Colonel William A. Phillips

The Titanic Memorial is a granite statue in Washington, D.C., that honors the men who gave their lives so that women and children might be saved during the sinking of the Titanic. The idea for a memorial to honor those lost during the tragedy was mentioned quite soon after the sinking. A group of women formed a committee to raise money for a memorial, with a limit of $1 per person. After sending thousands of cards to women throughout the U.S., the committee had raised almost enough funds to complete the project. The federal government paid the remaining amount. A competition was announced for a memorial design and several were submitted. The winning design by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, who would later open the Whitney Museum, would be her first major commission.

After years of planning and seeking approval from different agencies, the memorial was installed in 1930 and dedicated in May 1931. Amongst those at the dedication were President Herbert Hoover, First Lady Lou Henry Hoover, former First Lady Helen Herron Taft, and other government officials. Before the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was built, the memorial was removed and placed in storage for two years. It was reinstalled at its current location, Southwest Waterfront Park in Washington, D.C.,'s Southwest Waterfront neighborhood. It is sited near 4th and P Street SW near Fort Lesley J. McNair and across the Washington Channel from East Potomac Park. The Wharf mixed-use development is just north of the memorial.

The granite figure that is the centerpiece of the memorial depicts a partly clad male figure with arms outstretched standing on a square base. The base is flanked by a square exedra, created by architect Henry Bacon, that encloses a small, raised platform. The memorial was added to the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites and the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. The statue is one of a small number of prominent outdoor sculptures in Washington, D.C. that were designed by women.

Memorial

Planning

Newspaper photo of the winning design
In 1914, The New York Times printed a photograph of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney's winning design for the memorial.

In 1912, the Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean after hitting an iceberg. Amongst the 2,223 people on board the ship, 706 survived. Around 70 percent of those that perished were men, who were told the life rafts were for women and children. Shortly after the sinking, an association of prominent women created a committee to erect a memorial in honor of the men who were lost at sea. The Committee of One Hundred was organized on April 25, 1912, which included amongst its earliest members U.S. Representative Florence Prag Kahn, Laura Spelman Rockefeller, Cornelia Cole Fairbanks, Senator Oscar W. Underwood's wife, Bertha Woodward, Harvey Washington Wiley's wife, Anna Kelton, and the wife of Theodore Marburg.[1][2]

The women wanted to raise funds for a grand memorial, preferable an arch in a prominent place, and so a fundraising campaign began. The first woman to donate $1, the limit for each person, was First Lady Helen Taft.[1][3] Thousands of letters were sent to women across the country that were involved with various groups and societies, asking for donations to help erect the memorial. The committee has raised $43,000 by January 1914. The remaining costs to erect the memorial was paid for by the U.S. government.[1] In addition to wanting an arch as the memorial, the committee wanted it to be made of white marble and feature Lombardy poplar planted in a semi-circle.[4]

There was a competition to design the memorial and eight sculptors submitted entries. The person chosen to design the memorial, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, was selected in 1914, although changes were made to the statue so that his genitals were not visible.[4] She had been working on the project since 1912, drawing various designs, including one seen by the committee's secretary.[5] The Titanic design would be her first large commission and one of her most notable.[4] John Horrigan and the Piccirilli Brothers created the statue with input from Henry Moreschi, a sculptor who had lost the commission to Whitney.[6][7] Henry Bacon, who designed the Lincoln Memorial, served as architect for the project. The fabricator was R. B. Phelps Stone Company.[6] The statue, which Whitney described as having "a [facial] expression of sublime sacrifice", was completed in 1916.[4][8] The statue and pedestal were carved from a 20-ton slab of granite.[1] The entire project was completed in 1918, but it would be years before it was dedicated.[8]

Congress had approved the erection of the memorial in Washington, D.C., on March 3, 1917, but there were many delays, including improving the site that was near the Potomac River, and seeking approval from various parties.[1] The United States Commission of Fine Arts approved the plan in 1919, but it would take six more years before other agencies finally approved the final design and site. The statue ended up being displayed in a New York City art gallery for more than ten years. It was finally installed in 1930, but the dedication would not take place until the following year, the same year Whitney opened the now-famous Whitney Museum in New York City.[4]

Dedication

The dedication of the Titanic memorial took place on May 26, 1931.[4] Whitney was unable to attend due to an illness. Amongst those in attendance at the dedication ceremony were President Herbert Hoover and his wife, First Lady Lou Henry Hoover, Helen Herron Taft, members of the president's cabinet, and other guests of honor. Secretary of State Henry L. Stimson led the ceremony with a comment that Whitney's design in the shape of a cross was a reminder of Jesus' sacrifice. U.S. Representative Robert Luce praised the design and told the audience the memorial was "an enduring symbol of a characteristic of human nature that should be an inspiration for generations to come."[9] He noted the heroism shown by many during the sinking of the Titanic and worried such gallantry would soon disappear.[9]

His speech was followed by the wife of Senator James W. Wadsworth Jr. officially handing over the memorial to the U.S. Bishop James E. Freeman led the invocation and Taft, who was the first donator to the memorial, then unveiled the statue. As it was unveiled, the United States Marine Band played the national anthem and a sailor hoisted a flag above the statue. The crowd then sang My Country, 'Tis of Thee and a wreath was placed at the memorial by the wife of United States Department of State clerk, Robert S. Chew.[9]

