds of a USAF flight suit, and some skeletal remains near where Blassie went down. The I.D. card and money went missing soon thereafter. Pentagon officials declared the remains "likely to be" Blassie's, but no firm identification was ever made. By 1980, only four sets of Vietnam War-era remains could be declared unidentified, and one of these were the Blassie remains. In 1980, for unknown reasons, an Army review board ruled that the bones were not Blassie's. Soon thereafter, all documents in the file were removed and destroyed.

On May 8, 1984, the no-longer-"likely" remains were declared "unknown." The Vietnam Unknown was selected by Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Allan Jay Kellogg, Jr. (a Medal of Honor recipient) at Pearl Harbor on May 17, 1984. The unknown's remains were transported by the USS Brewton to Alameda Naval Base in California. They arrived on May 23, 1984, and were transported by automobile to nearby Travis Air Force Base on May 24. The remains were transported by air to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on May 25, and lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda from May 25 to May 28. They were interred in a new vault in front of the Tomb on May 28, 1984. President Reagan presented the Medal of Honor to the unknown soldier.

The possibility that the remains were Blassie's was first raised by a man investigating missing-in-action cases. The story broke into the press in January 1998, and in April the two U.S. Senators from Missouri and Blassie's family were demanding answers. After a high-level Pentagon review, the Secretary of the Army recommended on April 26 that the remains be disinterred. The Secretary of Defense ordered exhumation on May 6, and the remains came above ground on May 13. A DNA sample was obtained from the remains on June 15, and on June 29 the remains were identified as Blassie's. Blassie was buried in his home town of St. Louis on July 10, 1998, with handfuls of soil from Arlington National Cemetery. The following month, Blassie's family asked to keep the Medal of Honor, but the Pentagon refused -- saying it was intended to go to the unknown, not to Blassie (who had not won it). In June 1999, with no further unidentified Vietnam War remains available, Pentagon officials said they would keep the vault empty. The Vietnam War crypt was rededicated on September 16, 1999.

Interestingly, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier caused some major changes to D.C. as well as Arlington National Cemetery.

The final piece of "Arlington National Cemetery" as we know it today came with the construction of Arlington Memorial Bridge, Memorial Drive, and the Arlington Memorial Entrance in 1932. The bridge, the drive, and the entrance were designed as a single project and were dedicated on January 16, 1932 by President Herbert Hoover. The U.S. Commission on Fine Arts required that the bridge act as a symbolic link between North and South.

In fact, the famous McMillan Commission (which established the National Mall and set the locations of the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials) had proposed the bridge in 1901, but no action had been taken. When President Harding dedicated the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in 1921, so many people swarmed over Highway Bridge (now the 14th Street Bridges) that it caused a three-hour traffic jam! Harding's own car had to abandon the roadway and take to the grass shoulder to get to the cemetery on time. Secretary of State Charles Evan Hughes had to walk across the bridge to make it.

Looking SE across quadrangle - Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - Arlington National Cemetery - 2012

Image by dctim1
Looking southeast across the grassy ellipsis (foreground) and the quadrangle (middle ground) east of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C., in the United States.

Arlington's first Amphitheater was constructed of wood in 1874, and soon proved far too small. Congress authorized construction of the Memorial Amphitheater on March 4, 1913. Ground-breaking occurred on March 1, 1915, and President Woodrow Wilson placed the cornerstone on October 15, 1915. It was dedicated on May 15, 1920.

Originally, the main entrance to Memorial Amphitheater had a rectangular granite plaza in front of it, from which some short marble steps led down to a slightly elliptical granite plaza surrounded by a marble balustrade. A retaining wall about 20 feet high formed the western end of the "Memorial Park" east of the Amphitheater. In front of the retaining wall, flagstone paths entered from the north and south (the curving paths led back up to the Amphitheater), joining to form a ellipsis with a grassy middle -- which you can see here. (The ellipsis is about 150 feet north-south and 50 feet east-west.) A rectangular grass lawn 50 feet wide extended about 200 feet eastward, ending in a series of short marble steps the led down to Roosevelt Drive. The lawn was bordered on either side with boxwood trees clipped into rectangular shapes.

Across Roosevelt Drive was another overlook. This shallow arc contained an Art Deco fountain made of polished bronze. It was anchored on either end with grey granite columns into which were carved by Art Deco eagles. A retaining wall dropped another 15 feet to Section 6 below the overlook.

The entire "Memorial Park" was designed to create a formal, Neoclassical space which provided a vista that allowed people standing on the overlooks to see the western end of the National Mall across the Potomac River, and to see the Lincoln Memorial (which began construction in 1914 and was finished in 1922, almost two years to the day after the Memorial Amphitheater was finished).

But this soon changed...

Memorial Amphitheater was altered forever the year after its dedication. In 1917, America entered World War I. More than 1.3 million Americans served in Europe during the war, and more than 116,516 died. Just 4,221 were unidentified or missing; the missing (3,173) were the vast majority of them. Nonetheless, 1,100 "unidentified" American war dead was a burden on the national conscience, and the media focused heavily on grieving mothers with no body to bury. Some American generals suggested in 1919 that a "Tomb of an Unknown Soldier" be created in the United States. The idea didn't gain traction at first, but in 1920 both England and France held huge public ceremonies honoring their unknown dead. These received much press attention in the United States, and on February 4, 1921, Congress enacted legislation establishing a similar memorial. Some proponents of the memorial originally proposed burying the unknown soldier in the crypt beneath the Capitol Rotunda -- a crypt originally planned for George Washington (but politely declined by his family). Worried that the Capitol might become a mausoleum, Congress instead chose Arlington National Cemetery as the site for the new memorial. On March 4, 1921, with just hours left in his presidency, President Woodrow Wilson signed the legislation into law.

In the United States, preparation for the "Tomb of the Unknown Solider" was frantically under way. The newly-formed American Legion (a congressionally-chartered veterans' lobby group) was pressing as late as May 1921 for the body to be buried in the Capitol Crypt. This debate was not resolved until mid-July, and by then very little time remained to create the monument. Where to build the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery continued until October, when it was decided that the view from the Memorial Amphitheater's plaza was the most appropriate site.

