The Peter Muhlenberg Memorial is a public monument in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
It honors
John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg
John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg (October 1, 1746October 1, 1807) was an American clergyman, Continental Army soldier during the American Revolutionary War, and political figure in the newly independent United States. A Lutheran minister, he serve ...
, a
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
minister,
Continental Army
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
general,
Federalist Era American politician, and member of the prominent
Muhlenberg family
The Muhlenberg family created a United States political, religious, and military dynasty based in the state of Pennsylvania. The German American family descends from Heinrich Melchior Mühlenberg/Henry Muhlenberg (1711–1787), a German immigrant, ...
. The memorial is located in a one-acre park bounded by
Connecticut Avenue, Ellicott Street, and 36th Street NW on the eastern edge of Washington's
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
neighborhood. Designed by architect
John Harbeson
John Frederick Harbeson (30 July 1888 – 21 December 1986) was a Philadelphia architect and a long-time architecture professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He was a principal in the Philadelphia design firm, Harbeson, Hough, Livingst ...
, it features at its center a bronze
bust of Muhlenberg, sculpted by his descendant, Caroline M. Hufford. Completed in 1980, 52 years after its construction was authorized by
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
, attendees at the dedication ceremony included
West German
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
ambassador
Peter Hermes
Peter Hermes (8 August 1922 – 14 October 2015) was a German diplomat, best known for serving as West German Ambassador to the United States from 1979 to 1984 and West German Ambassador to the Holy See from 1984 to 1987.
Early life and militar ...
.
The bronze sculpture of Muhlenberg is displayed on a limestone pedestal and surrounded on three sides by a concrete
exedra
An exedra (plural: exedras or exedrae) is a semicircular architectural recess or platform, sometimes crowned by a semi-dome, and either set into a building's façade or free-standing. The original Greek sense (''ἐξέδρα'', a seat out of d ...
. The memorial is owned and maintained by the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
, a federal agency of the
Interior Department
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministry ...
.
History
Background
In the late 19th century, the site of Muhlenberg Park was the intersection of Grant Road and Chappell Road in rural
Washington County, D.C.
The County of Washington was one of five original political entities within the District of Columbia, the capital of the United States. Formed by the Organic Act of 1801 from parts of Montgomery and Prince George's County, Maryland, Washington C ...
In 1871, Washington County, Washington City, and
Georgetown were unified under one district government, establishing the modern boundaries of
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Over the following decades,
motorized streetcars made settlement in the far
Northwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
of the city more feasible. In 1907, the completion of
a bridge over the
Rock Creek Rock Creek or Rockcreek may refer to:
Streams
United States
* Rock Creek (California)
* Rock Creek (Fountain Creek tributary), Colorado
* Rock Creek (Idaho)
* Rock Creek (Kankakee River tributary), Illinois
* Rock Creek (Wapsipinicon River tribut ...
gorge allowed
Connecticut Avenue to run uninterrupted from downtown to
Chevy Chase, Maryland
Chevy Chase () is the name of both a town and an unincorporated census-designated place (Chevy Chase (CDP), Maryland) that straddle the northwest border of Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Several settlements in th ...
.
As the area was developed, Grant Road was gradually built over and replaced with a
street grid
In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid.
Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, frequent intersections and orthogona ...
, leaving only a few disconnected segments, including the
Grant Road Historic District, remaining. Chappell Road was connected to 36th Street NW and renamed, leaving a small, triangular piece of land between it and Connecticut Avenue.
![Muhlenberg Park street map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Muhlenberg_Park_street_map.jpg)
In 1925, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Epiphany, located on 16th and
U Streets NW, purchased 4900 Connecticut Avenue NW, at the intersection of Connecticut and Ellicott, from the
Chevy Chase Land Company, intending to relocate there.
The following year, Epiphany agreed to merge with
St. Paul's English Lutheran Church, keeping the St. Paul's name and charter and using the Connecticut Avenue site for a new building.
St. Paul's, founded in 1843 and based at the southwest corner of 11th and
H Streets NW since 1845, had grown such that their historic edifice could no longer accommodate the size of the congregation.
The Church set aside the front portion of the new property, cut off from the rest by 36th Street, for donation to the federal government, as a site for a memorial to
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
minister,
Revolutionary War hero, and early-American politician
Peter Muhlenberg.
