Part II: A Parisian Déjà Vu In New York

The architectural gem we stumbled upon tucked within Riverside Park

Photo: Chronica Domus

The title of this post has absolutely nothing to do with Ladurée's Manhattan outposts, nor the obligatory queue of macaron lovers spilling into the streets of every city in which Ladurée has a presence.  Rather, today's post pertains to a grand monument commonly overlooked by the hordes of travelers to New York who typically gravitate toward the more recognizable icons of the city.

Indeed, it was by happy accident that my family and I stumbled across this eclectic edifice of classical architecture while on our merry way to viewing another site off the beaten track, about which I am planning a separate post.

Its unexpected discovery was made during a cab ride to Harlem early one chilly morning, while driving along picture perfect Riverside Drive, where we spotted what looked to be something rather special. Built of grey granite and situated high upon a mound by the Hudson River, our curiosity was piqued. Several hours later, having completed our tour of what we had ventured to see in Harlem, we meandered back down the hill, through squirrel-happy Riverside Park, until we once again came upon the resplendent structure which had previously caught our eye.

Our paths crossed with many darting squirrels in Riverside Park

Photo: Chronica Domus

To our great surprise and delight, it came to be that we were marveling at North America's largest mausoleum, which happened to be the final resting place of America's eighteenth president, Ulysses S. Grant, and his wife Julia Dent Grant.  Not only that, but a fleeting moment of  déjà vu was forefront in my mind.

General Grant National Memorial reminded me of ...

Photo: Chronica Domus

... L'Hotel de Invalides where Napoleon Bonaparte is entombed

Photo: Chronica Domus

How was it that upon entering the General Grant National Memorial I was reminded so much of another tomb I had visited in Paris, that of Napoleon Bonaparte at L'Hotel de Invalides?  The similarities were so striking that I instinctively knew my way around the building, which I will confess, is a most surreal and slightly unsettling experience.  I even felt the same sense of cocooned stillness befitting both honored places of rest, aided perhaps by the soaring scale of the dome and the acoustical qualities of its hard marble surfaces. 

Of course, Grant's tomb was considerably more severe in it's paucity of decoration, a result of eliminating many of the elaborate sculptural adornments from the architect's original plan due to lack of funding. However, both spaces share many architectural similarities.  For instance ...

... Looking up into the dome of Grant's tomb ...

Photo: Chronica Domus

Photo: Chronica Domus

... and looking up towards the dome of Napoleon's tomb

Photo: Chronica Domus

The design elements mirrored in each tomb continue downstairs into the marble lined circular crypt where the twin sarcophagi of President and Mrs. Grant are situated. Made of red Montello granite mined in Wisconsin, the sarcophagi, weighing eight and a half tons a piece, resemble that of Napoleon's which was carved of another reddish-colored stone known as porphyry. The plinths at both locations are similarly constructed not only in their stepped design, but also in their choice of stone. 

Sarcophagi sit side-by-side at the General Grant National Memorial

Photo: Chronica Domus

The sarcophagi at Grant's tomb, and their situation, bear a striking resemblance to Napoleon's tomb in Paris

Photo: Chronica Domus

Napoleon's porphyry sarcophagus and green granite plinth

Photo: Chronica Domus 

The photographs below clearly illustrate how much Napoleon's crypt, completed thirty-five years earlier than Grant's, had influenced the American architect John Hemingway Duncan when seeking inspiration for the general's memorial.  The square marble pillars are almost identical to those used in Paris.  I wonder if Mr. Duncan's vision had included statuary at each pillar before reaching the limits of his funding.

The marble pillars of Grant's tomb ...

Photo: Chronica Domus

... and those of Napoleon's tomb

Photo: Chronica Domus

Our discovery of this important and beautiful national treasure left us a little perplexed as to the circumstances of it being erected in New York of all places (many of the presidential memorials are located in Washington D.C., the nation's capital, where in fact, we recalled viewing a small bronze statue commemorating President Grant on our visit there several years ago).  We were, nonetheless, delighted to have stumbled upon this grand memorial and would encourage anyone with an interest in architecture or history to make the trek uptown when next in New York city to view this stately and hallowed structure firsthand. Oh, and if the weather is clement, a picnic amid the pleasant environs of the park, and its many squirrels, would surely top off an enjoyable excursion.  Do plan your visit carefully and check the opening times and dates so as not to be disappointed, here.

Nota bene: While researching this post, I discovered that Mrs. Grant had written to New York's mayor with her justification for why her husband's national memorial should be located in New York and not Washington D.C., as was the prevailing consensus of the time.  Published by the mayor for all to see, she states "Riverside was selected by myself and my family as the burial place of my husband, General Grant.  First, because I believe New York was his preference.  Second, it is near the residence that I hope to occupy as long as I live, and where I will be able to visit his resting place often.  Third, I have believed, and am now convinced, that the tomb will be visited by as many of his countrymen there as it would be at any other place. Fourth, the offer of a park in New York was the first which observed and unreservedly assented to the only condition imposed by General Grant himself, namely that I should have a place by his side".

Mrs. Grant also made it known that there should never be a public restroom in her tomb, and to this day, there is none.