The Peace Arch (french: Arche de la Paix) is a

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

situated near the westernmost point of the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...

in the

contiguous United States The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...

, between the communities of Blaine, Washington and

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. Construction of the tall arch was headed by American lawyer Sam Hill and dedicated in September 1921. The Peace Arch commemorates the signing of the

Treaty of Ghent The Treaty of Ghent () was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom. It took effect in February 1815. Both sides signed it on December 24, 1814, in the city of Ghent, United Netherlands (now in ...

in 1814, and symbolizes a long history of peace between the two nations. The monument is built on the exact U.S.–

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

boundary, where

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...

on the U.S. side of the border becomes Highway 99 on the Canadian side, in the grass

median In statistics and probability theory, the median is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as "the middle" value. The basic fe ...

between the northbound and southbound lanes. The monument and the surrounding land is part of

Peace Arch Park Peace Arch Park is an international park consisting of Peace Arch Historical State Park in the United States and Peace Arch Provincial Park in Canada. The park straddles the international boundary between the two countries at the extreme western ...

. Within the park is

Peace Arch Border Crossing The Peace Arch Border Crossing is the common name for the Blaine–Douglas crossing which connects the cities of Blaine, Washington and Surrey, British Columbia on the Canada–United States border. I5 on the American side joins BC Highway 99 ...

, a major

border crossing Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...

between

and

British Columbia Highway 99 Highway 99 is a provincial highway in British Columbia that serves Greater Vancouver and the Squamish–Lillooet corridor over a length of . It is a major north–south artery within Vancouver and connects the city to several suburbs as well ...

Description

The Peace Arch has the flags of United States and

mounted on its crown, and two

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

s on both sides of its

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

. The inscription on the U.S. side of the Peace Arch reads "Children of a common mother" (referring to the two nations' common origin from the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

), and the words on the Canadian side read "Brethren dwelling together in unity". Within the arch, each side has an iron

gate A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word derived from old Norse "gat" meaning road or path; But other terms include ''yett and port''. The concept originally referred to the gap or hole in the wall ...

mounted on either side of the border with an inscription above each gate: the one on the east side read "May these gates never be closed", while on the west side read "1814 Open One Hundred Years 1914". The surrounding park,

, consists of Peace Arch Provincial Park on the Canadian side and

Peace Arch State Park Peace Arch Park is an international park consisting of Peace Arch Historical State Park in the United States and Peace Arch Provincial Park in Canada. The park straddles the international boundary between the two countries at the extreme western ...

on the American side of the border. About 500,000 people visit the Peace Arch each year. The monument and surrounding park is considered an international park. As such, visitors do not require either a passport or visa to pass through their applicable border crossing so long as they stay within the boundaries of the park and leave the park into the country from which they entered the park. Because of the Peace Arch monument, the border crossing between Surrey and Blaine is popularly known as the "

". In Canada, the crossing is officially named

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

after

Sir James Douglas James Douglas may refer to: Scottish noblemen Lords of Angus * James Douglas, 3rd Earl of Angus (1426–1446), Scottish nobleman * James Douglas, Earl of Angus (1671–1692), son of the 2nd Marquess of Douglas Lords of Douglas * James Douglas, ...

, the first governor of the

Colony of British Columbia The Colony of British Columbia refers to one of two colonies of British North America, located on the Pacific coast of modern-day Canada: *Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) *Colony of British Columbia (1866–1871) See also *History of Br ...

. It is one of the busiest border crossings between Canada and the United States, and the busiest such crossing west of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

History

Border inspection services at what is now known as the

long predated the 1921 construction of the Peace Arch. In 1914, a Washingtonian lawyer named

Samuel Hill Samuel Hill (13 May 1857 – 26 February 1931), usually known as Sam Hill, was an American businessman, lawyer, railroad executive, and advocate of good roads. He substantially influenced the Pacific Northwest region's economic dev ...

organized international fundraising campaign to build the Arch. Internationally known architect H.W. Corbett from

London, United Kingdom London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

donated his talents to design the Arch. International volunteers began constructing in 1920. It was dedicated on September 6, 1921, and was considered one of the first

earthquake-resistant structures Earthquake-resistant or aseismic structures are designed to protect buildings to some or greater extent from earthquakes. While no structure can be entirely immune to damage from earthquakes, the goal of earthquake-resistant construction is to ...

built in North America. The Peace Arch Park has been the site of various international events and protests. In 1952, African-American singer and activist

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for his p ...

, banned from international travel during the

Red Scare A Red Scare is the promotion of a widespread fear of a potential rise of communism, anarchism or other leftist ideologies by a society or state. The term is most often used to refer to two periods in the history of the United States which ar ...

s, performed several concerts at the site. He sang from a flatbed truck on the American side to an audience in Canada. The Peace Arch was vandalized with paint and other damage by Canadian protestors demonstrating against the Cambodian campaign during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

on May 9, 1970. On February 9, 2010, the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay visited the north side of the Peace Arch, while Premier

Gordon Campbell Gordon Muir Campbell, (born January 12, 1948) is a retired Canadian diplomat and politician who was the 35th mayor of Vancouver from 1986 to 1993 and the 34th premier of British Columbia from 2001 to 2011. He was the leader of the British Co ...

and Governor

Christine Gregoire Christine Gregoire (; née O'Grady; born March 24, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 22nd governor of Washington from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she defeated Republican candidate Dino Rossi in 2004, and again ...

addressed a crowd of "several hundred" people.

References

External links

Peace Arch Park

Peace Arch State Park, WA
1921 sculptures Boundary markers Buildings and structures completed in 1921 Buildings and structures in Surrey, British Columbia Canada–United States border crossings Heritage sites in British Columbia Interstate 5 Monuments and memorials in British Columbia Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state) Peace monuments and memorials U.S. Route 99 Tourist attractions in Whatcom County, Washington National Register of Historic Places in Whatcom County, Washington 1921 establishments in British Columbia 1921 establishments in Washington (state)