Women In Military Service For America Memorial

The Women's Memorial is a unique, living memorial honoring all military women—past, present and future—and is the only major national memorial honoring women who have served in our nation's defense during all eras and in all services. Work on the Memorial was in progress for about 10 years and it was dedicated October 18, 1997. Some 200,000 people visit the Memorial annually. We hope you'll visit, too, when you're in Washington, DC. The Memorial site is the 4.2-acre Ceremonial Entrance to Arlington National Cemetery. A 30-foot high curved neoclassical retaining wall stands at the entrance. Ms. Weiss and Mr. Manfredi's splendid design placed the 33,000 square-foot Education Center in the cemetery hillside behind the existing retaining wall. The Memorial incorporates a reflecting pool on the plaza in front of the curved gateway, or hemicycle, with an arc of glass tablets on the upper terrace. The Memorial's roof is an arc of glass tablets, 250 feet long, inscribed with quotations by and about women who have served in defense of their country. Sunlight passing over these quotes creates changing shadows of the texts on the walls of the gallery below and brings natural light into the interior of the Education Center. The glass tablets illuminate the cemetery hillside at night and during the day, serve as skylights to the interior of the Education Center, which houses the Hall of Honor, exhibits and artifacts of women's military service, a 196-seat theater, a gift shop and the Memorial's computerized Register. Four staircases pass through the hemicycle wall, allowing visitors access to a panoramic view of Washington, DC, from the terrace. Described by The Washington Post architecture critic Ben Forgey as "a perfect gesture in a proper place at a fitting moment," the multi-award-winning design for the Women's Memorial has been hailed as an elegant solution to integrating an exciting new purpose with an existing, historic structure.