1930s Construction on some of the exterior and nearly all of the interior of the memorial continued after its May 1932 dedication. Sheet metal for interior window sashes, doorjambs and other moldings, fixtures and fittings was provided by G.O. Robertson of Delaware; Ernest Gichner of Washington, D.C.; and the E. Van Norden Co. of New York. The Hires-Turner Glass Co. of
Rosslyn, Virginia, provided the windows and stained glass. The lighting fixtures were supplied by the Sterling Bronze Works, while electrical supplies were furnished by the National Electrical Supply Co. of Washington and A.L. Ladd of Alexandria. Four firms oversaw the plumbing and sewage work: Earl Riley, the D.C. Engineering Co., Potomac Clay Works and the Thos. Somerville Co. The interior heavy hardware as well as some heavy internal equipment was supplied by Henry H. Meyer & Co. of Washington, D.C., while lighter hardware and fixtures were supplied by Worth Hulfish & Sons of Alexandria, Baldwin-Stuart Co. of Hartford, Connecticut and
Sargent & Co. of New York. Many of the non-marble floors were covered in cork (provided and installed by the David E. Kennedy Co.) and carpeting was provided by
Woodward & Lothrop (the department store chain). Acoustic tile was used in many rooms to dampen the echoes produced by the granite walls. This tile was provided by the George P. Little Co.
Terrazzo (faux marble flooring) work was done by the V. Foscato Co. of New York. Much of the interior woodwork was supplied by W.A. Smoot & Co. of Alexandria. Interior painting was done by the W.W. MacCallum Co. of Alexandria, while the
terracotta (unglazed baked ceramic) decorations were provided by Ernest Simpson of Alexandria. The aluminum for interior work was supplied by the Aerocrete Corporation and worked and molded into forms by the
Aluminum Company of America. Despite the immediate flurry of work on the memorial after its dedication, construction and decoration of the interior slowed significantly over the next two decades. The
Great Depression and World War II left both funds and building materials in short supply. The association wished to complete the memorial hall, the north lodge room and the Alexandria-Washington replica lodge room on the second floor of the memorial. To complete the rooms and hallways leading to them would cost about $193,000. Although fund-raising for the effort began, in 1936 the organization learned that it had to complete the library and elevators in the tower first. In February 1931, Florence M. Lemert, widow of Rae John Lemert, Grand Historian of the Grand Lodge of Montana, donated more than 6,000 books and manuscripts about Masonic history and Masonry to the memorial as a means of founding a national Masonic library. With these books in danger of deterioration, a library had to be constructed immediately and at least one elevator installed in order to reach the library room in the tower. Additional landscaping had to be done in order to reduce the fire danger in the area, walls had to be erected around the land to prevent the public from cutting across the property and roads had to be re-graveled and maintained. Four large lighting sconces were added to the second floor memorial hall in 1938, with the $4,000 cost of their installation paid for by the General Grand Chapter of the
Order of the Eastern Star. In 1939, the granite steps leading up to the portico, the walls containing the patio which surrounds the memorial and the stone balustrade for the granite steps were installed. Several hundred plants were also added to the landscaping. In 1941, the association raised an additional $70,000, leaving it with total funds on hand of $225,000. and dedicate it to the Blue Lodge. The sum also would cover the cost of finishing the room in the southwest corner of the second floor to house the Alexandria-Washington Lodge's Washingtoniana. The Blue Lodge room and Alexandria-Washington Lodge replica room were finished in late 1942. During the following year, one of the granite columns in the memorial cracked and was repaired. Placed in the finished room was an original oil painting of Shrine co-founder
William J. Florence (valued at $5,000), a copy of the Shrine's Ritual in the handwriting of co-founder
Walter M. Fleming, a collection of jewels, and other items. In time, the Shriners would furnish two more rooms on ground floor at a total cost of $168,000. At the GWMNMA's annual meeting in February 1947, the Alexandria-Washington Lodge Replica Room was dedicated. The association also voted to allot one of the rooms in the unfinished tower to the
Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm (also known as "the Grotto"), which had raised $25,000 to finish the room. The
Supreme Council, Scottish Rite (Southern Jurisdiction, USA) donated $100,000 to finish the north lodge room on the second floor and dedicate it to
Cryptic Masonry. Prior to this donation, the association was unsure whether appendant bodies of Freemasonry should be allowed to occupy rooms in the memorial. The Southern Jurisdiction's donation effectively ended this debate. It also encouraged many Grand Lodges (state organizations) of Masonry to make large donations to the memorial, bringing new life to the memorial's fund-raising efforts. The association also agreed to expend funds to build a kitchen and dining room, hang bronze doors on the first floor and install bronze grillwork for the heating and ventilation system on the first floor. Two other major decisions were made in 1947 as well. Long-time memorial architect Harvey W. Corbett presented his plans for completing the memorial's interior and sculptor
Bryant Baker discussed his plans for a life-size statue of George Washington to adorn the memorial hall. The Grotto dedicated its finished room (designed to house its archives) on the third floor of the building in February 1948. The association, meanwhile, outfitted the first floor auditorium with handrails and bronze windowsills and HVAC ventilation grills. That same year, President
Harry S. Truman presented the memorial with a replica of the
Great Seal of the United States which was in diameter and lit from within. The sign had originally topped of the
