Victory Arch and 77th Division Parade, New York City

This Victory Arch was built out of wood and plaster to welcome home the demobilized troops of the World War I. It was topped by a sculpture of a chariot pulled by six horses, and was meant to represent the triumph of democracy and harkened back to symbols of the Roman Republic. The pillars were engraved with the names of the states and the year each joined the union, while the battles of the recently concluded “Great War” were carved on outside of the pillars. The Arch was nearly complete in time for the March 25, 1919 parade that honored the 27th Division. This Victory Arch was torn down in the summer of 1920.

The Worth Monument is in the center of the photograph, at 25th Street, junction of Broadway and Fifth Avenue. Flatiron Building is behind the arch. Buildings on west side 5th Avenue are enlarged below, from 202 Fifth Avenue, erected in 1918, to 210 Fifth Avenue, on the right.

The 77th Infantry Division Parade in Fifth Avenue at Madison Square, New York City, on May 6, 1919, with temporary Victory Arch in the background. Photo looking south 5th Avenue, taken by Signal Corps. Source: Photographs of American Military Activities, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.