The Tomb was cut unto the center of the short steps which led down to the granite overlook. Diggers buried downward until they reached the level of the lawn below. They then continued another 20 feet below the surface. The subsurface shaft was 16 feet from east to west and 9.5 feet from north to south, and filled with solid concrete. This formed the footings for the vault above. The footings had to be that deep and that large because tons of marble were going to be placed on top of them, and the memorial could not be permitted to sink or become destabilized. The vault itself was lined with marble. The vault's walls ranged in thickness from 7 feet at the bottom to 2 feet, 4 inches at the top. A plinth (or "sub-base") was set on top of the vault walls. The plinth serves as the base of the memorial proper, and also helps to conceal the rough, unfinished top of the vault walls. The plinth was made of three finished, rectangular pieces of marble which fitted over the vault walls like a collar. These are on the north, south, and west sides of the vault, and were the only part of the substructure visible in 1921. (They remain visible today; you can just see them in this image.) Four rectangular marble pieces form the actual base of the memorial. These were mortared to the top of the plinth. A rectangular marble capstone with curved sides was placed on top of the base. The capstone was pierced with the a hole to permit the coffin to be lowered into through the base, through the plinth, and to the bottom of the grave vault. The bottom of the vault was lined with 2 inches of French soil, taken from various battlefields in France.

The World War I unknown was interred as scheduled on November 11, 1921. More than 100,000 people attended the ceremonies, including the Premier of France, Aristide Briand; the former Premier of France, Rene Viviani (who led France through the war); Marshal Ferdinand Foch (who was Commander in Chief of Allied Forces in France); President Warren G. Harding, former President William Howard Taft, and former President Woodrow Wilson. One thousand "gold star mothers" (women who had lost a son in the war) attended the ceremony, as did every single living Medal of Honor winner. The entire United States Cabinet was there, and so was the entire United States Supreme Court. Every member of the House and Senate was present (although they had to stand in the colonnade). A large number of military personnel also attended the dedication. These included General John Pershing, who had led American forces in Europe; Lieutenant General Nelson Miles, former Commanding General of the Army; Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty of the United Kingdom; General Armando Diaz, Marshal of Italy; General Baron Alphonse Jacques de Dixmude of Belgium; Frederick Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan, commander of British forces in Italy; Arthur Balfour, former Prime Minster of the United Kingdom; and Tokugawa, Prince of Japan. Also conspicuous was Chief Plenty Coups of the Crow Nation, in full battle regalia and headdress.

President Harding bestowed on the unknown soldier the Medal of Honor and the Distinguished Service Cross (the latter was never awarded again). General Jacques presented the Croix de Guerre, Belgium's highest military honor. (He took from his own chest the medal, which had been bestowed on him by King Albert.) Admiral Beatty bestowed the Victoria Cross, which had never before been given to a foreigner. Marshal Foch bestowed the Medaille Militaire and the Croix de Guerre with palm, France's highest military honor. General Diaz gave the Gold Medal for Bravery, Prince Bibescu of Romania gave the Virtuta Militaire, Dr. Dedrich Stephenek of Czechoslovakia presented the Szechoslovakia War Cross, and Prince Lubomirski of Poland gave the Virtuti Militan. When the coffin was ready for lowering into the vault, Chief Plenty Coups removed his war bonnet and tenderly placed it and his coup-stick on the coffin. He raised his hands to the sky. "I place on this grave of this noble warrior this coup stick and this war bonnet," he said, "every eagle feather of which represents a deed of valor by my race. I hope that the Great Spirit will grant that these noble warriors have not given up their lives in vain and that there will be peace to all men hereafter." An artillery battery fired, and the coffin began to be lowered. An answering a battery of fire came from the ''USS Olympia'', an American destroyer lying at anchor in the Potomac River. "Taps" were played. Once the coffin lay on the floor of the vault, the centerpiece of the capstone was put in place and the tomb sealed.

But all that existed was the base. The actual cenotaph, which you see here, did not yet exist.

Congress authorized completion of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in July 1926. The Secretary of War held a design competition, with judges from Arlington National Cemetery, the American Battle Monuments Commission, and the Commission of Fine Arts. Only architects of national standing were permitted to enter the competition, and 74 submitted designs. Five were chosen as finalists, and required to submit plaster models of their proposals. Architect Lorimer Rich and sculptor Thomas Hudson Jones won the competition. Their design imitated a sarcophagus, but really was a solid block of marble. The design included a thin rectangular base to go on top of the existing capstone. Then there was the "die block" (the main monument), on top of which was a capstone. The die block featured Doric pilasters (fake columns) in low relief at the corners. On the east side (facing the Potomac River) was a sculpture in low relief of three figures, representing female Victory, Valor (male, to her left), and Peace (female). The north and south sides were divided into three sections by fluted Doric pilasters, with an inverted wreath on the upper portion of each section. On the west side (facing the amphitheater) was the inscription: "Here Rests In Honored Glory An American Soldier Known But To God." It is still not clear who came up with the phrase, but it had been used on crosses marking the graves of unknown soldiers in Europe as early as 1925. The judges asked that the approaches to the Tomb be improved as well. Clarence Renshaw designed the steps. The balustrade was removed, and the short series of steps extended outward and downward until they reached the lawn. A small landing exists two-thirds of the way down, after which the steps continue (wider than before). Congress approved funding for the memorial and new steps on February 29, 1929, and a contract to complete the Tomb was awarded on December 21, 1929. Quartermaster General Brig. Gen. Louis H. Bash oversaw the construction, which was done by Hegman and Harris.

The Vermont Marble Company provided the marble. This proved very problematic. The Yule Marble Quarry at Marble, Colorado, was chosen as the quarry. A year passed before suitable pieces of marble could be located at the quarry and mined. Three pieces had to be mined before a piece suitable for the 56-ton die block was found. Three pieces were mined and discarded before a fourth piece was found for the 18-ton base. But once the base arrived at Arlington, workers discovered an imperfection in the marble which caused it to be discarded. A fifth, sixth, and seventh piece of marble was then mined, but only the eighth piece was suitable and brought to the cemetery. Amazingly, a piece for the 14-ton capstone was found on the first try.

Work began on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in September 1931, but stopped for three months after a flaw in the base was found. Work resumed in December, and all three pieces were in place on December 31, 1931. Fabrication was completed on-site, with sculptor Jones working five days a week. The Tomb was completed and opened to the public on April 9, 1932. There was no dedication ceremony, and the memorial has never been officially named.

