Titanic Memorial (Washington, D.C.)

Titanic Memorial
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
D.C. Inventory of Historic Sites
Titanic Memorial in 2019
Location	Near 4th and P Street, SW, Washington, D.C., U.S.
Coordinates	38°52′19″N 77°01′09.5″W / 38.87194°N 77.019306°W / 38.87194; -77.019306
Built	1931
Architect	Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (designer) John Horrigan and Piccirilli Brothers (sculptors) Henry Bacon (architect) Meeker Brothers (stonework) R. B. Phelps Stone Company (fabricator, current location)
Architectural style	Neoclassical
NRHP reference No.	07001060
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	October 12, 2007
Designated DCIHS	February 22, 2007

The Titanic Memorial is a granite statue in Southwest Waterfront neighborhood of Washington, D.C., that honors the men who gave their lives so that women and children might be saved during the sinking of the Titanic. Ten days after the sinking on April 25, 1912, a group of women formed a committee to raise money for a memorial to honor the sacrifice, with a limit of $1 per person. After sending thousands of cards to other women throughout the U.S., the funds the committee had raised alongside funding from the federal government was enough to complete the project. A competition was announced for a memorial design and several were submitted. The winning design by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, who later opened the Whitney Museum of American Art, became her first major commission.

After planning and seeking approval from different agencies, the memorial was installed in 1930 and dedicated in May 1931. Among those at the dedication were President Herbert Hoover, First Lady Lou Henry Hoover, former First Lady Helen Herron Taft, and other government officials. Before the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was built, the memorial was removed and placed in storage for two years. It was reinstalled at its current location at Southwest Waterfront Park in the Southwest Waterfront neighborhood. It is sited near 4th and P Street SW near Fort Lesley J. McNair and across the Washington Channel from East Potomac Park.

The centerpiece of the memorial depicts a partly clad male figure with arms outstretched standing on a square base. The base is flanked by a square exedra, created by architect Henry Bacon, which encloses a small, raised platform. The memorial was added to the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites and the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. The statue is one of a small number of prominent outdoor sculptures in Washington, D.C. designed by women.