Construction milestones George Washington Masonic National Memorial

a damaged column donated local veterans group create memorial world war veterans near gwmnm.

the 1924 construction year ended in december installation of 8 green marble columns (each weighing 11 18 short tons (10.0 16.3 t)) in first floor atrium. each column 18 feet (5.5 m) high , 4.5 feet (1.4 m) in diameter, , arrived @ alexandria s union station train redstone, new hampshire. 1 columnar section damaged, , given ladies auxiliary of veterans of foreign wars (vfw). vfw turned memorial american war dead, , erected in front of alexandria s union station. in december 1924, estimated building complete in 3 6 years.

work on building slowed in 1925 due difficult nature of completing roof , raising tower. 5,500 cubic feet (160 m) of pink conway granite (also quarried near redstone) received in may 1925 , used build memorial hall on second floor. walls of hall 32 feet (9.8 m) high, , 14 feet (4.3 m) of granite needed raised on northeast , south sides of hall complete them. (they 50 feet (15 m) when finished in december 1925.) sixteen columns of st. genevieve marble, quarried in missouri, procured , placed around perimeter of second floor auditorium support auditorium roof. each column 18.5 feet (5.6 m) high , 2.3 feet (0.70 m) in diameter, , weighed 56 short tons (51 t). once columns in place, jack arch constructed above them. arch had 2 cross-members (each consisting of 5 stones weighing total of 70 short tons (64 t)) supported 4 3 inches (7.6 cm) wide, 50 feet (15 m) long steel rods placed in shallow grooves on underside. gwmnma anticipated spending $595,000 in construction funds in 1925, , raised $500,000 in cash donations.

in 1926, gwmnma appropriated $500,000 continue construction on memorial. first event held in memorial february 22, 1926, gwmnma annual meeting. group reported $2 million in cash donations had been received far, , $1.8 million expended. 8 pink conway granite columns—each 40 feet (12 m) high , weighing 68 short tons (62 t)—for portico raised position in october 1926, completing portion of structure. nearing completion massive bas-relief sculpture of washington s head in profile, designed sculptor gail sherman corbett (wife of architect harvey w. corbett). g. fred coles, helped execute statue of abraham lincoln @ lincoln memorial, did carving of sculpture on-site in summer of 1927 corbett s maquette.

at group s february 1927 meeting, gwmnma officers reported raising $125,000 in cash donations. 6 months later, roof on first 3 floors put in place. concrete roof designed gunvald aus, designed woolworth building in new york city. pouring of concrete roof began on august 22, 1927, , completed on august 30. steel roof provided concrete steel co. of washington, d.c. vulcanite portland cement co. of philadelphia provided cement, , cranford construction co. poured roof. total of 71 short tons (64 t) of steel reinforcing rods used in roof, contained 953 cubic yards (729 m) of concrete. roof 74.75 feet (22.78 m) wide , 110 feet (34 m) long—reportedly largest concrete roof in world @ time. roof supported 4 steel-reinforced concrete beams, each beam 72 feet (22 m) long , 14.5 feet (4.4 m) deep. each beam varied 1 5 feet (0.30 1.52 m) in thickness, contained 7.5 short tons (6.8 t) of steel reinforcing rods, , weighed 98 short tons (89 t)). beams supported @ front of building 4 of pink conway granite columns. @ 4 corners of roof concrete piers, each 9 square feet (0.84 m) in size. spandrel beams between columns—6.3 feet (1.9 m) wide @ bottom, 9 feet (2.7 m) wide @ top, , 24 feet (7.3 m) deep—also supported roof. roof waterproofed, sealed, , covered copper sheeting new york roofing co. , ehret-warren co. in august 1927, believed building finished in 3 5 years.

at february 1928 annual meeting, gwmnma agreed spend $500,000 in coming year on construction costs. association agreed increase endowment fund $1.5 million, total cost of building, grounds, , endowment of $5 million. @ time, estimated building completed if $500,000 raised in 1929. grand lodge of state of virginia announced @ meeting had agreed fund construction of bronze doors memorial @ cost of $10,000. @ close of meeting, gwmnma established formal dedication date of 1932 memorial.

in february 1929, gwmnma learned $400,000 in cash donations received in 1928. when work on structure began again in march 1929, terrace , lawns resodded. first masonic degrees conferred in unfinished memorial in mid-october 1929. first blue lodge meeting held @ memorial occurred on november 14, 1929. many skilled workers unemployed due great depression, association able hire more men @ lower wages before. february 1930, tower section had risen 190 feet (58 m) above elevation, 50 feet (15 m) more construction schedule anticipated. @ gwmnma annual meeting, association voted establish $1 million endowment fund maintain memorial after completed. in 1930, association spent $225,000 on memorial. same year, gwmnma president watres donated large celesta-like set of chimes memorial s tower. tower completed, , floors eighth, ninth, , tenth levels installed.

work on exterior of memorial ended on february 8, 1931. grand chapter of virginia of royal arch masonry donated aluminum double-keystone symbol , light @ top of building. fixture, largest of kind in world @ time, in place february 1929 not yet illuminated (as exterior lighting systems still being installed). $17,000 light fixture 19 feet (5.8 m) high, made of aluminum, , has own independent power supply. claude haynes, steelworker employed on memorial since 1923 , member of alexandria-washington lodge no. 22, completed light installing aluminum sheeting on on february 8. construction of decorative items, flooring, landscape drainage, marble walls, , plumbing continued throughout 1931 , expected complete february 1932. work on outbuilding housing memorial s boiler room began in late march 1931. brick building constructed temple b. greenstreet co. of washington, d.c., , brick smokestacks built alphonse custodis co. of new york. steam tunnel 8 8 feet (2.4 2.4 m) square , 600 feet (180 m) long carried heat building. outbuilding s 2 low-pressure boilers , memorial s interior radiators supplied , installed american radiator co. interior heating , ventilation units , ductwork provided b.f. sturtevant co., benjamin f. shore co., , buffalo forge co. modern thermostats provided johnson service co. used control heating , cooling. furnaces used heating oil fuel, , installed automatic heating corporation of washington, d.c.