Unfortunately, the Tomb began to fall apart almost immediately. Chips and spalls (pieces broken off after heating and contracting) were found coming off the base in 1933. By 1963, a huge horizontal and secondary vertical crack had appeared in the die block -- probably caused by the release of pressure after the marble was mined. Acid rain and pollution have caused the marble sculptures to wear down appreciably, such that today they are only about half as sharp as they once were. Although there is no likelihood that the monument will collapse, debate continues to rage as to whether the monument should be replaced.

Beginning on July 2, 1937, the U.S. Army began permanently stationing an honor guard at the Tomb. The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment ("The Old Guard") formally took over these duties on April 6, 1948. It is guarded 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year long. The guard is changed once every hour, on the hour. Out of respect for the dead, the guard carries his rifle on the outside shoulder -- away from the Tomb. The guard is not permitted to speak or break his march, unless someone enters the restricted area around the Tomb. If this happens, the guard must come to a halt and bring his rifle (loaded with live ammunition) to port-arms. This is usually enough to make the person move back. (No one has ever gone further than the sharp slap of the rifle in the guard's hands.)

In June 1946, Congress approved the burial of unknown American from World War II at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Thirteen American unknowns were exhumed from cemeteries in Europe and Africa and shipped to Epinal, France. Maj. Gen. Edward J. O'Neill, U.S. Army, chose one of these caskets on May 12, 1958, as the "trans-Atlantic Candidate unknown." This casket was transported by air to Naples and placed aboard the USS Blandy. Two American unknowns were disinterred from the National Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii and four American unknowns disinterred from Fort McKinley American Cemetery in the Philippines. The six unknowns were taken by air to Hickam Air Force Base. On May 16, 1958, Col. Glen Eagleston, U.S. Air Force, selected a "trans-Pacific Candidate unknown," which was placed aboard the USS Canberra. The Blandy and Canberra rendezvoused off Virginia in May 1958, at which time the trans-Pacific Candidate unknown was transferred to the Canberra. Hospitalman First Class William R. Charette, the Navy's only active enlisted holder of the Medal of Honor, then placed a wreath at the foot of the casket on his right. (The other remains were buried at sea.) This individual became the World War II Unknown.

In August 1956, Congress approved the burial of a Korean War unknown at the Tomb. The remains of four unknown Americans from the Korean conflict were exhumed from the National Cemetery of the Pacific. On May 15, 1958, Master Sergeant Ned Lyle placed a wreath on the fourth casket to choose the Korean War Unknown. (The other three unknowns were reinterred in the National Cemetery of the Pacific.)

Because so much time had passed, the World War II and Korean War unknowns were chosen at the same time. The Unknown of Korea was transported aboard the Canberra at the same time as the "trans-Pacific Candidate unknown."

After the World War II Unknown was chosen, both the WWII and Korean War remains were taken back to the Blandy, which transported them to Washington, D.C. Like the World War I Unknown, they lay in state in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol. Both were interred in vaults on the west side of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Memorial Day, May 30, 1958. Rather than enlarge the WWI vault, new vaults were dug in the plaza on the west side of the Tomb.

Congress authorized the entombment of a Vietnam War casualty in 1973. But with advances in identification of remains, no unknown remains could be found. Pressure from Vietnam veterans' groups was making the issue politically potent by the early 1980s, especially with Republican Ronald Reagan in office as president. And that's where the scandal began... In May 1972, 24-year-old U.S. Air Force pilot Michael Blassie was shot down in South Vietnam close to the Cambodia border. In October 1972, American ground patrols found Blassie's identity card, some American money, shreds of a USAF flight suit, and some skeletal remains near where Blassie went down. The I.D. card and money went missing soon thereafter. Pentagon officials declared the remains "likely to be" Blassie's, but no firm identification was ever made. By 1980, only four sets of Vietnam War-era remains could be declared unidentified, and one of these were the Blassie remains. In 1980, for unknown reasons, an Army review board ruled that the bones were not Blassie's. Soon thereafter, all documents in the file were removed and destroyed.

On May 8, 1984, the no-longer-"likely" remains were declared "unknown." The Vietnam Unknown was selected by Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Allan Jay Kellogg, Jr. (a Medal of Honor recipient) at Pearl Harbor on May 17, 1984. The unknown's remains were transported by the USS Brewton to Alameda Naval Base in California. They arrived on May 23, 1984, and were transported by automobile to nearby Travis Air Force Base on May 24. The remains were transported by air to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on May 25, and lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda from May 25 to May 28. They were interred in a new vault in front of the Tomb on May 28, 1984. President Reagan presented the Medal of Honor to the unknown soldier.

The possibility that the remains were Blassie's was first raised by a man investigating missing-in-action cases. The story broke into the press in January 1998, and in April the two U.S. Senators from Missouri and Blassie's family were demanding answers. After a high-level Pentagon review, the Secretary of the Army recommended on April 26 that the remains be disinterred. The Secretary of Defense ordered exhumation on May 6, and the remains came above ground on May 13. A DNA sample was obtained from the remains on June 15, and on June 29 the remains were identified as Blassie's. Blassie was buried in his home town of St. Louis on July 10, 1998, with handfuls of soil from Arlington National Cemetery. The following month, Blassie's family asked to keep the Medal of Honor, but the Pentagon refused -- saying it was intended to go to the unknown, not to Blassie (who had not won it). In June 1999, with no further unidentified Vietnam War remains available, Pentagon officials said they would keep the vault empty. The Vietnam War crypt was rededicated on September 16, 1999.

Interestingly, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier caused some major changes to D.C. as well as Arlington National Cemetery.

The final piece of "Arlington National Cemetery" as we know it today came with the construction of Arlington Memorial Bridge, Memorial Drive, and the Arlington Memorial Entrance in 1932. The bridge, the drive, and the entrance were designed as a single project and were dedicated on January 16, 1932 by President Herbert Hoover. The U.S. Commission on Fine Arts required that the bridge act as a symbolic link between North and South.

In fact, the famous McMillan Commission (which established the National Mall and set the locations of the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials) had proposed the bridge in 1901, but no action had been taken. When President Harding dedicated the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in 1921, so many people swarmed over Highway Bridge (now the 14th Street Bridges) that it caused a three-hour traffic jam! Harding's own car had to abandon the roadway and take to the grass shoulder to get to the cemetery on time. Secretary of State Charles Evan Hughes had to walk across the bridge to make it.

