The Bunker Hill Monument is a war memorial on Breed's Hill in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It commemorates the Battle of Bunker Hill, a major American Revolutionary War battle that took place there on June 17, 1775. The monument primarily consists of a granite obelisk at the center of Monument Square Park, within the Monument Square Historic District. The obelisk was designed by Solomon Willard and erected between 1825 and 1843. It is flanked by William Wetmore Story's statue of William Prescott to the south and an entrance building to the north. Designated as a National Historic Landmark, the Bunker Hill Monument is part of the Freedom Trail and Boston National Historical Park.
The first monument at the site was dedicated in 1794 and honored American soldier Joseph Warren, who was killed in the battle. After the site was placed for sale in 1822, the Bunker Hill Monument Association (BHMA) was formed to acquire and preserve the site. Willard took over the design from Loammi Baldwin Jr., who drew up the original specifications based on a design that Horatio Greenough submitted for a design competition. The cornerstone was laid in 1825, but due to insufficient funds, work was halted twice for extended periods between 1829 and 1840. The monument was dedicated on June 17, 1843.
When completed, the Bunker Hill Monument was the United States' largest obelisk. The monument has required ongoing maintenance through the years. A temporary wooden entrance building was built in 1857, and the Prescott sculpture was added in 1881. Following decades of fundraising, a granite entrance building was completed in 1902. The BHMA maintained the monument until 1919, when Massachusetts's Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) took over. The monument has been owned and managed by the National Park Service since 1976.
Site The Bunker Hill Monument is located in the Monument Square area of Charlestown (since 1874, part of Boston) in Massachusetts, United States. It is built atop a Continental Army fortification on the summit of Breed's Hill, where the Battle of Bunker Hill took place in 1775, during the American Revolutionary War.
The monument occupies a square, park named Monument Square, surrounded by an avenue also named Monument Square. An iron fence runs along Monument Square Park's perimeter, and five granite markers, dating from 1876, denote the locations of key events in the Battle of Bunker Hill. There are four gates on the avenue around Monument Square, which represent a different regiment that participated in the battle; each gate connects to a staircase ascending to the park. At the top of each staircase, concrete walkways connect with the obelisk at the monument's center. A circular asphalt path connects the walkways, surrounding a platform containing the obelisk, an entrance building to the north, and a statue of Colonel William Prescott to the south. The Bunker Hill Monument is a stop on the Freedom Trail, a path connecting historic sites in Boston; sequentially, it is the last stop after the .
Breed's Hill
is a glacial drumlin in the southern portion of the Charlestown Peninsula, created 12,000 years ago by retreating glaciers. After the area was colonized by the English in 1625, Breed's Hill was named for the Breed family, early settlers who owned land on the hill's eastern slope. The hill was originally connected to the mainland portion of Charlestown (now the separate city of Somerville) in colonial times by a short, narrow isthmus known as the Charlestown Neck. In the 19th and early 20th centuries the peninsula's shape and connections to other landforms were significantly altered, with the waters of the Charles River between Cambridge and Charlestown heavily filled in.Mapping Boston, Krieger, Alex, ed., MIT Press 1999, pp. 16–18. By the American Revolution, the south slope of Breed's Hill had a road leading westward.
The portion of the hill within Monument Square Park slopes fairly steeply. The buildings along the avenue surrounding Monument Square are mostly three-to-four-story houses, designed in the Greek Revival, Italianate, and Second Empire styles starting in the 1840s. The Charlestown High School and the former Charlestown Library are also located on the avenue. The designs of these buildings are influenced by deed restrictions, including a mandatory setback from the street, intended to preserve the area's character. The Bunker Hill Museum, preserving artifacts from the battle, is located within the Charlestown Library. The monument is about from Bunker Hill, which is situated to the north. Bunker Hill is slightly higher than Breed's Hill, at , and is topped by the St. Francis de Sales Church; sources sometimes considered Breed's Hill part of Bunker Hill. Approximately to the southeast is the Charlestown Navy Yard.
Description The obelisk, entrance building, and Prescott statue are located at the center of Monument Square Park. They are surrounded by a north–south concrete platform, which is constructed of rectangular and triangular slabs. An iron fence surrounds the base of the obelisk itself, running between granite piers diagonally opposite each of the obelisk's corners. The fence has posts topped by caps and finials, and the cross-bars have Greek crosses at the bottom and inverted scallop designs at the top. Brick footings are placed under the platform, while curbstone is installed under the obelisk fence.
