Clark Memorial Construction

Clark Memorial at Sunset

National Park Service

The George Rogers Clark Memorial was a major feat of architectural engineering. Constructed between 1931 and 1933 it towers over the national park's landscape. Like pieces in a puzzle, the memorial came together piece by piece until the whole was completed.

Memorial Construction Timeline

 

Pouring of the foundation, October 1931

George Rogers Clark National Historical Park Archives

Construction of the memorial began in September of 1931. By early October they had started pouring the foundation.

 

Basement of the rotunda under construction.

Due to a warmer than usual fall, work on the memorial proceeded at a rapid pace. By Christmas 1931, the concrete pylons of the rotunda basement were completed.

 

Layer of Minnesota granite placed around wainscoting.

By February 1932, the layers of Minnesota and Alabama granite wainscoting was placed around the rotunda. The colder winter days did not slow the construction process.

 

By March 1932, the drums for the Doric columns began arriving in Vincennes. Each drum for each column weighed approximately 10 tons. A railroad track for the crane rings the memorial and construction materials are stored near the building for quick access by the crane.

 

George Rogers Clark Memorial construction photo number 18. Dated: August 4, 1932

W.R Heath Construction Co

By the end of Spring 1932, the walls and columns of the memorial were complete.

 

This last construction photo shows a project well on its way to completion by the fall of 1932. On May 1, 1933 the W.R. Heath Company notified the George Rogers Clark Commission that they had finished construction of the building.