The Washington Square Arch: Stanford White’s Monumental Style

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of George Washington's inauguration, a local businessman in New York came up with a unique idea. William Rhinelander Stewart (1852–1929) commissioned a memorial for the centennial on April 30, 1889.

Stewart sought the services of architect Stanford White (1853–1906) to create a temporary triumphal arch based on the Roman Arch of Titus (circa A.D. 81) and the 19th-century Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile in Paris.

Unlike most developing architects of the era, White never attended the eminent Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In fact, he never went to architecture school. Instead, he became the apprentice of Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–86) and later his chief assistant. Richardson, who had studied architecture in Paris, developed his own style characterized by Roman elements and rough-cut stone. Drawing from Byzantine influences, as well as French and Spanish Romanesque, he developed a style that became known as "Richardsonian Romanesque."

After six years of working for Richardson, White traveled to Europe. There he found a treasure trove of classical influences that shaped his own career. When he returned to America, he teamed up with two other young architects, William Rutherford Meade and Charles Follen McKim. The famous firm McKim, Meade & White was born. This was the first modern architectural firm. The partners worked as a collaborative team, attributing their designs to the whole firm rather than the individual architects.

Though they borrowed extensively from historical styles, they were not always Beaux-Arts classicists. Their early houses were designed in the "shingle style," which is best described as an amalgamation of Eastlake Queen Anne style and Colonial American architecture. Some of the grand estates in Newport, Rhode Island were designed in that style, as well as the Newport Casino.

In 1889, White presented the temporary Washington Square Arch. The structure was quickly built using a material called staff, wooden framework covered with lath. The details, cast of plaster and painted white, were inspired by their European counterparts. White even found a statue of Washington in an antique shop and placed it on top.

To commemorate the first president of the United States, Freemasons from St. John's Lodge No. 1 led a procession through the arch carrying Washington's inaugural Bible. It was a momentous event. The residents loved the arch and didn't want to see it torn down.

This presented a problem. The arch, designed for a one-time event and built at a cost of $2,765—mostly contributed by Stewart and his friends, was fragile and would deteriorate rapidly in the elements. White was commissioned to design a more permanent arch, constructed from white Tuckahoe marble. The cost of construction was funded by wealthy residents and the Polish pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski, who became the third prime minister of Poland. Paderewski donated $4,500 to the construction fund from a concert he played in New York.

Considered to be White's finest work, a design he provided pro bono, the permanent arch was dedicated in 1895. Standing 73 1/2 feet tall, its 30-foot arch marks the terminus of Fifth Avenue. The words of George Washington are inscribed above; "Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair. The event is in the hand of God."

The iconography of the arch presents contrasting images of war and peace: winged victories, crossed swords, and wreaths. The carved images on the Washington Square Arch's spandrel panels, created by Beaux-Arts sculptor Frederick MacMonnies (1863–1937), are rich with traditional imagery. The eagles above the keystone, on both sides of the arch, are the work of another sculptor, Herman A. MacNeil (1866–1947).

The two statues of Washington at the Washington Square Arch—not part of the original project—were added in the following decades. Sculptor Hermon A. MacNeil (1866–1947) completed the 16-foot statue of "George Washington as Commander-in-Chief, Accompanied by Fame and Valor" in 1916. Alexander Stirling Calder (1870–1945) dedicated the statue of "George Washington as President, Accompanied by Wisdom and Justice" in 1918. This was a fitting tribute to White, who always saw the practice of architecture as a collaboration of craftsmen.

This collaboration manifested itself as an impressive body of work in monumental, civic, institutional, and private commissions that shaped American architecture for years.