Looking E across quadrangle - Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - Arlington National Cemetery - 2012

Image by dctim1
Looking east across the grassy ellipsis (foreground) and the quadrangle (middle ground) east of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C., in the United States. The second overlook can be seen in the distance.

Arlington's first Amphitheater was constructed of wood in 1874, and soon proved far too small. Congress authorized construction of the Memorial Amphitheater on March 4, 1913. Ground-breaking occurred on March 1, 1915, and President Woodrow Wilson placed the cornerstone on October 15, 1915. It was dedicated on May 15, 1920.

Originally, the main entrance to Memorial Amphitheater had a rectangular granite plaza in front of it, from which some short marble steps led down to a slightly elliptical granite plaza surrounded by a marble balustrade. A retaining wall about 20 feet high formed the western end of the "Memorial Park" east of the Amphitheater. In front of the retaining wall, flagstone paths entered from the north and south (the curving paths led back up to the Amphitheater), joining to form a ellipsis with a grassy middle -- which you can see here. (The ellipsis is about 150 feet north-south and 50 feet east-west.) A rectangular grass lawn 50 feet wide extended about 200 feet eastward, ending in a series of short marble steps the led down to Roosevelt Drive. The lawn was bordered on either side with boxwood trees clipped into rectangular shapes.

Across Roosevelt Drive was another overlook. This shallow arc contained an Art Deco fountain made of polished bronze. It was anchored on either end with grey granite columns into which were carved by Art Deco eagles. A retaining wall dropped another 15 feet to Section 6 below the overlook.

The entire "Memorial Park" was designed to create a formal, Neoclassical space which provided a vista that allowed people standing on the overlooks to see the western end of the National Mall across the Potomac River, and to see the Lincoln Memorial (which began construction in 1914 and was finished in 1922, almost two years to the day after the Memorial Amphitheater was finished).

But this soon changed...

Memorial Amphitheater was altered forever the year after its dedication. In 1917, America entered World War I. More than 1.3 million Americans served in Europe during the war, and more than 116,516 died. Just 4,221 were unidentified or missing; the missing (3,173) were the vast majority of them. Nonetheless, 1,100 "unidentified" American war dead was a burden on the national conscience, and the media focused heavily on grieving mothers with no body to bury. Some American generals suggested in 1919 that a "Tomb of an Unknown Soldier" be created in the United States. The idea didn't gain traction at first, but in 1920 both England and France held huge public ceremonies honoring their unknown dead. These received much press attention in the United States, and on February 4, 1921, Congress enacted legislation establishing a similar memorial. Some proponents of the memorial originally proposed burying the unknown soldier in the crypt beneath the Capitol Rotunda -- a crypt originally planned for George Washington (but politely declined by his family). Worried that the Capitol might become a mausoleum, Congress instead chose Arlington National Cemetery as the site for the new memorial. On March 4, 1921, with just hours left in his presidency, President Woodrow Wilson signed the legislation into law.

In the United States, preparation for the "Tomb of the Unknown Solider" was frantically under way. The newly-formed American Legion (a congressionally-chartered veterans' lobby group) was pressing as late as May 1921 for the body to be buried in the Capitol Crypt. This debate was not resolved until mid-July, and by then very little time remained to create the monument. Where to build the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery continued until October, when it was decided that the view from the Memorial Amphitheater's plaza was the most appropriate site.

The Tomb was cut unto the center of the short steps which led down to the granite overlook. Diggers buried downward until they reached the level of the lawn below. They then continued another 20 feet below the surface. The subsurface shaft was 16 feet from east to west and 9.5 feet from north to south, and filled with solid concrete. This formed the footings for the vault above. The footings had to be that deep and that large because tons of marble were going to be placed on top of them, and the memorial could not be permitted to sink or become destabilized. The vault itself was lined with marble. The vault's walls ranged in thickness from 7 feet at the bottom to 2 feet, 4 inches at the top. A plinth (or "sub-base") was set on top of the vault walls. The plinth serves as the base of the memorial proper, and also helps to conceal the rough, unfinished top of the vault walls. The plinth was made of three finished, rectangular pieces of marble which fitted over the vault walls like a collar. These are on the north, south, and west sides of the vault, and were the only part of the substructure visible in 1921. (They remain visible today; you can just see them in this image.) Four rectangular marble pieces form the actual base of the memorial. These were mortared to the top of the plinth. A rectangular marble capstone with curved sides was placed on top of the base. The capstone was pierced with the a hole to permit the coffin to be lowered into through the base, through the plinth, and to the bottom of the grave vault. The bottom of the vault was lined with 2 inches of French soil, taken from various battlefields in France.

The World War I unknown was interred as scheduled on November 11, 1921. More than 100,000 people attended the ceremonies, including the Premier of France, Aristide Briand; the former Premier of France, Rene Viviani (who led France through the war); Marshal Ferdinand Foch (who was Commander in Chief of Allied Forces in France); President Warren G. Harding, former President William Howard Taft, and former President Woodrow Wilson. One thousand "gold star mothers" (women who had lost a son in the war) attended the ceremony, as did every single living Medal of Honor winner. The entire United States Cabinet was there, and so was the entire United States Supreme Court. Every member of the House and Senate was present (although they had to stand in the colonnade). A large number of military personnel also attended the dedication. These included General John Pershing, who had led American forces in Europe; Lieutenant General Nelson Miles, former Commanding General of the Army; Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty of the United Kingdom; General Armando Diaz, Marshal of Italy; General Baron Alphonse Jacques de Dixmude of Belgium; Frederick Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan, commander of British forces in Italy; Arthur Balfour, former Prime Minster of the United Kingdom; and Tokugawa, Prince of Japan. Also conspicuous was Chief Plenty Coups of the Crow Nation, in full battle regalia and headdress.

