United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery, Lodge Ceremonial Gate, 21 Harewood Road Northwest, Washington, District of Columbia, DC

Significance: The Lodge Ceremonial Gate at the U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home, National Cemetery, erected in 1888-89, provides a formal vehicular entryway into the cemetery, located within close proximity to the Superintendent's Lodge. It was built by the Van Dorn Iron Works of Cleveland, Ohio, based upon their own design. The Gate consists of ornamental Blue Stone posts supporting a wrought-iron gate. An iron fence adjoins the gate to either side, forming a semi-circular configuration.

The Soldiers' Home National Cemetery was created in 1861, following the outbreak of the Civil War to provide burial for soldiers and officers of the Union Army, and is the nation's oldest military cemetery. The Commissioners of what was originally referred to as the U.S. Military Asylum offered 6 acres of its larger 256-tract to create the burying ground following the bloody Battle of Bull Run. The first burials were made on August 3, 1861. By 1864, the cemetery had reached its capacity, necessitating the creation of Arlington National Cemetery. However, limited burials continued, and the cemetery was finally expanded to 16 acres, in 1883. As part of a larger program of improvements to the newly expanded cemetery, the Main Gate was built was built in 1883-84, followed by the Lodge Gate a few years later. It was built concurrent with improvements to the roadway and to replace an earlier gate then in poor condition.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N151
Survey number: HALS DC-51-B
Building/structure dates: 1888-1889 Initial Construction