Area less than one acre NRHP Reference # 03001421 Designated VLR June 18, 2003 | Built 1849–1869 VLR # 127-0189 Added to NRHP 15 January 2004 | |
 | ||
Similar Old City Hall, Virginia Civil Rights Memorial, Virginia State Capitol, Governor's Mansion, Monumental Church | ||
The Virginia Washington Monument, also known as the Washington Monument, is an 19th-century neoclassical statue of George Washington located on the public square in Richmond, Virginia. It is the terminus for Grace Street. The cornerstone of the monument was laid in 1850 and it became the second equestrian statue of Washington to be unveiled in the United States (following the one in Union Square, New York City, unveiled in 1856). It was not completed until 1869.
Description
The Washington Monument features a 21-foot (6.4 m), 18,000-pound (8,200 kg) bronze statue of George Washington on horseback. The base of the monument (finished after the American Civil War) includes statues of six other noted Virginians who took part in the American Revolution: Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Andrew Lewis, John Marshall, George Mason, and Thomas Nelson Jr.. On February 22, 1862, the monument was the location for the second inauguration of the President and Vice President of the Confederate States. The presidential oath of office was administered to Jefferson Davis by Judge J.D. Halyburton and the vice presidential oath to Alexander H. Stevens by senate president R.M.T. Hunter. Elements of the statue were incorporated into the Seal of the Confederate States.