President Harding bestowed on the unknown soldier the Medal of Honor and the Distinguished Service Cross (the latter was never awarded again). General Jacques presented the Croix de Guerre, Belgium's highest military honor. (He took from his own chest the medal, which had been bestowed on him by King Albert.) Admiral Beatty bestowed the Victoria Cross, which had never before been given to a foreigner. Marshal Foch bestowed the Medaille Militaire and the Croix de Guerre with palm, France's highest military honor. General Diaz gave the Gold Medal for Bravery, Prince Bibescu of Romania gave the Virtuta Militaire, Dr. Dedrich Stephenek of Czechoslovakia presented the Szechoslovakia War Cross, and Prince Lubomirski of Poland gave the Virtuti Militan. When the coffin was ready for lowering into the vault, Chief Plenty Coups removed his war bonnet and tenderly placed it and his coup-stick on the coffin. He raised his hands to the sky. "I place on this grave of this noble warrior this coup stick and this war bonnet," he said, "every eagle feather of which represents a deed of valor by my race. I hope that the Great Spirit will grant that these noble warriors have not given up their lives in vain and that there will be peace to all men hereafter." An artillery battery fired, and the coffin began to be lowered. An answering a battery of fire came from the ''USS Olympia'', an American destroyer lying at anchor in the Potomac River. "Taps" were played. Once the coffin lay on the floor of the vault, the centerpiece of the capstone was put in place and the tomb sealed.

But all that existed was the base. The actual cenotaph, which you see here, did not yet exist.

Congress authorized completion of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in July 1926. The Secretary of War held a design competition, with judges from Arlington National Cemetery, the American Battle Monuments Commission, and the Commission of Fine Arts. Only architects of national standing were permitted to enter the competition, and 74 submitted designs. Five were chosen as finalists, and required to submit plaster models of their proposals. Architect Lorimer Rich and sculptor Thomas Hudson Jones won the competition. Their design imitated a sarcophagus, but really was a solid block of marble. The design included a thin rectangular base to go on top of the existing capstone. Then there was the "die block" (the main monument), on top of which was a capstone. The die block featured Doric pilasters (fake columns) in low relief at the corners. On the east side (facing the Potomac River) was a sculpture in low relief of three figures, representing female Victory, Valor (male, to her left), and Peace (female). The north and south sides were divided into three sections by fluted Doric pilasters, with an inverted wreath on the upper portion of each section. On the west side (facing the amphitheater) was the inscription: "Here Rests In Honored Glory An American Soldier Known But To God." It is still not clear who came up with the phrase, but it had been used on crosses marking the graves of unknown soldiers in Europe as early as 1925. The judges asked that the approaches to the Tomb be improved as well. Clarence Renshaw designed the steps. The balustrade was removed, and the short series of steps extended outward and downward until they reached the lawn. A small landing exists two-thirds of the way down, after which the steps continue (wider than before). Congress approved funding for the memorial and new steps on February 29, 1929, and a contract to complete the Tomb was awarded on December 21, 1929. Quartermaster General Brig. Gen. Louis H. Bash oversaw the construction, which was done by Hegman and Harris.

The Vermont Marble Company provided the marble. This proved very problematic. The Yule Marble Quarry at Marble, Colorado, was chosen as the quarry. A year passed before suitable pieces of marble could be located at the quarry and mined. Three pieces had to be mined before a piece suitable for the 56-ton die block was found. Three pieces were mined and discarded before a fourth piece was found for the 18-ton base. But once the base arrived at Arlington, workers discovered an imperfection in the marble which caused it to be discarded. A fifth, sixth, and seventh piece of marble was then mined, but only the eighth piece was suitable and brought to the cemetery. Amazingly, a piece for the 14-ton capstone was found on the first try.

Work began on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in September 1931, but stopped for three months after a flaw in the base was found. Work resumed in December, and all three pieces were in place on December 31, 1931. Fabrication was completed on-site, with sculptor Jones working five days a week. The Tomb was completed and opened to the public on April 9, 1932. There was no dedication ceremony, and the memorial has never been officially named.

Unfortunately, the Tomb began to fall apart almost immediately. Chips and spalls (pieces broken off after heating and contracting) were found coming off the base in 1933. By 1963, a huge horizontal and secondary vertical crack had appeared in the die block -- probably caused by the release of pressure after the marble was mined. Acid rain and pollution have caused the marble sculptures to wear down appreciably, such that today they are only about half as sharp as they once were. Although there is no likelihood that the monument will collapse, debate continues to rage as to whether the monument should be replaced.

Beginning on July 2, 1937, the U.S. Army began permanently stationing an honor guard at the Tomb. The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment ("The Old Guard") formally took over these duties on April 6, 1948. It is guarded 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year long. The guard is changed once every hour, on the hour. Out of respect for the dead, the guard carries his rifle on the outside shoulder -- away from the Tomb. The guard is not permitted to speak or break his march, unless someone enters the restricted area around the Tomb. If this happens, the guard must come to a halt and bring his rifle (loaded with live ammunition) to port-arms. This is usually enough to make the person move back. (No one has ever gone further than the sharp slap of the rifle in the guard's hands.)

In June 1946, Congress approved the burial of unknown American from World War II at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Thirteen American unknowns were exhumed from cemeteries in Europe and Africa and shipped to Epinal, France. Maj. Gen. Edward J. O'Neill, U.S. Army, chose one of these caskets on May 12, 1958, as the "trans-Atlantic Candidate unknown." This casket was transported by air to Naples and placed aboard the USS Blandy. Two American unknowns were disinterred from the National Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii and four American unknowns disinterred from Fort McKinley American Cemetery in the Philippines. The six unknowns were taken by air to Hickam Air Force Base. On May 16, 1958, Col. Glen Eagleston, U.S. Air Force, selected a "trans-Pacific Candidate unknown," which was placed aboard the USS Canberra. The Blandy and Canberra rendezvoused off Virginia in May 1958, at which time the trans-Pacific Candidate unknown was transferred to the Canberra. Hospitalman First Class William R. Charette, the Navy's only active enlisted holder of the Medal of Honor, then placed a wreath at the foot of the casket on his right. (The other remains were buried at sea.) This individual became the World War II Unknown.

In August 1956, Congress approved the burial of a Korean War unknown at the Tomb. The remains of four unknown Americans from the Korean conflict were exhumed from the National Cemetery of the Pacific. On May 15, 1958, Master Sergeant Ned Lyle placed a wreath on the fourth casket to choose the Korean War Unknown. (The other three unknowns were reinterred in the National Cemetery of the Pacific.)

Because so much time had passed, the World War II and Korean War unknowns were chosen at the same time. The Unknown of Korea was transported aboard the Canberra at the same time as the "trans-Pacific Candidate unknown."

After the World War II Unknown was chosen, both the WWII and Korean War remains were taken back to the Blandy, which transported them to Washington, D.C. Like the World War I Unknown, they lay in state in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol. Both were interred in vaults on the west side of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Memorial Day, May 30, 1958. Rather than enlarge the WWI vault, new vaults were dug in the plaza on the west side of the Tomb.

