Women in Military Service For America Memorial - The Hemicycle

The Hemicycle

The Women's Memorial is located in the ceremonial entrance known as the Arlington Hemicycle. A number of public improvements and memorials were planned for construction in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area for the bicentennial of the birth of George Washington, the first President of the United States and American Revolutionary War hero. Among these were Arlington Memorial Bridge and the Mount Vernon Memorial Parkway (now known as the George Washington Memorial Parkway). To link the Virginia landing of the bridge with Arlington National Cemetery, a wide avenue known as Memorial Drive was constructed and a new entrance to the cemetery constructed to replace the old entrance, the McClellan Gate. Due to expansion of the cemetery toward the Potomac River, the McClellan Gate was now deep inside Arlington, and no longer functional as a ceremonial gateway.