Arlington National Cemetery Ord and Weitzel Gate Relocation _______________ Submitted by the Department of the Army, Army National Cemeteries Concept Review Project Information Commission meeting date: September 4, 2015 NCPC review authority: 40 USC 8722 (b)(1) Applicant request: concept design review Delegated / consent / open / executive session: delegated NCPC Review Officer: Hart NCPC File number: 7708 Project summary: The Army submitted a proposal to relocate a gate at Arlington National Cemetery. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, this gate was one of the main entrances into the cemetery. This gate is comprised of two columns that were taken from the north portico of the neoclassical War Department buildings that once stood next to the White House. These buildings were constructed between 1818 and 1820, but were scheduled for demolition in 1879 to make way for the Old Executive Office Building. Brigadier General Montgomery Meigs arranged to have the stonework and columns removed and reinstalled in Arlington Cemetery. Army Corps of Engineers provided plans and specs for two new gateways based on Meigs design. These became the Ord and Weitzel Gate and the Sheridan Gate. Major General Edward Ord was an American engineer and United States Army officer who saw action in the Seminole War, the Indian Wars, and the American Civil War. He commanded an army during the final days of the Civil War, and was instrumental in forcing the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. He also designed Fort Sam Houston. He died in Havana, Cuba of Yellow fever. (Wikipedia) Major General Godfrey Weitzel was in the Union Army during the American Civil War, as well as the acting Mayor of New Orleans during the Union occupation of the city. (Wikipedia) 2 Project Location Millennium Project Expansion Boundary Wall between Joint Base Meyer- Henderson Hall and Arlington National Cemetery Ord & Weitzel Gate location 3 Historic Location NORTH Ord & Weitzel Sheridan Gate Gate 4 Historic Photographs Sheridan Gate, 1870 Ord & Weitzel Gate, 1870 The new North Gate incorporated the remaining two columns crowned by funeral urns. By 1902 they were carved with the names Ord and Weitzel. 5 Previous Design - 1973 A plan submitted in 1973 to rebuild the gates on pedestrian pathways was never implemented. Designs for Relocated Gates Proposed by Keys, Lethbridge & Condon, Architects (1973) 6 Gate Elements The gate elements remained in a remote The ANC would like to restore the storage area until July 2012 when they were columns and find a new, appropriate moved to their current location for assessment, location for them. cleaning, and conservation. 7 Site Aerial Proposed location Original location 8 Existing Conditions 9 Existing Plan 10 Proposed Plan 11 Proposed Perspective Rendering 12.