USA > Washington DC > Washington DC > Fort Lincoln, the modern park cemetery of Washington > Part 1
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F203 .1 F7F7
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, 1 .F7 F7 Copy 1
Stt Lincoln cemetery, Washington D.C.
FORT LINCOLN
THE MODERN PARK CEMETERY BA. JAN OF WASHINGTON9 1922
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F203 .1 .F7 F7
Fort Lincoln Cemetery (NON-SECTARIAN)
CHARTERED UNDER THE LAWS OF MARYLAND OPERATED BY
THE CAPITOL CEMETERY CO.
DIRECTORS
MR. W. V. BOYLE
MR. F. R. BOYLE
MR. M. HAMPTON MAGRUDER
MR. J. C. ROBERTSON
MR. F. P. VEITCH
MR. C. A. M. WELLS
MR. HORACE W. PEASLEE, Architect MR. A. WESLEY BROWN, General Manager
OFFICES:
THE LODGE, FORT LINCOLN ENTRANCE TELEPHONE LINCOLN 3579
828 FOURTEENTH STREET NORTHWEST TELEPHONE FRANKLIN 4745 WASHINGTON, D. C.
REMOVED TO 1285 G ST. N. W.
FORT LINCOLN CEMETERY (Non-Sectarian) Baltimore-Washington Boulevard-at the District Line
Dedication
ere is dedicated as an everlasting Memorial and Place of Peace for the beloved dead, one of nature's most beautiful interminglings of hillside, forest, field and river. There through the centuries the silent dead, whether little child, or those who have completed life's span, may abide in tranquil dignity.
ere too, the living, entering, may be soothed from the physical aspects of death, come into lobing communion with the souls of their dear ones, and, looking from the sloping hills and over sheltering valleys, be comforted by knowledge that this rare loveliness of prospect and solemn peace will be maintained for all time.
Page Three
Page Four
PANORAMA FROM FORT LINCOLN LOOKING OVER COMPLETED PORTION The view from the completed areas is of a great and beautiful natural amphitheatre.
A S if planning a fitting site for a memorial worthy of the Nation and its Capital, Nature has reared at the northern boundary of Washington, a glorious amphitheatre of hill- side, pleasant lawns and woodlands, through which a placid river finds its way to the sea.
In pursuance of Nature's inspiring de- sign, this spot of rare scenic beauty has been dedicated to be, forever, one of the world's most lovely resting places and a worthy com- panion to Arlington and other famed memorials of the Capital.
It has been designated Fort Lincoln Cemetery because of the historic fort of that name located at the crest of its hills.
The vision of its founders has already taken concrete form. The massive gateway and beau- tiful lodge and office are completed, and well- made roads wind past the Field of Nations to the lawns now marked for burial plots.
All who love natural beauty, all interested in artistic achievement and memorial art, are invited to drive or wander through its lovely vistas. The wide sweep of the Maryland hills from Fort Lincoln's crest and its own restful loveliness will give one a new vision of scenic grandeur and a deeper sense of the "peace that passeth understanding."
Page Five
THE RIVER AT THE FOOT OF THE HILLS Its placid waters suggest the gentle streams which meander through lovely Old World churchyards.
Page Six
LOCATION OF FORT LINCOLN
T HE tract set aside in perpetuity for Fort Lincoln consists of 240 acres of beautiful hillside, meadow and forest. It extends back for a mile from the Washington-Baltimore Boule- vard at the boundary of the District of Colum- bia to an arm of the river.
The United States Reservation to the south, the highway along the front, and forest barriers joining the river grant it complete immunity from unseemly encroachments.
Those desiring to visit Fort Lincoln will find it easy of access. It is reached by carriage or automobile over the Washington-Baltimore Boulevard, or via Rhode Island Avenue and South Dakota Avenue over the new bridge which admits to the Boulevard about one-quarter of a mile south of the entrance.
The car line out the Baltimore Boulevard, starting from 15th and H Streets, N. E., passes the gateway. Residents of Prince George County can reach it by this car line or by the highway through Hyattsville.
The map on page 25 shows the location of this property with reference to Washington.
