Arlington and Fort Myer

Arlington Cemetery, the Memorial Amphitheater of 1920 and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, across the Potomac in Virginia.

High view of a huge crowd around a marble amphitheater terrace, officials on the plaza — 1921 A vast crowd surrounds the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington for the burial of the Unknown Soldier on November 11, 1921.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LOT 12354-3 <item> [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

History

Arlington National Cemetery, on the former estate of the Custis and Lee families, became the nation’s principal military cemetery after the Civil War. The Memorial Amphitheater was dedicated in May 1920, and on November 11, 1921 the Unknown Soldier of the First World War was buried in the plaza in front of it. Next door, at Fort Myer, Orville Wright flew his trials for the Army in 1908.

What's there now

The cemetery holds more than 400,000 graves; the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is guarded around the clock. Fort Myer is part of Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall.

Then and now

The amphitheater is unchanged. The Tomb itself was completed with its present marble sarcophagus in 1932, so photographs of the 1921 burial show a simpler, stepped tomb.

Photographs 12, oldest first

Elderly men in hats and a woman with spades breaking ground on a grassy slope — March 1, 1915 Men and women in hats turn the first spadefuls of earth for the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington, March 1, 1915.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F81- 44524 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A partly built marble arch with construction cranes and scaffolding on open ground — c. 1916–17 Derricks rise over the unfinished Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington Cemetery, around 1916-1917.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F82- 1792 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Overhead view of a dense crowd ringing an open plaza where officials gather — 1921 Looking down on the crowds massed around the Memorial Amphitheater for the burial of the Unknown Soldier, November 11, 1921.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LOT 12286 [item] [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A boxy armoured truck on a dirt road with a man standing by — December 1, 1921 The Post Office Department tests its new armoured mail trucks at Fort Myer, December 1, 1921.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F8- 16988 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A mounted officer saluting on a parade ground, riders and radio towers beyond — May 25, 1922 An officer on horseback salutes as cavalry pass in review at Fort Myer, May 25, 1922, the radio towers rising behind.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F8- 18966 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

The gutted brick walls of a burned building with debris piled in front — March 10, 1923 The burned-out shell of a brick building at Fort Myer after the fire of March 10, 1923.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F8- 22953 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A large group of swimmers posed on a riverbank beach — June 16, 1923 Bathers on the beach at Arlington, on the Virginia shore of the Potomac, June 16, 1923. place probableNational Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F8- 24941 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Uniformed sailors and soldiers lined up around a white tomb — November 11, 1923 Sailors and soldiers form an honour guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Armistice Day, November 11, 1923.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F81- 27549 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Soldiers at a white tomb on a terrace overlooking a distant city — November 11, 1925 Armistice Day at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, November 11, 1925, with Washington beyond the river.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F8- 38218 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Officers and flowers at a tomb before a marble colonnade — November 11, 1926 Wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Armistice Day, 1926.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F8- 40724 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

People placing flags and flowers among rows of white headstones — May 30, 1929 Visitors decorate the graves of World War dead at Arlington Cemetery on Memorial Day, 1929.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LOT 12299, vol. 2, p. 52, upper left <item> [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Nearby: The Lincoln Memorial · The Potomac waterfront · The Tidal Basin and Potomac Park · Georgetown · Seventeenth Street