Planning
On May 2, 1928, Congress passed Public Resolution No. 30, authorizing construction of the monument, with funds to be raised by the Peter Muhlenberg Memorial Association and the design to be approved by the
United States Congress Joint Committee on the Library The Joint Committee on the Library is a Joint Committee of the United States Congress devoted to the affairs and administration of the Library of Congress, which is the library of the federal legislature. There are five members of each house on the ...
and the
Commission of Fine Arts. Congressmen
Alfred L. Bulwinkle
Alfred Lee Bulwinkle (April 21, 1883 – August 31, 1950) was a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from North Carolina.
Early life
Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Bulwinkle moved with his parents to Dallas, North ...
of
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
, who
sponsored the resolution, and
R. Walton Moore
Robert Walton Moore (February 6, 1859 – February 8, 1941) was an American politician. A lifelong resident of Fairfax, Virginia, he served as a state senator, member of the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1902, with the Interstate Commerc ...
of
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
both spoke in favor of its passage in the
House of Representatives. Calling Muhlenberg "one of America's
great men," Bulwinkle opined that "the appreciation of Congress should be given to the Peter Muhlenberg Memorial Association for the idea of erecting here, in the Capital of the Nation, a fitting monument to serve as a memorial to one of the men who helped to found this Republic." Before further action could be taken, financial problems caused by the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
resulted in delayed construction of the new church building and a halt in fundraising for the memorial.
![St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/St._Paul%27s_Lutheran_Church_DC.JPG)
In 1959, the year after the church was completed, a committee was named to begin soliciting funds for the memorial's construction. Washington attorney and St. Paul's congregant Henry F. Lerch III was instrumental in relaunching the project, serving as chairman of the Memorial Association, with the goal of completing it in time for the
United States Bicentennial
The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States of America as an independent republic. It was a central event ...
.
John Harbeson
John Frederick Harbeson (30 July 1888 – 21 December 1986) was a Philadelphia architect and a long-time architecture professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He was a principal in the Philadelphia design firm, Harbeson, Hough, Livingst ...
of the
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
firm
Harbeson, Hough, Livingston & Larson, a former president of the
National Academy of Design
The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...
, was chosen as the architect while
Charles Town, West Virginia-based artist Caroline Muhlenberg Hufford was chosen to sculpt the bust at its center.
Hufford, formerly of
Reading, Pennsylvania
Reading ( ; Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Reddin'') is a city in and the county seat of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city had a population of 95,112 as of the 2020 census and is the fourth-largest city in Pennsylvania after Philade ...
and
Arlington, Virginia
Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...
, was a daughter of noted architect and former
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
Congressman,
Frederick A. Muhlenberg, and a third great-granddaughter of Peter Muhlenberg. The E. A. Baker Company of Washington was hired as
general contractor
A general contractor, main contractor or prime contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the course of ...
.
[ Following several changes to the site's preliminary design, including reducing the height of the proposed backing wall, the Commission of Fine Arts gave its approval in September 1975. The memorial cost $59,430 to build ().]
Dedication
The memorial was formally dedicated on Reformation Sunday
Reformation Day is a Protestant Christian religious holiday celebrated on 31 October, alongside All Hallows' Eve (Halloween) during the triduum of Allhallowtide, in remembrance of the onset of the Reformation.
According to Philip Melanchthon, ...
, October 26, 1980. Approximately 300 people attended the ceremony, including West German Ambassador to the United States Peter Hermes
Peter Hermes (8 August 1922 – 14 October 2015) was a German diplomat, best known for serving as West German Ambassador to the United States from 1979 to 1984 and West German Ambassador to the Holy See from 1984 to 1987.
Early life and militar ...
and Mayor James Lambert of Woodstock, Virginia, the town where Muhlenberg preached prior to the American Revolution; a color guard from Woodstock and about thirty Muhlenberg descendants were also in attendance.
Dr. Russell Zimmerman, former pastor of the historic Augustus Lutheran Church
Augustus Lutheran Church is a historic church and Lutheran congregation at 717 West Main Street in Trappe, Pennsylvania. Consecrated in 1745, it is the oldest Lutheran church building in the United States. It continues to be used by the foundin ...
in Trappe, Pennsylvania, gave a sermon at a preceding church service, calling Muhlenberg, "a giant among giants of the American fight for justice, liberty and independence." Afterward, Henry Lerch was given the honor of unveiling the statue, and Robert Stanton, Deputy Director of the National Park Service for the National Capital Parks The National Capital Parks was a unit of the National Park System of the United States, now divided into multiple administrative units. It encompasses a variety of federally owned properties in and around the District of Columbia including memorial ...
