Smith Memorial Arch

Smith Memorial Arch is an American Civil War monument at South Concourse and Lansdowne Drive in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Built on the former grounds of the 1876 Centennial Exposition, it serves as a gateway to West Fairmount Park.

The Memorial consists of two colossal columns supported by curving, neo-Baroque arches, and adorned with 13 individual portrait sculptures (two equestrians, three figures, and eight busts); two eagles standing on globes; and architectural reliefs of eight allegorical figures.

In 1891, Richard Smith (1821-1894), a wealthy Philadelphia electroplate and type founder, wrote a will that provided $500,000 ($17 million today[1]) for a memorial arch to be adorned with portraits of Pennsylvania's Civil War military and naval heroes.

Smith deposited the model and designs for the memorial with the Fidelity Insurance Trust and Safe Deposit Company and stipulated that: Fidelity president John B. Gest handle his request, that the architectural designs and construction be handled by Philadelphia architect James H. Windrim, and that the selection and supervision of sculptors for the specified portraits should be handled by the Fairmount Park Art Association (now the Association for Public Art).