Navy and Marine Memorial

History

Retired Navy Rear Admiral Bradley A. Fiske chaired the executive committee, which included prominent members such as Charles Francis Adams, Dwight F. Davis, James J. Davis, Curtis F. Wilbur, Andrew W. Mellon, Hubert Work, Rear Admiral Benson, Admiral Edward W. Eberle, Rear Admiral F.C. Ballard, T.B. O'Connor, and Major John A. Lejeune. The Association raised funds from several individuals, including Richard F. White ($7,500), Col Robert M. Thompson ($5,500), Vincent J. Astor ($5,000), William H. Vanderbilt ($5,000), and J. Pierpont Morgan ($2,750), and also conducted campaigns to raise funds from school children.

The Association selected Harvey Wiley Corbett for architectural design and Ernesto Begni del Piatta as sculptor, estimating the monument would cost $500,000. In 1924, Congress passed S.J. 86 authorizing placement on public grounds in Washington D.C., provided the location and design were approved by the National Commission of Fine Arts and that the federal government was not required to pay for creation or maintenance. Corbett submitted a design in March 1924 for a memorial 30 feet high and 32 feet long at the base, with steps extending 200 feet and memorial plaques; del Piatta's sculpture featured seven seagulls with five-foot wingspans soaring over a crashing wave.

Corbett requested placement at the tip of Hains Point. The Commission of Fine Arts expressed doubts about the monument's interest at full scale and found the sculpture overly romantic. A modified design was submitted on December 10, 1925, and the Commission provided feedback in January 1926: it could not be sited at Hains Point because the sculpture was not interesting from all four sides for river traffic, it was still too romantic and not monumental enough for large scale, and the architectural setting was too elaborate for the sculpture.