Image: Looking north through Memorial Amphitheater Display Hall - Arlington National Cemetery - 2012-05-19

Description: Looking north through the Memorial Display Room in the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C., in the United States. Originally designed to be a reception hall, it was turned into display area at some point in time. The south hall contains display cases which contain flags, medals, citations, and other awards given by the United States and other countries to the Unknowns who lie in the vaults at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider. Nearly all the displays in the south hall showcase honors given them at the time of their burial. The north display hall contains honors given to the Unknowns at other times in history. It is not uncommon for other nations, military societies, U.S. states, or veterans' groups to create honors for the Unknowns and present them during ceremonies. These many honors are displayed in the north hall. Congress authorized construction of the Memorial Amphitheater on March 4, 1913. Ground-breaking occurred on March 1, 1915, and President Woodrow Wilson placed the cornerstone on October 15, 1915. It was dedicated on May 15, 1920. The architect was Thomas Hastings of the New York City firm of Carrère and Hastings. The white marble came from Danby, Vermont. Ulysses A. Ricci designed the various friezes, ornamental devices, and decorative elements of the amphitheater. The Memorial Display Room occupies most of the ground floor of the west side of Memorial Amphitheater. It is open to the public, and contains displays about the unknown soldiers buried in the nearby Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. These displays include medals given to the unknown dead, the flags which covered them, and the history of the Tomb. Main stairs lead left and right to the second floor. On the second floor are offices and a reception room. Originally, the reception room on the upper floor was supposed to house the memorial displays, but these were moved downstairs at some point prior to the 1980s and now the upper floors are used for VIP guests. The marble of the Memorial Display Room is imported Botticino, from Italy.
Title: Looking north through Memorial Amphitheater Display Hall - Arlington National Cemetery - 2012-05-19
Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23165290@N00/7290354970/
Author: Tim Evanson
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0
License: CC BY-SA 2.0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Attribution Required?: Yes