Congress authorized the entombment of a Vietnam War casualty in 1973. But with advances in identification of remains, no unknown remains could be found. Pressure from Vietnam veterans' groups was making the issue politically potent by the early 1980s, especially with Republican Ronald Reagan in office as president. And that's where the scandal began... In May 1972, 24-year-old U.S. Air Force pilot Michael Blassie was shot down in South Vietnam close to the Cambodia border. In October 1972, American ground patrols found Blassie's identity card, some American money, shreds of a USAF flight suit, and some skeletal remains near where Blassie went down. The I.D. card and money went missing soon thereafter. Pentagon officials declared the remains "likely to be" Blassie's, but no firm identification was ever made. By 1980, only four sets of Vietnam War-era remains could be declared unidentified, and one of these were the Blassie remains. In 1980, for unknown reasons, an Army review board ruled that the bones were not Blassie's. Soon thereafter, all documents in the file were removed and destroyed.

On May 8, 1984, the no-longer-"likely" remains were declared "unknown." The Vietnam Unknown was selected by Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Allan Jay Kellogg, Jr. (a Medal of Honor recipient) at Pearl Harbor on May 17, 1984. The unknown's remains were transported by the USS Brewton to Alameda Naval Base in California. They arrived on May 23, 1984, and were transported by automobile to nearby Travis Air Force Base on May 24. The remains were transported by air to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on May 25, and lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda from May 25 to May 28. They were interred in a new vault in front of the Tomb on May 28, 1984. President Reagan presented the Medal of Honor to the unknown soldier.

The possibility that the remains were Blassie's was first raised by a man investigating missing-in-action cases. The story broke into the press in January 1998, and in April the two U.S. Senators from Missouri and Blassie's family were demanding answers. After a high-level Pentagon review, the Secretary of the Army recommended on April 26 that the remains be disinterred. The Secretary of Defense ordered exhumation on May 6, and the remains came above ground on May 13. A DNA sample was obtained from the remains on June 15, and on June 29 the remains were identified as Blassie's. Blassie was buried in his home town of St. Louis on July 10, 1998, with handfuls of soil from Arlington National Cemetery. The following month, Blassie's family asked to keep the Medal of Honor, but the Pentagon refused -- saying it was intended to go to the unknown, not to Blassie (who had not won it). In June 1999, with no further unidentified Vietnam War remains available, Pentagon officials said they would keep the vault empty. The Vietnam War crypt was rededicated on September 16, 1999.

Interestingly, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier caused some major changes to D.C. as well as Arlington National Cemetery.

The final piece of "Arlington National Cemetery" as we know it today came with the construction of Arlington Memorial Bridge, Memorial Drive, and the Arlington Memorial Entrance in 1932. The bridge, the drive, and the entrance were designed as a single project and were dedicated on January 16, 1932 by President Herbert Hoover. The U.S. Commission on Fine Arts required that the bridge act as a symbolic link between North and South.

In fact, the famous McMillan Commission (which established the National Mall and set the locations of the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials) had proposed the bridge in 1901, but no action had been taken. When President Harding dedicated the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in 1921, so many people swarmed over Highway Bridge (now the 14th Street Bridges) that it caused a three-hour traffic jam! Harding's own car had to abandon the roadway and take to the grass shoulder to get to the cemetery on time. Secretary of State Charles Evan Hughes had to walk across the bridge to make it.

Cool Art Principles Of Design images

Casey Reas speaks at Design Dialogues in the Media Design Program at the Art Center College of Design. Friday November 19th 2010.

Image by G A R N E T
"Real Programmer"

Design Dialogues Fall 2010: Computation After New Media
Media Design Program, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, California

Guest Curator: Garnet Hertz

This lecture series explores key concepts in computational media to empower individuals to imagine, collaborate, provoke, and prototype through computing.

As a result of its widespread adoption, digital media has transitioned from "new media" to a ubiquitous part of contemporary life. This shift from novelty to familiarity has considerable ramifications for academic institutions working in the fields of media arts and digital culture. Exploring the formal potentials of information and networked technologies is no longer of significant interest: information technologies need to be understood as an embedded part of culture and history. Digital cultural practices must also work to extend their parent disciplines, including the studio arts, media history and theory, design, computer science and engineering.

Each speaker in the "Computation After New Media" series will focus on one word— a single term they feel is a core part of their work within the framework of computation. These lectures will be aimed at exploring the underlying structures of computationalism, providing an important leverage into the philosophy, languages, and principles of digital media.

October 1: Sharon Daniel, UCSC
October 8: Eddo Stern, UCLA
October 22: Paul Dourish, UCI
October 29: George Legrady, UCSB
November 19: Casey Reas, UCLA,
December 3: Celia Pearce, Georgia Tech

Design Dialogues brings provocateurs from the worlds of design, art, academia, and technology into the MDP Studio. Each term, a guest curator is invited to build a series around a theme of their choosing.

Meetings: 12-2 pm. Talks: 3-6 pm in the Wind Tunnel Gallery. Open only to Media Design students, alumni, and faculty.

Casey Reas speaks at Design Dialogues in the Media Design Program at the Art Center College of Design. Friday November 19th 2010.

Image by G A R N E T
Coding (with Processing) as a design practice

Design Dialogues Fall 2010: Computation After New Media
Media Design Program, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, California

Guest Curator: Garnet Hertz

This lecture series explores key concepts in computational media to empower individuals to imagine, collaborate, provoke, and prototype through computing.

As a result of its widespread adoption, digital media has transitioned from "new media" to a ubiquitous part of contemporary life. This shift from novelty to familiarity has considerable ramifications for academic institutions working in the fields of media arts and digital culture. Exploring the formal potentials of information and networked technologies is no longer of significant interest: information technologies need to be understood as an embedded part of culture and history. Digital cultural practices must also work to extend their parent disciplines, including the studio arts, media history and theory, design, computer science and engineering.

Each speaker in the "Computation After New Media" series will focus on one word— a single term they feel is a core part of their work within the framework of computation. These lectures will be aimed at exploring the underlying structures of computationalism, providing an important leverage into the philosophy, languages, and principles of digital media.

