George Washington Monument
As John De Witt Warner raised concerns’ about the lack of civic centres in New York,
in January 1845, the Broadway Journal complained about the lack
of commemorative monuments, writing, “There is not probably another city in the world of the size of New York, which cannot boast a single monument erected to commemorate some event in its history”.
George Washington Monument
3D Reconstruction
Location: New York, USA
Year: 2018
Ironically though, there were plans for a monument the city had been trying to build since 1822, and it was the Broadway Journal that was the most vocal in raising opposition to it.
The commemorative monument they were so against was Calvin Pollard’s proposed George Washington Monument. Officially approved by the City,
the monument was to be a massive 425 feet high, located within Union Square
and had an estimated build cost of $400,000.
Built from Granite and of Gothic style, the tower would have been almost double the height of any other building in the city and would have contained over 400,000 books within its library.
The second floor was to house a statue of George Washington holding the Declaration of Independence, surrounded by La Fayette and other foreign allies.
