Arlington Memorial Bridge

About

The Arlington Memorial Bridge (often shortened to Memorial Bridge) is a neoclassical steel and stone arch bridge that spans the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., linking the National Mall to Arlington National Cemetery. First proposed in 1886, the bridge went unbuilt for decades thanks to political quarrels over whether the bridge should be a memorial, and to whom or what. Traffic problems associated with the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in November 1921 and the desire to build a bridge in time for the bicentennial of the birth of George Washington led to its construction in 1932.

The bridge was designed by the architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White. It is decorated with monumental statues depicting valor and sacrifice, designed by sculptor Leo Friedlander and cast by the Ferdinando Marinelli Artistic Foundry of Florence, Italy. The central section, a bascule (drawbridge) which had not been used since 1961, was replaced in 2018 by one that does not open.