District of Columbia World War I Memorial

The World War I Memorial near the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool isn’t well known or much visited. It has been neglected and forgotten for decades but in the past few years has gotten some long-overdue attention.

This page refers to the District of Columbia World War I Memorial, which is on the southern side of the National Mall, near the Tidal Basin. It’s a different memorial from the National World War I Memorial in Pershing Park, next to the White House. That memorial was originally expected to open for the centennial of the end of World War I, in November 2018, but progress was mired in controversy. The park opened to the public in April 2021, and its centerpiece sculpture was dedicated on September 13, 2024.

The District of Columbia World War I Memorial near the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool isn’t well known or much visited.

It had been neglected and forgotten for decades, but in recent years, it has finally gotten some long-overdue attention.

The DC World War I Memorial is the only city-centric monument on the National Mall. It honors the 26,000 or so Washingtonians who served in World War I and the 499 who died. Its official name is the District of Columbia War Memorial, and it’s often just called the DC War Memorial.

Inscribed on its base are the names of the 499 Washingtonians who died in the war, and unusually for the time, it includes the names of all Washingtonians who died, regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender.

Shaped like a much smaller, much simpler version of the Jefferson Memorial, it was designed as a domed bandstand.

It was designed by architect Frederick H. Brooke and built of Vermont marble. It stands 47 feet tall, with twelve Doric columns holding up a shallow dome.

It was dedicated on Armistice Day 1931, on the 11th hour of the 11th day in the 11th month. President Herbert Hoover was on hand for the ceremony, and the band was conducted by John Philip Sousa. Construction was paid for by Washington, D.C., including a fundraising drive that asked the District’s school students to donate 5 cents in exchange for a “535” badge denoting the number of Washingtonians who did not come back from the war.

The DC World War I Memorial was neglected for decades, but in recent years it has received some much-needed attention thanks to a $7.3 million grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Landscaping has been upgraded, trees that had obscured access cleared, the cracked and fading stonework has been repaired and renovated, the lighting upgraded, and a small paved piazza on its southern front added in keeping with its 1930s vision.

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