Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch

The committee declined to approve any of the winning schemes and in 1884 awarded the commission to the Hartford based architect George Keller.

He produced an eclectic design with two Norman towers flanking a Gothic arch, decorated with a classical frieze, embellished with statues modeled by the Swiss-born sculptor Albert Entress (1846-1926).

The central female allegorical figure represents the City of Hartford, surrounded by her citizens welcoming their soldiers home.

Six sculptural figures, each eight feet tall, adorn the towers: farmer, blacksmith, mason, student, carpenter and an African-American breaking his chains of bondage.

Angels in the form of finials cap the towers, one a trumpeter, the other a cymbalist, both facing south to welcome the returning troops.

Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch, south face
Photochrom of the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch ca. 1905