Arlington Memorial Amphitheater facts for kids

Aerial view of the Memorial Amphitheater

Arlington Memorial Amphitheater is an amphitheater in Arlington National Cemetery. It was built in 1921 to replace an old amphitheater. The amphitheater is next to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Images for kids

• 

  Arlington Memorial Amphitheater and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

• 

  Arlington Memorial Amphitheater and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

• 

  Arlington Memorial Amphitheater and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

• 

  The Old Amphitheater (now named Tanner Amphitheater), whose small size, rustic nature, and connection to the Civil War prompted construction of Memorial Amphitheater.

• 

  Judge Ivory G. Kimball, a primary backer of the new amphitheater, in 1909.

• 

  Corner Stone

• 

  Construction begins on Memorial Amphitheater in 1916.

• 

  Memorial Amphitheater under construction in 1917.

• 

  Construction progress on Memorial Amphitheater in June 1918.

• 

  Apse, three-level stage, and klismos chair in the amphitheater.

• 

  Standing in the south gallery of the entrance hall, looking north. The main doors are to the right.

• 

  Memorial Amphitheater after its completion in 1921.

• 

  Looking west across the Italianate formal garden at Memorial Amphitheater. The monumental steps were constructed as part of the Tomb of the Unknowns between 1929 and 1932, and the central roadway removed.

• 

  A replacement urn on the south side of the stage in Memorial Amphitheater. The original urns were removed in 1996 and made their way into private hands; they were returned in 2011.

• 

  President Warren G. Harding (standing on stage, left of the casket) at the funeral of the Unknown Soldier of World War I (November 11, 1921)

• 

  Frank Buckles, the last surviving American veteran of World War I, lies in state in 2011 in the chapel beneath the amphitheater.