Area Less than one acre Architectural style Stripped Classical Opened 11 November 1957 | Built 1955 (1955)-1957 NRHP Reference # 08000341 Added to NRHP 24 April 2008 | |
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Established April 17, 1955 (1955-04-17) Unveiled November 11, 1957 (1957-11-11) | ||
The Memorial to the Women of the Confederacy, also known as the U.D.C. Memorial Building, is a historic building located in Richmond, Virginia, that serves as the national headquarters of the U.D.C. It was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2008. The building is open to the public on scheduled days as advertised on the U.D.C. Home Page. The Caroline Meriwether Goodlett Library and the Helen Walpole Brewer Records Room are open by appointment only.
Contents
History
The Memorial to the Women of the Confederacy is located at 328 North Boulevard. The Park was created in 1934 by an act of the Assembly of Virginia which states in part that ″said tract of land has long been the site of the home for Confederate Soldiers and Sailors, and is thus intimately associated with Confederate memories... is also near the Confederate Memorial Institute and Home for Needy Confederate Women, and for those said reasons will constitute a peculiarly fitting and appropriate location for a Confederate Memorial Park...″ It was built between 1955 and 1957, and is a one-story, three part, marble-clad building in a stripped classical style. It features a double leaf, central entrance designed to resemble a mausoleum and with 17-foot high bronze doors composed of rectangular bronze panels. A two-story addition was made to the rear of the northwest corner of the building in 1996. It was constructed principally of Georgia marble, with entrance doors of architectural bronze decorated with the organization's badge. The walks are of red Virginia brick. There are also the Great Hall, Reception Hall, Lounge, Committee Room, Dining Room, Kitchen, storage rooms, and Basement; memorials to Confederate heroes, to the women of the Confederacy, the co-founders of the organization and a number of relics from the R. E. Lee Camp. Thus the building fulfills its dual purpose as a headquarters building and as a memorial to women of the Confederacy.
Caroline Meriwether Goodlett Library
Dedicated to the organization's founder, Caroline Goodlett, it was established for the purpose of research in all fields relating to the Confederacy. The Library contains many books. (None are allowed to be taken from the Library.) A group of historians and experienced librarians who hold office in Virginia libraries and universities, serve as a volunteer advisory committee. A record is kept of gifts and names of donors, also a card file, indexed by book title and author for ready reference for those doing research and seeking information concerning the Confederacy.
Helen Walpole Brewer Records Room
The Records Room is located in the addition that was built with funds provided by the generous bequest of Helen Brewer, a member of Janet Randolph Chapter, Virginia Division. The room was dedicated on November 10, 1996. It contains the complete National Archives microfilm of Compiled and Consolidated Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, the microfilmed Confederate pension records from various States, and numerous books containing rosters of Confederate soldiers. The room contains a very limited amount of genealogical material.
Anna Davenport Raines Business Office
Through the United Daughters of the Confederacy Business Office is directed the purchase of supplies, equipment and stationery; also bids on printing and bookbinding. The business office also handles sale of books, pamphlets and other supplies published and sold by the organization. Here also is provided assistance for the various officers, committees, and divisions. The business office is dedicated to the memory of Anna Raines, co-founder of the organization. Business Office hours are 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday.