General Grant National Memorial: The Resting Place of the Union Savior
Why is it significant?
Gaze upon the colossal neoclassical granite mausoleum commanding the high bluff above Riverside Drive: the General Grant National Memorial, known universally as Grant's Tomb.
Key Facts
| Place | General Grant National Memorial: The Resting Place of the Union Savior |
|---|---|
| Address | Riverside Dr & W 122nd St, New York, NY 10027, USA |
| Geo Coordinates | 40.81350, -73.96310 |
| Part of Walk | New York: Morningside Heights and Columbia University's Acropolis |
| Generated | Generated |
Gaze upon the colossal neoclassical granite mausoleum commanding the high bluff above Riverside Drive: the General Grant National Memorial, known universally as Grant's Tomb. Dedicated on April 27, 1897, on the seventy-fifth anniversary of his birth, this monumental tomb is the largest mausoleum in North America. Designed by architect John H. Duncan, the structure rises one hundred and fifty feet into the air, inspired by the ancient Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Ulysses S. Grant was the triumphant general who saved the Union during the American Civil War, accepted Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox, and served two terms as the eighteenth President of the United States. When Grant died in 1885, more than ninety thousand citizens contributed over six hundred thousand dollars to build this grand civic tribute. Over one million people lined the streets of Manhattan for his funeral procession, the largest public gathering in American history up to that time. Today, the quiet marble rotunda stands as a solemn monument to the general whose unyielding determination preserved the United States through its greatest constitutional and military trial.
Grant specifically requested that his beloved wife Julia Dent Grant be buried beside him when she passed. Because the military cemetery at West Point barred women from burial on its grounds at the time, New York City offered this magnificent park overlooking the Hudson River to ensure the devoted couple would never be separated. Step into the sunken central crypt to gaze upon twin eight-ton red Wisconsin porphyry sarcophagi resting side by side.
Look at the carved inscription above the Doric entrance portico: Let Us Have Peace—the immortal words from Grant's 1868 presidential nomination letter that defined his national vision.
Stroll across Riverside Drive to the east into Sakura Park to conclude our Morningside Heights journey beneath the blooming cherry trees.