The Washington Square Arch stands at the southern end of Fifth Avenue, in Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. Stanford White designed it in 1891 to mark the centennial of George Washington's 1789 inauguration as President. The permanent arch was dedicated in 1895.
It is built of white Tuckahoe marble and modeled on a Roman triumphal arch, close to the Arch of Titus in Rome. The arch is 57 feet (17 meters) wide and 77 feet (23 meters) tall. The frieze carries 13 large stars and 42 small stars, with capital W's between them.
Frederick MacMonnies made the spandrel panels, and Philip Martiny carved the keystone eagles. Hermon A. MacNeil and Alexander Stirling Calder made the two statues of Washington, added to the north side in 1918. The arch was restored in 2003 and 2004 after decades of graffiti.
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