Washington Square Arch Essay

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Washington Square Park is home to thousands of New York University Students, families leisurely strolling through the park on afternoons, people cooling off at the fountain during the summer, couples lounging on the green grass, and even home to the New York City Pillow Fight held during the summer. At the center of Greenwich Village, it provides an escape from the busy traffic and city surrounding it. Most importantly, it is home to the Washington Square Arch.
Perfectly aligned at the head of 5th Avenue in New York City and located towards the north side of the park, the Washington Square Arch is not the Arc de Triumph of France, but it is a symbol to New Yorkers that tourists love to see when they visit New York. The original Washington Square …show more content…

The Washington Square Arch is a semi-circular arch and contains all of the characteristic parts of an arch: keystone, voussoir, impost, and an abutment. It also contains an entablature with a frieze and is highly decorated. The keystone on both the north and south sides sits at the apex on the arch and holds a pedestal with an eagle perched at the top. The voussoirs on both sides are also flanked by angels. The abutment surrounding the arch contains shields at the center and two crossed swords below it. The frieze above it and behind the eagle contains alternating wreaths with stars in the center, totalling in 13 stars, and “W’s” flanked by what I believe to be olive branches. The entablature continues upwards with a cornice showing dentils and then a quote at the center top. It says, “Let us raise a stand to which the wise and the honest can repair. The event is in the hand of God,” quoted from George Washington himself. On the north face of the arch, there are two statues of George Washington. The statue on the left shows him as the commander-in-chief and and the statue on the right shows a statue of George Washington as the president. In both statues, there representations of Fame, Valor, Justice, and Wisdom surrounding

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