Monday Monuments and Memorials – Eternal Light Flagstaff, Madison Square Park, New York

Eternal Light Flagstaff, with Empire State Building in the background

Base of Eternal Light Flagstaff in Madison Square Park

Detail of bronze, Eternal Light Flagstaff, NY

US Army and Navy forces returning to New York after the war in 1918 were officially received at Madison Square, a park bound by 23^rd St, 26^th St, Fifth Ave and Madison Ave in the Flatiron area of Manhattan. They marched through a temporary Victory Arch of wood and plaster, modeled after the Arch of Constantine in Rome, at 24^th St and Fifth Avenue. There was no agreement amongst city leaders on the design of a more permanent arch and the temporary one was soon razed.