October 1: Sharon Daniel, UCSC
October 8: Eddo Stern, UCLA
October 22: Paul Dourish, UCI
October 29: George Legrady, UCSB
November 19: Casey Reas, UCLA,
December 3: Celia Pearce, Georgia Tech

Design Dialogues brings provocateurs from the worlds of design, art, academia, and technology into the MDP Studio. Each term, a guest curator is invited to build a series around a theme of their choosing.

Meetings: 12-2 pm. Talks: 3-6 pm in the Wind Tunnel Gallery. Open only to Media Design students, alumni, and faculty.

Reflection of Art : World : Sense - The Hague ( Den Haag ) - Netherlands - The Gemeentemuseum - Norm = Form - Enjoy!:)

Image by || UggBoy♥UggGirl || PHOTO || WORLD || TRAVEL ||
View THE REFLECTION OF ART On Black


The DISCOVERY On Black



Norm = Form
8 May 2010 - 15 August 2010

We all have our own personal style, reflected in the clothes we wear, the furniture in our homes and the cars we drive. Such choices seem to be abundant and individual, but never before have so many of the products around us been basically so identical. And it’s just as well they are, because otherwise we could never afford to buy a pair of jeans or a piece of furniture. Right from the start of the industrial era, designers have fought to achieve the benefits of product standardisation. In this exhibition, the Gemeentemuseum joins with the Design Den Haag Foundation to reveal the extent to which social and statutory norms have led, in the space of little over a century, to the design of products which are affordable and accessible to us all.



When we go to buy clothes, we expect to find a range of different stock sizes: small, medium and large. But how does such a sizing system come about? The average sizes we know today are the result of large-scale population surveys conducted over the last century. In the 1920s, August Lingner (inventor of Odol mouthwash) introduced life-size glass models of the human body, showing the muscles, tendons and nerves and approaching man as a machine. This marked the start of a systematic quest to determine the dimensions of the average human being: the size of feet, hands and heads. It was this quest that led to today’s standards for the size of trousers, the height of kitchen cabinets and the depth of sofas.



Stock clothing sizes have always been based on Western data for populations around the world. Now, these are proving inadequate for certain markets, for example in Asia. This is the reason for the vast survey known as Size China. As part of this project, the heads and faces of innumerable Chinese men and women have been measured in order to establish various average dimensions. Based on the resulting data, aluminium heads have been created which manufacturers around the world can order for use in producing sunglasses, hats and motorbike helmets to fit consumers in the growing Chinese market.



As well as these prototypes for the average human being, the exhibition will include countless examples of everyday objects: we see them around us all the time but probably never stop to consider that their design is based on all sorts of official standards and regulations. Among the examples in the exhibition will be the Aquila fitted kitchen designed by Kho Liang Le for Bruynzeel in 1965. The modular, off-the-ground kitchen may look like nothing more than a clever example of aesthetic design, but is actually planned on the principle that everything must be exactly within reach and at the correct working height.



A final important influence on standards is the consumer. It is the culture consumers live in that decides the success or failure of any given design. Examples on display will include garments like T-shirts and jeans which have continued to be produced virtually unchanged down the years. A pair of jeans from Levi’s 1999 Vintage collection harks back to a model from the 1980s, in turn based on the original working man’s trousers of the 19th century. At the same time, this evergreen favourite is constantly updated by adding pockets and other features to conform to the tastes and fashions of the day.



Norm = Form reveals the role of designers in the standardisation of products. Initially, they were against it, because it seemed to limit their creative freedom. But gradually they came to see its advantages: low prices, smart houses and products, and the possibility of serving large sections of the population. The exhibition will include designs by Charles Eames, Herbert Lindinger, Ettore Sottass, Pierre Paulin and Kisho Kurokawa, and objects on loan from world-class institutions like the Centre Pompidou. It will be accompanied by a lavishly illustrated catalogue authored by Timo de Rijk.

A wonderful exhibition, highly recommended, however, inside the building, no photography is allowed, unlike in the Design Musum in London, there we could photograph inside, as long we did / do not use any flash photography.

BY
VISIT THE GEMEENTEMUSEUM = DEN HAAG = THE HAGUE = CLICK HERE AND DISCOVER!

ENJOY AND EXPLORE MORE! HAVE YOU REFLECTED ON SOMETHING NEW LATELY?

20101216 / Less and More / The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams

Image by Cooky Yoon
Less and More / The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams
Daelim Contemporary Art Museum
Seoul, Korea

Dieter Rams' 10 Principles of Good Design


01. Good design is Innovative.
02. Good design makes a product useful.
03. Good design is aesthetic.
04. Good design helps a product to be understood.
05. Good design is honest.
06. Good design is unobtrusive.
07. Good design is long-lasting.
08. Good design is thorough down to the last detail.
09. Good design is as enviromentally friendly.
10. Good design is as little design as possible.

Cool Fine Art Design images

@ Fine Arts Department

Image by Roobee
Entrance to the Fine Arts and Design Department at Jordan University.

San Francisco - Marina District: Palace of Fine Arts

Image by wallyg
The Palace of Fine Arts was designed by Bernard Maybeck and constructed for 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. It is one of the few surviving structures from the Exposition, and the only one still situated on its original site. Built' around a small artificial lagoon, The Palace of Fine Arts is composed of a wide, 1100 foot pergola, an arch formed by rows of Corinthian columns framing a wide walkway, around a central rotunda situated by the water. Ornamentation includes Bruno Louis Zimm's three repeating panels around the entablature of the rotunda representing "The Struggle for the Beautiful" symbolizing Greek culture, while Ulric Ellerhusen supplied the weeping women atop the colonnade and the sculptured frieze and allegorical figures representing Contemplation, Wonderment and Meditation. The underside of the Palace rotunda's dome features eight large insets, which originally contained murals by Robert Reid.

The Palace, one of ten palaces at the heart of the Exhibition--the others being the palaces of Education, Liberal Arts, Manufactures, Varied Industries, Agriculture, Food Products, Transportation, Mines and Metallurgy, and Machinery--was designed to to look like a Roman or Greek ruin. While most of the exposition was demolished, it survived due to the efforts of the Paaace Preservation League. For a time, the Palace housed art exhibits, and during the Great Depression, W.P.A. artists were commissioned to replace the decayed Robert Reid murals on the ceiling of the rotunda. From 1934 to 1942, it was home to eighteen lighted tennis courts. During World War II it was requisitioned by the military for storage of trucks and jeeps. Starting in 1947, the hall was used as a city Park Department warehouse, a telephone book distribution center, a flag and tent storage depot, and a temporary Fire Department headquarters.