As the landscape plan indicates, the archi- tects have taken full advantage of the beautiful contour of the property.
Page Seven
THE RAMPARTS OF FORT LINCOLN Crumbling earthworks still mark this strongest of the chain of forts defending the Capital.
Page Eight
ON TWICE HALLOWED GROUND
T HE Fort Lincoln property includes portions of "Chillum Castle" and "Scotland," granted in 1719 by Lord Baltimore and handed down in direct line to its present holders, who have ceded it for cemetery uses under the strict laws of the State of Maryland. The river to the east was in pre-revolutionary times the scene of extensive ocean commerce carried on from the town of Bladensburg, at that time a thriving port. Here the quaint old square riggers from Liverpool discharged their strange cargoes from all over the world.
In 1814, through the lower reaches of the property, was fought the Battle of Bladensburg, when the ground was hallowed by the blood of those who strove to save the Capital. Later it became part of one of the strong defenses in the chain of forts encircling the city. Visited frequently by President Lincoln, who drank at the spring beneath the ancient oak, it received the name of Fort Lincoln. The outlines of the fort may still be traced by the crumbling breast- works of the summit, which so add to the historic charm of the region.
The spirits of those who, for love of country, offered their lives on this spot, must be well content with the memorial purposes to which the scene of their valour is now forever dedicated.
11
Page Nine
THE SPRING 'NEATH THE OLD OAK Lincoln often visited the Fort and, tradition has it, quenched his thirst at the old spring.
Page Ten
RELATION TO THE CITY'S PARK PLAN
F ORT Lincoln, lovely in its sloping vistas, its river prospects and majestic outlook, is by virtue of its location an integral and vital part of the Park and Boulevard System of the District of Columbia. The recognition of this fact at the outset by those charged with its development for cemetery purposes, and their readiness to cooperate with Federal and State interests have assured a well coordinated pro- gram of beautification.
Provision has been made for a riverside drive- way around the property and connecting the projected Baltimore Boulevard and the Ana- costia Water Park. Fort Lincoln thus becomes a part of the park approaches to the Capital. Eastern Avenue, when completed, will skirt the property on the south for a mile. This avenue, reaching its highest point at Fort Lincoln, will command a view of the entire cemetery and the river beyond.
While of course no traffic can pass through the cemetery, the Fort Lincoln property under this plan would border this great system of parkways and so become the northeastern scenic element in a system linking it with Arlington, Potomac Park, the Lincoln Memorial, Rock Creek and Soldiers' Home Parks.
Page Eleven
DESIGN FOR MONUMENTAL PLOT The careful placing of monuments and use of enduring granite markers assures complete artistic harmony.
Page Tavelve
MONUMENTAL HARMONY
IN accord with the practice which prevails in the most beautiful cemeteries, special loca- tions will be set aside for monuments, but individual gravestones and curbings will not be employed. Individual graves are to be marked with enduring granite set even with the turf. In this way, every owner of a plot or grave is protected from eccentric, overshadow- ing, or inharmonious monuments on neighboring plots.
The effect, in contrast to the usual miscellany of stones of various sizes and materials, will be an uninterrupted sweep of peaceful lawns, with harmonious and well-placed monuments merging with their backgrounds of sloping hillsides, shrubbery or river bordered woodland. Provis- ion for perpetual care of every grave and of the entire property ensures the preservation of its natural beauty.
Starting anew, with no unsightly monu- ments yet marring its natural beauty, Fort Lincoln is able to avoid those frequent mistakes in cemetery planning which now too late are regretted. Fort Lincoln, in these considerations, will be guided by the significant conclusions of the National Commission of Fine Arts, sum- marized on a following page.
Page Thirteen
THE LODGE AT THE GATEWAY
This structure of Italian Renaissance Type will be in dignified harmony with the Chapel and the Cloisters.
Page Fourteen
THE REALIZATION OF A VISION
T HE development on this exceptionally suitable tract of a resting place unequalled in beauty, peace and dignity is the purpose of those responsible for Fort Lincoln.
The Commission of Fine Arts, charged by the Government with the development of the Capital, has visited the property, and given informally much valuable advice.
