2004 Bywater Home Tour

The Victory Arch

The inscription at the top of the arch reads:

Erected AD 1919 by the people of this the Ninth Ward in honor of its citizens who were enlisted in combative service and in memory of those who made the supreme sacrifice for the triumph of right over might in the Great World War.

Designed by Charles Lawhon and built in Buff Bedford Indiana Limestone by the prestigious Albert Weiblen Marble and Granite Company, the arch is dedicated to more the 1,300 men and one woman from the Ninth Ward who saw service in the American Expeditionary Force during World War I.

The Ninth Ward Army and Navy Aid had the task of raising the necessary funds for the memorial and reportedly had difficulties raising them. Nevertheless, the $7,800 needed to build the arch was achieved, and no funds were sought outside of the ward. This was due to the fundraising efforts of Dr. Edward S. Kelley, member of the local board No. Eight.

Purported to be the first permanent Great War memorial in the United States, the Victory Arch architectural plans had been completed by March 1919, and the construction completed by early 1920, and the entire memorial dedicated on March 14, 1920. According to the Times-Picayune, six thousand people attended the memorial dedication, including one thousand school children from the ward, who sang "Call of the Flag," the "Star Spangled Banner," and "America".

Speakers included Colonel E. D. A. Pearce, Commander of Jackson Barracks, Captain George F. Cooper, commandant of the naval station, Senator George Theole, president of the Ninth Ward Army and Navy Club, Morris B. DePass, chairman of the ward committee, who formally presented the arch to the city, and Commissioner E J Glenny, who filled in for the ailing mayor. Taps was sounded for the 48 former residents who had died in ser-vice, and Red Cross Nurse Frances Fabing, also a resident of the Ninth Ward. was presented with a bouquet of roses and carnations (Times-Picayune, March 7,1920; March 15,1920).

There are four bronze plaques, each listing the names of the men who were in service in the American Expeditionary Force. The plaque on the left leg of the arch facing Burgundy Street lists the white men who were killed in action and who died in service. Beneath these names are the names of the residents of the Ninth Ward who were enlisted but still living. The list continues on the plaques on the front and rear of the right leg of the arch. The list of the African-American service men who died in service, as well as those who were still living, are on the rear of the left leg of the arch.

Originally, the arch was located in the middle of the square, circled by a paved walkway. In 1951, the Victory Arch was moved to the periphery of the square to a banquette on Burgundy St. to make way for the new high school. During the subsequent 35 years, the arch fell into disrepair. Some pieces broke off and are now lost forever.

In 1985, members of the BNA got together and restored the arch, removing graffiti and stains and cleaning and sealing the limestone. In 1994, the residents of the 3800 block of Burgundy "adopted" the grounds around the arch. In late 2002 and early 2003, the Monumental Task Committee restored the Victory Arch, due much in part to the generous efforts of Ms. Judy Burns.

The blueprints in the Southeastern Architectural Archives at Tulane University, dated March 1919, indicate that the carved shields above each plaque were to have inscribed crosses. An early model of the arch also indicates that the rear of the arch was to have a different inscription above the pediment, as well as two flanking bas-reliefs of Liberty.