Washington Monument, (sculpture).

Washington Monument, (sculpture).

Mills, Robert, architect.

Causici, Enrico, sculptor.

Washington Monument, (sculpture).

1814-1829. Cornerstone laid July 4, 1815. Sculpture installed Nov. 25, 1829. Rededicated July 4, 2015.

Digital Reference:

Overall: approx. H. 188 ft.; Sculpture: approx. H. 16 ft.; Column: approx. H. 160 ft.; Base: approx. H. 20 ft. x W. 20 ft. x D. 20 ft.

(Base, south side, in bronze letters:) TO/GEORGE WASHINGTON/BY THE/STATE OF MARYLAND/BORN/22 FEBRUARY/1732/DIED/14 DECEMBER/1799 (Base, east side, in bronze letters:) TO/GEORGE WASHINGTON/BY THE/STATE OF MARYLAND/COMMANDER IN CHIEF/OF THE/AMERICAN ARMY/15 JUNE/1775/COMMISSION RESIGNED/AT/ANNAPOLIS//23 DECEMBER/1783 (Base, north side, in bronze letters:) TO/GEORGE WASHINGTON/BY THE/STATE OF MARYLAND/TRENTON/ 26 DECEMBER/1776/YORKTOWN/19 OCTOBER/1781 (Base, west side, in bronze letters:) TO/GEORGE WASHINGTON/BY THE/STATE OF MARYLAND/PRESIDENT/OF THE/UNITED STATES/4 MARCH/1789/RETIRED/TO/MOUNT VERNON/4 MARCH/1797

The monument consists of a tall column topped with a standing portrait of George Washington depicted as he resigning his commission in the Continental Army at Annapolis in 1782. He stands with his proper right arm extended in front of him, handing over a scroll. His proper left hand is on his proper left hip. He is dressed in his military uniform, but is also wrapped with classical drapery which covers his left shoulder and is rolled around the waist. At the foot of the column is a large square base which contains exhibit areas for information on the history and design of the monument.

History -- United States -- Revolution

Portrait male -- Washington, George -- Full length

Occupation -- Military -- General

Occupation -- Political -- President

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Object -- Written Matter -- Scroll

Outdoor Sculpture -- Maryland -- Baltimore

Administered by City of Baltimore, Recreation and Parks, 2600 Madison Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21217

Located Mt. Vernon Place, North Charles & Monument Streets, Baltimore, Maryland 21201

In 1809 Baltimore citizens formed a committee to erect a monument to George Washington. A competition was held and Robert Mills won, despite submitting his design after the official closing dated. Originally, the site of the monument was to be Court Square, where the "Battle Monument" is now, at Calvert and Fayette Streets. When the old Court House was removed, citizens living around the Court Square petitioned to have the Washington Monument installed there. However, when Mills' design for the very tall column was made public, the citizens declined, fearful that the column might fall on their homes. John Eager Howard, Washington's former Chief of Staff, generously offered a wooded hilltop site on his estate, Belvidere, which was land that his grandfather had purchased from Lord Baltimore in 1688. Howard's heirs later played a key roll in passing legislation that shaped the nature and success of this site. The first piece of legislation altered the existing plan of the city to allow for four parks in the shape of a Greek Cross to go around the monument. The second piece of legislation allowed for the land adjacent to the parks to be sold as individual parcels rather than as a single piece. Citizens who bought the land in the 1830s began to build homes that reflect a variety of architectural styles including Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Beaux Arts, and Chateauesque, making the site even more appropriate for the classical monument.

The monument was to be paid for in part by a hundred thousand dollar lottery, permitted by the Legislature to sell 35,000 tickets. The monument ended up costing $200,000 which was paid for by the sale of the lottery tickets, a state appropriation, and private subscriptions. The statue of George Washington, sculpted by Enrico Causici after Mills' design, was a gift of Mrs. F. T. D. Taylor. The sculpture and the rest of the monument are made of Cockeysville marble from just north of Baltimore City.

The monument underwent restoration completed in December 1992 which consisted of: removal of peeling lead paint and graffiti; installation of new heating and plumbing; installation of a new lightning rod system; replacement on the roof on the square base with a rubberized roof; and a cleaning of the entire exterior.

IAS files contain an excerpt from William Sener Rusk's "Art in Baltimore: Monuments and Memorials," Baltimore: Norman, Remington, 1929, pg. 101-104; John Dorsey's "Mount Vernon Place," Baltimore: Maclay & Associates, 1983, pg. 40-42, 46-49; and Kathleen Kotarba's report "The Baltimore Bronze Project," Baltimore: Baltimore City Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation, July 1989. IAS files also contain an article from The Baltimore Sun, July 1, 2015, detaiiling the the monument's nearly $6 million in renovations and bicentennial rededication celebration on July 4, 2015; and an article from The Baltimore Sun, Aug. 16, 2015, pg. 25 providing details on the history of the monument, the City of Baltimore, and the coining of the nickname "The Monumental City."

For related information see: Henry and Caroline Naylor's "Public Monuments & Sculpture of Baltimore: An Introduction to the Collection," 1987, pg. 1, 42; and Wilbur Harvey Hunter's "The Monumental City, The Rinehart School of Sculpture 75th Anniversary Catalogue 1896-1971," pg. 44; and Art and Archaeology 19 (June 1925): pg. 229-238.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985

Peale Museum, 1966.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Maryland, Baltimore survey, 1993.

Rusk, William Sener, "Art in Baltimore: Monuments and Memorials," Baltimore: Norman, Remington, 1929, pg. 103.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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