Reports of the McMillan Commission and other park authorities, the experience of ceme- teries throughout the world, and the knowledge of many experts in the field of art and landscape art, sculpture, architecture and space treatment were drawn upon to assure to Fort Lincoln Cemetery all that is most beautiful and most satisfactory in the seemly reception of the dead.
The work of development and coordination with the parking plans of Washington was intrusted to Mr. Horace W. Peaslee, Architect of Public Buildings and Grounds of the District of Columbia, with Mr. John H. Small, III, landscape architect, associated. Mr. W. N. Rudd, of Chicago, an accepted authority, has acted as consultant in perfecting the plans for the operation, management, and perpetual main- tenance of this cemetery.
Page Fifteen
THE CHAPEL ON THE HILLSIDE
T THE Chapel on the hillside will be in an Italian
Renaissance type as most in harmony with the peculiar beauty of Fort Lincoln. The simple charm of this type may be judged from the lodge at the gateway. Many have commented on the sincere beauty, appropriateness and feeling of permanence of this carefully designed building.
The Chapel, the beauty of which may be sensed from Mr. Peaslee's drawing, will be available to those who wish to conduct burial services within the cemetery.
Page Sixteen
H
THE CLOISTERS ON THE MALL
T HE Cloisters or group of Mausoleums shown in the drawing will provide individual or family vaults for those who prefer entombment but do not require private mausoleums.
Single mausoleums will be grouped along the upper roadway with a background of green hillsides or heavy foliage. The circular plot and the Mall with their unbroken lawns will thus be framed by the larger monuments. The location of the Mall with reference to the Entrance Circle is shown in the model on page 20.
Page Seventeen
APPROACH TO THE CIRCLE
In line with this avenue will be the Memorial Monu- ment and to the left will lie the Field of Nations.
Page Eighteen
THE FIELD OF NATIONS
P ROVISION has been made at Fort Lincoln to satisfy as nearly as may be the deep desire of every one to rest in native soil.
A tract, therefore, has been set aside near the entrance for a Field of Nations. Here the governments of the world and national societies will be enabled to make, as it were, a part of their own native lands, tracts for the honored burial of those of their citizens who die in this country.
Here, too, their fellow countrymen, visitors to the nation's Capital, will have every oppor- tunity to give attention to the resting places of those buried far from their homes.
It is expected that each government or foreign society will erect a single worthy memorial to all sleeping beneath the markers in its hallowed ground.
In no other country is there such a gathering of citizens of other lands. Yet Fort Lincoln offers thus far the only great burial place pro- viding areas reserved for the citizens of other nations. It is fitting that those dying far from their own land should rest in soil consecrated to their countrymen under the protection of their legations, where perpetual and perfect care of their graves is assured.
Page Nineteen
MODEL OF THE MALL
Facing the ellipse is the Chapel, with the Cloisters at the other end of the Mall. The entrance Monument is at the left while Fort Lincoln is above the Chapel at the right.
Page Tacenty
ADHERENCE TO ARTISTIC STANDARDS
F ORT Lincoln has set for itself the highest ideals of beauty. It will adhere to those fundamental principles which have been well summarized by the Commission of Fine Arts:
"The best practice of today minimizes the monument and emphasizes the landscape. By the use of native trees and shrubs the place of the dead is made quiet and peaceful. In the newer portions of Arlington the quiet of hill and vale, of wooded slopes and green plains, should be preserved that the cemetery may per- form its true function as a resting place for the warrior and also for those who would pay respect to his memory."
In a recent report, in referring to Fort Lincoln, the Commission states: "The architect and landscape architect of that company consulted the Commission informally a number of times with a view to so locating their roads and treating the grounds of the cemetery as to harmonize with the park layout for the areas being reclaimed along the river and to provide a roadway from the park to the Baltimore Pike at Bladensburg. The Commission, as an act of courtesy and appreciation of such an effort on the part of a private enterprise, visited the property with their representatives and gave extensive advice."
Page Taventy-one
PERPETUAL CARE FOR EVERY GRAVE ASSURED BY AMPLE TRUST FUND
A SSURANCE of perpetual care for every plot and individual site is the basic feature of this modern cemetery. This is guar- anteed by placing in a trust fund a sufficient part of the purchase price of each site to ensure an adequate income for this very essential purpose.
