Finial Finds a New Home in Westover
Artist: Louis Comfort Tiffany
Installed: 2010
Created: 1930s, restored 2004
Materials: Granite.
Permanently installed outside the Westover Branch Library. Watch a short video of the finial being installed.
What’s a finial? In architecture, it’s an ornament (carved in stone or wood, or cast in plaster) that is placed at the top of an arch. Ours was originally part of the old Abbey Mausoleum in Arlington.
Many thanks to Cultural Affairs’ Public Art Program for helping the Library to procure the finial, as well as the Tiffany windows.
About Abbey Mausoleum
Built on a hillside overlooking Arlington Cemetery and the Potomac River in 1924, the Abbey Mausoleum was once a grand final resting-place for Washington, DC’s elite. The mausoleum, built by the United States Mausoleum Company from 1924 to 1926, was an impressive Romanesque style structure that neighbored Arlington National Cemetery and in 1942 was included within the grounds of Henderson Hall, the U.S. Marine Corps headquarters.
With its granite exterior, marble interior, and stained glass windows, the building was said to have resembled a cathedral. With the bankruptcy of the managing Abbey Mausoleum Corporation in the 1950s, the building fell victim to vandalism and neglect.
In 2000, the U.S. Navy gained ownership of the site, which it wished to redevelop. Based upon the mausoleum’s poor condition, the Navy decided to tear it down. They then assumed the enormous task of contacting the families of those interred at the mausoleum in order to relocate remains, a process which took several years. Arlington County was given the opportunity to salvage architectural features from the historic building, including the Tiffany windows.
Thanks for posting the video and information on the finial. I saw it as I drove by recently, and thought, "What the heck is that?" I wonder if there are photos of the Abbey Mausoleum. From the information on the Arlington Arts page it sounds like it was quite impressive!
We agree, it sounds like the Abby Mausoleum was a beautiful place. We're looking for photos and more information, and will post them when we do find them. (Next stop, the Virginia Room!)