Later history

During the 1936 Northeastern United States flood, the memorial was damaged when the Potomac River overflowed.[10] The original location of the memorial was near the intersection of New Hampshire Avenue and Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, but was removed in 1966 due to construction of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.[11][12] The memorial sat in a warehouse in Fort Washington, Maryland, for the next two years until a new site was found.[10] It was moved to its current location in 1968 without another dedication ceremony.[5] R. B. Phelps Stone Company served as the fabricator for the new site.[6]

Beginning in 1978, on the anniversary of the sinking, a group of men that were mostly involved in local news operations began meeting at the memorial. The group, Men's Titanic Society, gradually increased in numbers and now meets every year at a black-tie event to remember the loss of men during the sinking.[13][14] The memorial was added to the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites on February 22, 2007, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 12, 2007.[15][11] It is only one of five prominent outdoor sculptures in Washington, D.C. that were made by women, and is a rare religious-themed work representing a non-religious subject. It is also one of four outdoor sculptures in Washington, D.C. that are a form of representational art.[4]

Location and design

Aerial view of the Titanic Memorial
Aerial view of the memorial

The Titanic Memorial is located on Reservation 717 in the Southwest Waterfront Park, a public park near the intersection of 4th and P Streets SW, in the Southwest Waterfront neighborhood of Washington, D.C.[4][16] The memorial is near Fort Lesley J. McNair, which is southeast of the park, across the Washington Channel from East Potomac Park, and is three blocks southwest from Waterfront station on the Washington Metro. The large Wharf mixed-use development lies just north of the park.[1][10][17]

The sculpture, base, and platform are all pink granite while the foundation is concrete. There are three granite steps leading to the platform.[4][6] The statue, which depicts a nude man draped with a robe, represents "Self Sacrifice". His arms are outstretched in the shape of a cross and his eyes are closed.[6] He is standing on an uneven block above a relief of waves on the pedestal.[4] It is possible the statue is the inspiration for Kate Winslet's character in Titanic, when she says "I'm flying, Jack!", but director James Cameron has never confirmed this.[13] The statue is 12-feet (3.7 m) tall, 8-feet (2.4 m) wide, and 2-feet (0.6 m) long. It rests on a base which measures 5.5-feet (1.7 m) tall, and 4-feet (1.2 m) wide and long. The platform is 50-feet (15.2 m) long with a diameter of 13-feet (4 m). It includes an exedra, decorated on each end with a dolphin, that features a bench.[6]

Inscriptions

The following inscriptions are on the memorial:[18]

Front:

TO THE BRAVE MEN WHO PERISHED IN THE TITANIC
APRIL 15 1912
THEY GAVE THEIR
LIVES THAT WOMEN
AND CHILDREN
MIGHT BE SAVED

ERECTED BY THE
WOMEN OF AMERICA

Side:

GERTRUDE VANDERBILT WHITNEY 1931

Back:

TO THE YOUNG AND THE OLD
THE RICH AND THE POOR
THE IGNORANT AND THE LEARNED
ALL
WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES NOBLY
TO SAVE WOMEN AND CHILDREN

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Titanic Memorial". National Park Service. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  2. ^ "Titanic Memorial". The Sentinel-Record. May 4, 1912. p. 5. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  3. ^ "For Titanic Memorial". The Blackfoot Optimist. May 9, 1912. p. 2. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barsoum, Eve L. (May 2006). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form - Titanic Memorial". National Park Service.
  5. ^ a b Josefson, Jayna (April 11, 2012). "Titanic, an Unsinkable Legacy: Part I, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney's Titanic Memorial and Francis Davis Millet in the Archives of American Art". Smithsonian Archives of American Art. Archived from the original on September 28, 2023. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Titanic Memorial, (sculpture)". Smithsonian Institution Research Information System. Archived from the original on December 17, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  7. ^ Burchard, Hank (March 27, 1998). "In the Shadow of the Titanic". The Washington Post. pp. N06. Archived from the original on August 27, 2017. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Shapiro, T Rees (April 14, 2012). "A Toast to Chivalry". The Washington Post. pp. B1. ProQuest 1000164962. Archived from the original on January 21, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  9. ^ a b c "Titanic Memorial Exorcises Held". The Evening Star. May 27, 1931. pp. A-4. Archived from the original on January 21, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c Samela, Hayley; Rist, Matt (April 12, 2012). "DC Titanic Memorial: Silent Tribute in Southwest". WRC-TV. Archived from the original on January 21, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ a b "Titanic Memorial". DC Preservation League. Archived from the original on January 21, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  12. ^ "New Site Still Sought for Titanic Memorial". The Philadelphia Inquirer. January 10, 1966. p. 6. Archived from the original on January 21, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  13. ^ a b Brockell, Gillian (April 15, 2019). "The Titanic's heroic men — and the people who still honor them 107 years later". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 1, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  14. ^ Rogers, Jenny (January 24, 2014). "What's up with D.C.'s Titanic memorial?". Washington City Paper. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  15. ^ "District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites: Alphabetical Version" (PDF). District of Columbia Office of Planning. September 30, 2009. p. 156. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 21, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  16. ^ "Titanic Memorial". United States Commission of Fine Arts. Archived from the original on September 27, 2023. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  17. ^ Goode, James M. (1974). The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C. Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 391.
  18. ^ "Titanic Memorial". National Park Service. Archived from the original on November 21, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2024.

External links