This assures that for all time, the entire cemetery and every individual plot and grave will be kept in perfect condition. All grass and sod will be kept well trimmed, faded flowers removed, and walks, trees and shrubbery will have constant care without expense or trouble to owners. This guarantees to each owner that his own and all neighboring sites will be sys- tematically maintained.
This plan which safeguards owners from the indifference of neighbors is immeasurably su- perior to older plans which made maintenance depend upon payment of annual fees, or left the matter to the personal inclination or ability of forgetful or remote relatives.
All phases of management will be in charge of intelligent and considerate specialists assisted by carefully selected employees well trained in interment ceremonial. Specially devised equip- ment designed to add to the solemnity and minimize the physical aspects of interment has been provided.
A permanent system of markings and records ensures the location and identification of every plot and grave.
Page Twenty-two
OF INTEREST TO FAMILIES, CHURCHES, SOCIETIES AND FRATERNAL ORDERS
A N extensive area of Fort Lincoln is now ready for the reception of the dead and for the erection of mausoleums.
The section already completed enables large families, groups of friends, societies, churches and fraternal organizations to obtain large sites or grouped or adjoining plots.
Single graves are also obtainable in the sec- tions devoted to single interments.
To assist those who do not believe in leaving the inevitable purchase of burial sites to hap- hazard or hurried selection in time of grief, a kindly plan of partial payments has been arranged.
Without any obligation, the Superintendent of the Cemetery and its other representatives will be glad to conduct visitors through the grounds or to arrange by appointment for their transportation by automobile.
FORT LINCOLN CEMETERY
(Non-Sectarian)
Cemetery Office
City Office
Washington-Baltimore Boulevard
828 14th Street Northwest
Jephone Franklin 4745
Telephone Lincoln 3579
REMOVED TO 1235 G ST. V W.
Page Taventy-three
RIVER
ON
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PAMOKAMA
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N
E . CEASTERN
AVE
EARTH WORKS
U.S RESERVATION
MAP SHOWING STRUCTURES AND DRIVEWAYS IN FORT LINCOLN CEMETERY AND INDICATING PROJECTED PARK BOULEVARDS ALONG RIVER AND OVER THE CREST OF THE HILLS
WASHINGTON
L ROAD
ORE
U. S.
AVE
SOLDIERS
CATHOLIC
ROAD
SO
HOME
UNIVERSITY
UTH
FORT
RO
RK
PARK
PLACE
BROOKLAND
CEMETERY
ROAD
Creek
COLUMBIA
GEORGIA
Reservoir
LANGDON
ST
ST
ST
ST
RHODE
U
ST
River
AVE
16 TH
14 TH
13 TH
P ST
AVE
FLORIDA AVE
M
ST
HAMPSHIRE
FAY
8 TH ST
7 TH ST
NEW
NORTH
K ST
H ST
ST
915 TH & M STS N.E.
NEW
MASSACHUSETTS
F ST
UNION STATION
1 8 TH
LAND
MARY
AVE
11 TH ST
ST
EAST CAPITOL
TH
ST
WASHINGTON & VICINITY
WASHINGTON MONUMENT
CAP
ITOL
15
O
1
2
SCALE OF MILES
POTOMAC RIVER
WHITE HOUSE
PENNSY KV
ANIA
AVE
TENNESSEE AVE
APPROACHES TO FORT LINCOLN CEMETERY FROM
WASHINGTON & BALTIMORE
BOULEVARD
U. S. RESERVATION
Rock
ISLANO
/COLUMBIA PROPOSED EASTERN AVENUE -
CONNECTICUT
DAKOTA AVEJ
LINCOLN
PA
QUEENS CHAPEL
DISTRICT 7/OF
BUNKER HILL
MARYLAND
TO HYATTSVILLE & BALTIM
AVENUE
STREET CAR UNE
CAPITOL
YORK
AVE
MAP SHOWING THE ACCESSIBILITY OF FORT LINCOLN TO WASHINGTON, MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA
NATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY, WASHINGTON, D. C.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 0 014 366 244 5
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