By the 1950s, the Palace's structure had in fact fallen into ruins and in 1964 it was demolished, with only the steel structure left standing. The buildings were reconstructed in permanent, light-weight, poured-in-place concrete, and steel I-beams were hoisted into place for the dome of the rotunda. The decorations and sculpture were reconstructed and the only changes were the absence of the murals in the dome, two end pylons of the colonnade, and the original ornamentation of the exhibit hall. In 1969 the former Exhibit Hall became home to the Exploratorium interactive museum, and in 1970 also became the home of the 1,000 seat Palace of Fine Arts Theater.

National Register #04000659 (2005)

San Francisco - Marina District: Palace of Fine Arts

Image by wallyg
The Palace of Fine Arts was designed by Bernard Maybeck and constructed for 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. It is one of the few surviving structures from the Exposition, and the only one still situated on its original site. Built' around a small artificial lagoon, The Palace of Fine Arts is composed of a wide, 1100 foot pergola, an arch formed by rows of Corinthian columns framing a wide walkway, around a central rotunda situated by the water. Ornamentation includes Bruno Louis Zimm's three repeating panels around the entablature of the rotunda representing "The Struggle for the Beautiful" symbolizing Greek culture, while Ulric Ellerhusen supplied the weeping women atop the colonnade and the sculptured frieze and allegorical figures representing Contemplation, Wonderment and Meditation. The underside of the Palace rotunda's dome features eight large insets, which originally contained murals by Robert Reid.

The Palace, one of ten palaces at the heart of the Exhibition--the others being the palaces of Education, Liberal Arts, Manufactures, Varied Industries, Agriculture, Food Products, Transportation, Mines and Metallurgy, and Machinery--was designed to to look like a Roman or Greek ruin. While most of the exposition was demolished, it survived due to the efforts of the Paaace Preservation League. For a time, the Palace housed art exhibits, and during the Great Depression, W.P.A. artists were commissioned to replace the decayed Robert Reid murals on the ceiling of the rotunda. From 1934 to 1942, it was home to eighteen lighted tennis courts. During World War II it was requisitioned by the military for storage of trucks and jeeps. Starting in 1947, the hall was used as a city Park Department warehouse, a telephone book distribution center, a flag and tent storage depot, and a temporary Fire Department headquarters.

By the 1950s, the Palace's structure had in fact fallen into ruins and in 1964 it was demolished, with only the steel structure left standing. The buildings were reconstructed in permanent, light-weight, poured-in-place concrete, and steel I-beams were hoisted into place for the dome of the rotunda. The decorations and sculpture were reconstructed and the only changes were the absence of the murals in the dome, two end pylons of the colonnade, and the original ornamentation of the exhibit hall. In 1969 the former Exhibit Hall became home to the Exploratorium interactive museum, and in 1970 also became the home of the 1,000 seat Palace of Fine Arts Theater.

National Register #04000659 (2005)

Fine Art … Fine Design

Image by bjornmeansbear
2.18.2010

Fine Arts Hallway

Image by acordova

Art & Design

Art & Design

Image by John Gulliver

4th year Design at Grays 1993

Image by extra-minty
Just before we opened the degree envelopes.

Human Centered Design Workshop 08, IDK Basel

Image by EDO lounge
Workshop at the Master Studio, School for Design, Research Institute for Design & Art, Basel (Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst, Institut Design- und Kunstforschung).

Human Centered Design Workshop 08, IDK Basel

Image by EDO lounge
Workshop at the Master Studio, School for Design, Research Institute for Design & Art, Basel (Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst, Institut Design- und Kunstforschung).

sccsdc

Image by mitwa17

Cool Art Design Universities images

Art & Design shows 2011

Image by University of Salford
The University of Salford's Art & Design shows kicked off with a preview that marks the start of eight days of the best of new creative talent.

Graduating students from courses as diverse as Computer & Video Games and Advertising Design, will exhibit their final pieces of work - hoping to attract the attention of industry professionals.

www.salford.ac.uk/news/details/1391

Art & Design shows 2011

Image by University of Salford
The University of Salford's Art & Design shows kicked off with a preview that marks the start of eight days of the best of new creative talent.

Graduating students from courses as diverse as Computer & Video Games and Advertising Design, will exhibit their final pieces of work - hoping to attract the attention of industry professionals.

www.salford.ac.uk/news/details/1391

Art & Design shows 2011

Image by University of Salford
The University of Salford's Art & Design shows kicked off with a preview that marks the start of eight days of the best of new creative talent.

Graduating students from courses as diverse as Computer & Video Games and Advertising Design, will exhibit their final pieces of work - hoping to attract the attention of industry professionals.

www.salford.ac.uk/news/details/1391

Art & Design shows 2011

Image by University of Salford
The University of Salford's Art & Design shows kicked off with a preview that marks the start of eight days of the best of new creative talent.

Graduating students from courses as diverse as Computer & Video Games and Advertising Design, will exhibit their final pieces of work - hoping to attract the attention of industry professionals.

www.salford.ac.uk/news/details/1391

Cool Art And Design Online images

Bear

Image by ADesignerGuy
Kids Toy

Entry

Image by The Other Tiffany
Hand painted blackboard and landing strip area.

My name

My name

Image by Daniel Flower
Personal design

ART - found in the Destination Guide/Showcase

Image by ▓▒░ TORLEY ░▒▓
"Made up of 1,000 luminescent cubes designed to rise and fall based on the density of the clouds overhead, Storm Cells is a must-see for those who love playing with WindLight settings. Each square also bears the name of the last person to stand on it, so teleport in and leave your mark."

Cetus

This sim is devoted to the exploration of a new building form in the virtual world. It is also the studio of DB Bailey (David Denton Architect in RL). All are welcome.
Art, Architecture, Design, Art Gallery, Art Museum

Posted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit Cetus.

Art Deco Napier

Image by russelljsmith
Taken on an Art Deco tour of Napier, New Zealand, March 2010.

Napier was largely destroyed by an earthquake in 1931 and subsequently rebuilt in the Art Deco style. Now preserved and maintained it has one of the largest concentrations of Art Deco architecture in the world and has been nominated for World Heritage Site status. Wikipedia.