The Smith Memorial Arch has graced the entrance to the Avenue of the Republic in Philadelphia's West Fairmount Park since its completion in 1912. The monument's twin columns are supported by curving, neo-Baroque arches and honors Pennsylvania’s naval and military heroes of the Civil War with a plethora of sculptures -- nine busts, three figures, two equestrians, two eagles standing on globes; and architectural reliefs of 8 allegorical figures. The approach to the arch from Lansdowne Avenue is graced with a roundabout, a traffic circle with curving, Modernist arcs completed around 2012 and supported by a standard yellow Uniform Traffic Control Device indicating the proper directional expectation for a plethora of merging vehicles.

05.06.18