, delivered a speech accepting it on behalf of the federal government.
Later history
The memorial and surrounding park are owned and maintained by the National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
, a federal agency of the Interior Department
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministry ...
, as part of the Rock Creek Park administrative area. The park runs along the Fort Circle Parks
The Civil War Defenses of Washington were a group of Union Army fortifications that protected the federal capital city, Washington, D.C., from invasion by the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War (see Washington, D.C., in the Amer ...
greenway, a proposal inspired by an unrealized portion of the McMillan Plan. Under its 1968, 2004 and 2010 master plans, the Park Service and National Capital Planning Commission suggested the creation of a system of trails connecting the Fort Circle Parks, including nearby Fort Reno, to each other and other open spaces in the District.
Design and location
The memorial sits in the center of Muhlenberg Park in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., alongside a segment of Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
's eastern border with Forest Hills. The one-acre pocket park is located on the plot of land bounded by Connecticut Avenue, Ellicott Street, and 36th Street NW. It is directly adjacent to St. Paul's Lutheran Church and Engine Company 31, which are to the west and northwest, respectively. Also close by are Politics and Prose
Politics and Prose (sometimes stylized as Politics & Prose or abbreviated as P&P) is an independent bookstore located in Chevy Chase, Washington, D.C., on Connecticut Avenue. It was founded in 1984 by Carla Cohen and Barbara Meade. They expande ...
and Comet Ping Pong, one block up Connecticut Avenue.
The bronze bust of Muhlenberg sits atop a limestone base. The approximately high by wide sculpture depicts Muhlenberg in civilian dress, with his hands resting on an open Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
before him. The base, which stands approximately tall, resembles a pulpit and features, on three sides, carvings representing Muhlenberg's contributions to his country as a Clergyman, Soldier, and Statesman. The Clergyman side features an image of a Latin cross
A Latin cross or ''crux immissa'' is a type of cross in which the vertical beam sticks above the crossbeam, with the three upper arms either equally long or with the vertical topmost arm shorter than the two horizontal arms, and always with a mu ...
and the years, "1768–1776" inscribed below it. The Soldier side features an image of a saber and the years, "1774–1783." The Statesman side features an image of a fasces
Fasces ( ; ; a ''plurale tantum'', from the Latin word ''fascis'', meaning "bundle"; it, fascio littorio) is a bound bundle of wooden rods, sometimes including an axe (occasionally two axes) with its blade emerging. The fasces is an Italian symbo ...
and the years, "1787–1807." The inscription at the front of the base reads: "JOHN PETER GABRIEL MUHLENBERG, 1746–1807; Serving HIS CHURCH, HIS COUNTRY, HIS STATE." A rectangular concrete exedra
An exedra (plural: exedras or exedrae) is a semicircular architectural recess or platform, sometimes crowned by a semi-dome, and either set into a building's façade or free-standing. The original Greek sense (''ἐξέδρα'', a seat out of d ...
with three plaques, each containing biographical information about Muhlenberg, flanks the rear and sides of the memorial.
The memorial was originally intended to feature two fountains along with a pond or reflecting pool, both to be added during a second phase of construction. These plans were never realized.
File:Peter Muhlenberg Memorial Clergyman.jpg, Clergyman
File:Peter Muhlenberg Memorial Soldier.jpg, Soldier
File:Peter Muhlenberg Memorial Statesman.jpg, Statesman
See also
* List of public art in Washington, D.C., Ward 3
* Outdoor sculpture in Washington, D.C.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peter Muhlenberg Memorial
1980 establishments in Washington, D.C.
1980 sculptures
Bronze sculptures in Washington, D.C.
Buildings and structures completed in 1980
Busts in Washington, D.C.
Concrete sculptures in Washington, D.C.
Limestone sculptures in Washington, D.C.
Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C.
Outdoor sculptures in Washington, D.C.
Rock Creek Park
Sculptures of men in Washington, D.C.