Triumphal arch; bas-relief figures in spandrels on south face; seal of city of Brooklyn and seal of New York state in spandrels on north face; sixteen medallions, four on each of the pier stages at south and north faces

Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch

The day after the Grant family decided on the site, Jacob Wrey Mould designed a temporary tomb.

 This memorial to Ulysses S. Grant, victorious Union commander of the Civil War, includes the tomb of General Grant and his wife, Julia Dent Grant. A West Point graduate, Grant served in the Mexican War and at various frontier posts, before rapidly rising through the ranks during the Civil War. Grant's tenacity and boldness led to victories in the Battles of Vicksburg and Chattanooga and Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox, scenes depicted by mosaics in the tomb. In 1866 Congress awarded Grant his fourth star making him the first full General of the Armies. A grateful nation twice elected Grant to serve as President of the United States, from 1869 to 1877. Grant's accomplishments include signing the act establishing the first national park, Yellowstone, on March 1, 1872. After the Presidency, Grant settled in New York City. Ulysses S. Grant died of throat cancer on July 23, 1885 in Mount McGregor, New York, and was laid to rest in New York City on August 8th. Approximately 90,000 people from around the country and the world donated a total of over $600,000 towards construction of his tomb, the largest public fundraising effort ever at that time. Designed by architect John Duncan, the granite and marble structure was completed in 1897 and remains the largest mausoleum in North America. Over one million people attended the parade and dedication ceremony of Grant's Tomb, on April 27, 1897. Overlooking the Hudson River from Morningside Heights, General Grant National Memorial is both the final resting place for Civil War hero and 18th president Ulysses S. Grant and a memorial to his life &amp; accomplishments. Designed by architect John Duncan and completed in 1897, the National Park Service maintains Grant's Tomb, which is the largest mausoleum in North America. Duncan's ambitious original design, chosen by the Grant Monument Association, included monumental staircases leading down through terraced gardens to a dock on the river. 

Photographic Negative by John B. Trevor (b. 1878). Digital Scan by Bronson Trevor III (b. 1976) - Circle Century Collection

General Grant National Memorial

Aaron Burr promised Latrobe he would win the competition to design NY City Hall in 1802. But, Joseph Francois Magnin &amp; John McComb Jr won the $350 prize, becoming the oldest continuously occupied City Hall in America since completed in 1811.French Renaissance plus Federal equals this massive administrative and legislative structure. It houses the City Council and the Mayor's Office, with New York's first and most beautiful (now former) subway station buried right beneath it.

Mullets Monstrosity, City Hall, Park Row and City Hall Park.&amp;nbsp;The structure on the right is the Manhattan station for the cable cars which ran across the Brooklyn Bridge.  

McComb Architectural Drawing Collection, Collection of the New-York Historical Society

New York City Hall

 At the statue of Nathan Hale in City Hall Park, Kaplan discusses Hale's life and significance, and the history of City Hall. 

Designer of the Wolcott Hotel, he is considered to be one of the most famous architects in the United States at the turn of the 20th century, his popularity rose after being selected as the architect of what is now Grant's Tomb. Another of Duncan's most famous works is the Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch in Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn.

John Hemingway Duncan

SITES