The Corinthian temple honoring Union soldiers in Riverside Park

The Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Monument is a peripteral Corinthian temple raised on a high base. It is an enlarged version of the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates in Athens. Located in Riverside Park at 89th Street and Riverside Drive, the monument commemorates Union Army soldiers and sailors who served in the American Civil War. It was designed by the firm of Stoughton & Stoughton with Paul E. M. DuBoy.

Construction began after a public competition won by architects Charles and Arthur Stoughton. Their winning design was originally known as the 'Temple of Fame'. Ground was broken on September 21, 1900, with City Council President Randolph Guggenheimer turning the first spadeful of dirt. The first stone was laid in January 1901. The monument cost $300,000 to erect, using granite quarried from the Lacasse Quarry in Derby, Vermont. The monument features a tall cylindrical rusticated cella with a low conical roof and is ringed by twelve Corinthian columns. Plinths at the entrance of the terrace are incised with the names of New York volunteer regiments, their battles, and Union generals.

The monument was completed on May 26, 1902. President Theodore Roosevelt officiated the dedication on Memorial Day, during which a parade of Civil War veterans marched up Riverside Drive. The monument bears the inscription: 'To the memory of the brave soldiers and sailors who saved the Union'.

Over the years, the monument has undergone various repairs. By 1907, it was reported to be in need of repair, and the City spent over $1 million on extensive repairs in 1962, which included a new roof and replacing parts of the monument with granite. It was designated a New York City landmark in 1976 and a New York state landmark in 2001. Today, it stands as a heavy, granite reminder of the Union's survival.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons