[6] The white marble monument was designed after a public competition won by architects Charles and Arthur Stoughton.

[2] The ornamental features were carved by Paul E. M. Duboy (1857–1907), who also was the architect of The Ansonia, an apartment building also on the Upper West Side.

[8] Plinths at the entrance to the raised terrace are incised with the names of the New York volunteer regiments and the battles in which they served, as well as Union generals.

The building badly leaked, cement was constantly falling from the walls and ceiling, and stone was chipped in many places.

[9] A large adjustment to the monument took place in the 1930s, when the plaza's yellow brick, which nicely contrasted with the white marble trim, was replaced with the orange-colored stone common to Parks Department projects of the period.

At some point the richly sculptured bronze flagpole base, which featured ship forms, wreaths and other elements, was removed.

The park system noted, "the monument is awaiting funding to repair loosened joints, chipped stone, and the damage generally wrought by time if not vandalism.

"[19] A study performed in 2017 estimated the cost of fully repairing the monument had grown to $36.5 million, and would continue to become more expensive the longer the city government waits.

[20][21] A NY1 cable news report from 2019 found that much of the monument's mortar had deteriorated entirely and that the mosaic tiles had degraded so much that they "looked like gravel".

[23] The monument was intended to stand at the center of a complex sequence of balustraded formal paved terraces and stairs that would have rationalized the steep natural slopes to north and west, but were eliminated in the execution.

[note 1] Its site, at a curve in Riverside Drive, makes it visible from a distance, a desirable feature for a monument in the City Beautiful movement.

On the west side of the memorial, the back steps to the terraces offer views of the Hudson River.

The mosaic on the floor is a star centered on a bronze relief medallion of the US arms, with crossed oak and laurel sprays.

The exterior colonnade carries an entablature adorned with a full frieze containing the inscriptions "To the memory of the Brave Soldiers and Sailors Who Saved the Union".

[citation needed] The Riverside Park Conservancy maintains the plantings in the area surrounding the monument.

The number of people and interest in the Memorial Day celebrations at this monument have varied greatly and at times have been very significant.

[33][34] In the mid 1980s the West Side Arts Coalition provided midsummer dance programs on the steps of the monument at 89th street.