Obelisk The main structure of Bunker Hill Monument is an obelisk designed by Solomon Willard, made of of granite. It occupies the southeastern corner of the redoubt constructed during the Battle of Bunker Hill. The obelisk rises from its base; this was the maximum height its sponsor, the Bunker Hill Monument Association, could afford.
Exterior The foundation, measuring deep and across, is built of six courses (or horizontal layers) of granite. At the base, the obelisk has a square footprint measuring about across, which tapers to near the top of the shaft. The shaft's granite is laid horizontally into 78 courses, each measuring tall. The exterior wall has a surface area of , and its thickness ranges from at the bottom to at the top. There are narrow windows on the northern elevation at regular intervals, and the top of each elevation has a single square window. Several lamps illuminate the exterior at night.
The shaft is topped by a tall pyramidal section with another five courses of granite. Above the topmost course is a pyramidion, a capstone shaped like a four-sided pyramid. The pyramidion measures high, and its pinnacle's faces are sloped at 90-degree angles from each other.
Interior
Inside the obelisk is a hollow cylindrical shaft, reached from the entrance building to the north. The shaft measures across at the base. In the 20th century, a marble replica of an earlier memorial on the same site—commemorating Joseph Warren, an American soldier killed in the battle—had stood inside the obelisk. A spiral staircase ascends through the shaft, with 294 steps. The number of steps above ground level is painted at intervals of 25 steps. The staircase wraps around a hollow central cone, also known as the newel, which is used for ventilation. The cone, which exists to provide additional structural support to the staircase, measures tall. Its walls measure thick and have 147 courses each measuring tall.
The obelisk is not accessible above ground level. Historian and engineer E. H. Cameron wrote in 1953 that the cone's presence left insufficient space for an elevator, while Susan Wilson stated in 2004 that a steam-powered elevator was briefly used by passengers before being removed. The narrow openings on the obelisk's northern elevation illuminate the staircase, with window ledges that are covered with mesh. Atop the obelisk is a square observation room measuring across and high. Two cannons salvaged from the battle were displayed in the room in the 19th and early 20th centuries; one of them was later moved to the entrance building, while the other was moved to the Minute Man National Historical Park. The interior, intended to fit no more than 50 people, was frequently overcrowded after the obelisk's completion.
Bunker Hill Lodge
The entrance building, known as the Bunker Hill Lodge, is made of granite blocks and dates from 1902. It is a one-story neoclassical building with a rectangular grid of three by four bays, measuring across and tall. The facade is made of gray Deer Isle granite. The eastern elevation has an Ionic-style portico, which supports a pediment with a carved lintel. Beneath the portico are stairs leading to an elaborate cast iron door with two rosettes. The northern and southern elevations also have smaller entrances, including a ramp leading inside. The rest of the facade has casement windows with slightly-protruding rectangular window frames, and the corners have pilasters with undecorated capitals. The entablature just below the roofline has egg and dart decorations. During the 20th century, a sign describing the battle was affixed to the exterior.
Inside the Bunker Hill Lodge is an entrance vestibule, a central room (sometimes known as the rotunda), and a pair of smaller spaces flanking the rotunda. The vestibule's floor is made of multicolored marble mosaic tiles arranged into various patterns, while its plaster vaulted ceiling has a central octagonal medallion. The rotunda is at the northwestern corner and measures across, with a mosaic-tiled floor. The rotunda's Siena-marble walls support a plaster ceiling dome with coffers. Henry Dexter's large statue of Warren, built for an earlier entrance building in 1857, stands in the rotunda. Leading off the rotunda to the north and south are rooms, which originally served as men's and women's lounges, respectively.
Prescott statue
The bronze William Prescott statue, south of the obelisk, was sculpted by William Wetmore Story in 1880–1881. The sculpture is raised on a granite pedestal with the inscription "Colonel William Prescott; June 17, 1775". This pedestal also contains other panels, which are left blank. The sculpture itself stands about or tall. The statue depicts Prescott with his right leg advancing and his right hand grasping a sword, while his left hand is extended backward. The pose reportedly depicted his appearance as he told his men, "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes". Prescott is sometimes credited with having first said this phrase during this battle; the phrase is variously also attributed to Israel Putnam, John Stark, or Richard Gridley, though in actuality, none of them originated it. The statue also has a broad-brimmed hat and a loose coat, and there are a shovel and pickaxe near its feet.
Development Background Battle