Famed architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux designed Grand Army Plaza as the grand entrance to Prospect Park at the time of the Brooklyn park’s creation in 1867.
In 1892, the plaza became the site of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Arch, dedicated to those who sacrificed their lives defending the United States during the Civil War.
The arch was landmarked in 1975, when the structure was in such severe disrepair that the statue on top of the arch, Columbia’s quadriga (four-horse chariot) fell off. In 1976, the City undertook a comprehensive restoration.
The fall of the quadriga became the symbol of the greater need for support for Prospect Park, which led to the founding of the group that would become Prospect Park Alliance. Through $8.9 million in Mayoral funding, the Alliance has now restored the Arch and the surrounding plaza and landscaped berms in the first significant restoration of this Brooklyn icon in nearly 50 years.
The arch was designed by Binghamton architect John H. Duncan (1854-1929), who also designed Grant’s Tomb. At the time it was considered Brooklyn’s Arc de Triomphe (completed in 1836), one of the most famous monuments in Paris.
The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Arch is adorned with three bronze statuary ensembles by the Brooklyn-born Beaux Arts sculptor Frederick William MacMonnies (1863-1937), who was also a highly accomplished painter and portraitist.
The arch also includes statuary by artists Philip Martiny and William Rudolf O’Donovan, as well as equestrian bas-reliefs by famed American artist Thomas Eakins (1844-1916).
It is one of New York City’s three major triumphal arches. The other two are the Washington Square Arch and the Manhattan Bridge Arch and Colonnade, both in Manhattan.
For the latest restoration of the Arch, the Alliance’s in-house team of award-winning architects conducted research to uncover the historic design. Original blueprints were lost to time, requiring the Alliance to create a detailed scan of the inner structure using radar and magnetic investigation.
Through these scans, and physical surveys and drawings from previous restorations, the Alliance embarked on a comprehensive restoration. This included a new roof and reinforcing the historic structure with new steel beams and creating a new internal drainage system.
They also repointed its beautiful granite stonework to remove years of build-up, staining and spalling.
After laboratory testing, the team determined the composition of the stonework mortar, Rosendale Cement from Ulster County, New York, which once supplied 50% of the natural cement used in the United States.
The Alliance utilized this same cement in the restoration, and replaced cracked and broken stonework to match the existing stone from a quarry near the original source in Maine.
On the interior, bronze and cast-iron spiral staircases and entrance gates were carefully disassembled for restoration. Original elements were meticulously cleaned, missing elements recreated, and then the renewed piece was reassembled on site.
There is new, energy-efficient lighting to better showcase the historic elements of the arch and its statuary, which was cleaned and restored by the NYC Parks citywide Monuments Conservation Program.
The Alliance also restored the landscaped berms that frame the plaza on its east, west and north sides. This work included removing invasive plants, trees and shrubs; and planting 194 native trees, as well as new plants and shrubs that provide interest and color throughout the seasons.
The Alliance also replaced a chain link fence with low, decorative steel fencing. At the plaza, they restored the broken bluestone and granite paving around Bailey Fountain and the John F. Kennedy Memorial and added a new ADA-accessible curb cut at the north entrance to the plaza.
The project recently received a Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award from the New York Landmarks Conservancy, its highest honor for excellence in preservation.
NYC Parks Urban Park Rangers will be holding special tours of the Arch on Saturday, June 28. You can register for the lottery here.
You can learn more about Alliance’s capital projects and improvements underway in Prospect Park here.
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