Platforms of Power

Visibility shaped both Arlington House and Washington, DC, as G.W.P. Custis chose a site high above the Potomac River and architect Pierre Charles L'Enfant envisioned the capital's forested hills as natural settings for symbols of prestige. The McMillan Plan expanded L'Enfant's vision in 1902 by adding parks around iconic memorials, unifying a fragmented mall into a ceremonial space, and placing the Lincoln Memorial directly across the Potomac from Arlington House. Arlington Memorial Bridge became a symbol of union connecting Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee, while the Lincoln Memorial stood across the river as a contemplative tribute to the nation's 16th president. The Washington Monument, honoring Custis's step-grandfather, was left unfinished at Custis's death, and in 1857 Montgomery Meigs corresponded with Robert E. Lee on construction of the Capitol wings joining the US House of Representatives and the US Senate. Landscaping envisioned in the McMillan Plan linked the city's memorials before Arlington Memorial Bridge was built.

Arlington, Virginia · United States