Avenue of Heroes

Memorial Avenue was created at the same time as Arlington Memorial Bridge to serve as a ceremonial entrance to Arlington National Cemetery. It was originally planned to be flanked by numerous statues of American heroes, and seven memorials have been placed along it since 1960. At the western terminus of the avenue, a large hemicycle was constructed that today houses the Women in Military Service for the America Memorial. The avenue is partly enclosed by a hedge of American holly and white oak trees, the primary historical vegetation of the landscape. Several transportation corridors, Highway 110 and a DC Metro line, pass unseen below grade, but they appear on the avenue as entrance and exit roads, elevators, escalators, and signs. The composite features of the Memorial Avenue corridor landscape are significant as important elements in the neoclassical urban design of the National Capital as it evolved during the first third of the 20th century.

Arlington, Virginia · United States