RMS Titanic Memorial -- Washington DC
N 38° 52.317 W 077° 01.155
18S E 324827 N 4304504
The memorial to all those who gave their lives to save women and children aboard the RMS Titanic on 15 Apr 1912 is located near Ft. McNair at 4th and P Streets SW (Metro Green Line Washington SEU station).
Waymark Code: WMFJQ1
Location: District of Columbia, United States
Date Posted: 10/27/2012
Views: 31
The RMS Titanic was the largest ocean-going passenger liner ever built, and also the most luxurious. She is also the most ill-fated: sinking through her crew's negligence on her maiden voyage, resulting in the loss of over 1500 men, women, and children.
The Titanic disaster is one of the worst peacetime maritime disasters in history. The disaster captivated the imaginations of people worldwide. The Titanic carried the newest radio-wireless communications technology, and this technology allowed her captain to know of the iceberg danger before she steamed into the ice field. Wireless also was critical to rescuing passengers who survived the sinking of the Titanic in lifeboats, and allowed for near-contemporaneous (for the day) news coverage of the disaster.
The sinking of the Titanic remained a defining moment of the first quarter of the 20th century. Proof of the enduring feelings surrounding this disater: 20 years after her sinking, this memorial was comissioned and installed in the US National Capitol.
When the wreckage of the Titanic was discovered in 1985, she again captured the imagination of the world. Artifact exhibits, TV shows, countless web sites and an Oscar-winning movie perpetuate the memory of this disaster in the popular consciousness.
The inscriptions on the memorial reads as follows:
Front:
TO THE BRAVE MEN
WHO PERISHED
IN THE WRECK
OF THE TITANIC
APRIL 15 1912
THEY GAVE THEIR
LIVES THAT WOMEN
AND CHILDREN
MIGHT BE SAVED
ERECTED BY THE WOMEN OF AMERICA
Back:
TO THE YOUNG AND THE OLD
THE RICH AND THE POOR
THE IGNORANT AND THE LEARNED
ALL
WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES NOBLY
TO SAVE WOMEN AND CHILDREN
From the Smithsonian Sculpture Inventory Catalog, some intersting history:
The sculpture was created as a memorial for those who died in the Titanic shipwreck. It was authorized by Congress on March 3, 1917 and was sponsored by the Women's Titanic Memorial Association. The sculpture was completed in 1929, but installation was delayed due to construction of a seawall near Rock Creek Parkway. The sculpture was originally erected along Rock Creek Parkway, near the New Hampshire Avenue intersection in May 1930, but was not dedicated until May 31, 1931. Later the statue and accompanying stone bench were stored briefly at Fort Washington, Maryland, in 1966, after removal for the construction of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The piece was reinstalled in September 1968 at its current site. John L. and William P. Meeker were responsible for the stone work on the piece. The Pringle Construction Company and architect Henry Bacon worked on the piece in its original site. The R. B. Phelps Stone Company worked on the piece in its current site.
[end]
Disaster Date: 04/15/1912
Date of dedication: 01/01/1931
Memorial Sponsors: Women's Titanic Memorial Association
Parking Coordinates: N 38° 52.325 W 077° 01.053
Disaster Type: Technological
Relevant Website: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
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