United States Government Printing Office headquarters, but had been damaged by lightning. None of the tower rooms in floors three through nine were finished, although the observation deck was under construction. and the two elevators were installed on the north and south side of the building. To avoid piercing the second floor's memorial hall, the elevators slanted inward at 7.5 degrees. Other decorative changes were made by late 1949 as well. A woven
Persian carpet, the largest in the world and worth $1 million, was donated to the memorial by Sarkis Nahigian (a Masonic member from Chicago). The "Hall of Presidents" was also finished. This walkway on the upper level of the auditorium contained plaques depicting presidents of the United States who were Masons. The Shriners, too, completed their rooms on the first floor. At some point during 1949, Bryan Baker's sculpture of George Washington was changed from marble to bronze. President Truman, past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Missouri, dedicated the statue and delivered a major foreign policy address at its unveiling. The Grand Lodge of California donated the funds for these murals. The windows were executed and installed by stained glass artist Robert Metcalf. It was also in 1951 Finally, with the second-floor auditorium nearing completion, the memorial association authorized the expenditure of funds for the
Moller Organ Co. to begin design and construction of a
pipe organ for this space. Problems with the shaft, however, delayed its completion. Additional internal construction was also completed at this time. The building plans had called for two sets of stairs to descend from the second floor's memorial hall to the first floor's assembly hall. These stairs had never been completed, however, and the space had been used for storage for years. Now funds were available to build the staircases. In order to do so, the unfinished space beneath the main portico was turned into a storage room, and the stairs were installed. Contractors also resealed the exterior of the tower and the second floor roof parapet to prevent water from leaking into the memorial. The $50,000 for the organ had been donated by the Grand Lodge of New Jersey in 1930. and the fifth floor with its Royal Arch Masonry room was almost finished as well. The memorial association now began reconsidering some of its plans. It was clear now that there was no need for a "States Remembrance Room" on the fourth floor, and that the eighth floor did not have enough space to hold all the Washingtoniana in the possession of the Alexandria-Washington Lodge. So the association resolved to make the fourth floor a Washington museum, while leaving the eighth floor open. In February 1955, Theodor Vogel, Grand Master of the
United Grand Lodges of Germany, presented the memorial association with intricate wood carvings depicting the
Four Crowned Martyrs (in this case, Claudius, Castorius, Nicostratus, and Symphorian). The carvings were hung in the memorial library. That same year, the Knights Templar asked that their assigned room be moved from the seventh to the eighth floor. The following year, the north side elevator was finally completed. A number of exterior projects remained, however: granite facing for the upper terrace walls, bronze trim for the main doors, bronze lighting standards for the portico, granite facing for the lower terrace walls, and granite facing for the back of the auditorium. Some interior work was also needed. For example, holes had been drilled in the marble floor of the memorial hall so that electric plugs could be installed for lighting fixtures. The unassigned seventh floor finally found a sponsor as well. That year, the Grand Central Council of Cryptic Masonry agreed to sponsor the floor, and by year's end had raised half the funds necessary to complete and furnish the floor. The four bays in the room remained unfinished for many years, however, and were curtained off. The same year, the Southern and Northern Jurisdictions of the Scottish Rite dedicated the George Washington museum on the memorial's fourth floor (although there were no display cases or other furnishings to permit the Washington museum to open). Work on the seventh-floor Cryptic Masonry room was well under way by late 1957 A change was made to the portico as well that year. The portico had been designed so that large bronze plaques could be installed on either side of the main doors. Fundraising for these plaques had not gone well, leaving two gaping holes in the marble walls. The memorial association decided that marble, rather than bronze, plaques be installed in these spaces. Quotations from George Washington's Masonic correspondence were selected and inscribed on these marble plaques. Additionally, the bronze doors for both sets of elevators were also installed (at a cost of $18,000). At the end of the year, the memorial association spent more than $108,000 to finish the granite facing of the auditorium. These dioramas had been part of the original decorative scheme for the memorial, with eight dioramas (two for each corner) to be placed in the assembly hall. Due to a dispute over the subject matter, 12 rather than eight dioramas were ordered. Air conditioning was added to the North Lodge (form the Cryptic Lodge) Room in 1963. But despite these achievements, by 1964 the memorial still wasn't finished. More than 150,000 people a year were visiting the memorial, but the Washington museum was still unfinished. A major push to finish the museum came after 1966, when Washington's descendants—Anne Madison and Patty Willis Washington—donated the Washington family's collection of papers and memorabilia to the museum. Only after this donation was made were funds for the museum's completion finally raised. The late 1960s saw the completion of the memorial. In February 1966, Senator
Everett Dirksen (a Mason) dedicated the George Washington museum on the memorial's fourth floor. The dedication meant that the final room in the tower was now complete and open to the public. In 1967, the city of Alexandria changed the street layout around the memorial. As part of this alteration, the memorial granted the city a wide access path (or "alley") between the memorial's access road and Park Road. The memorial was considered complete in 1970. However, the granite facing still remained incomplete. The memorial association finally raised the funds to finish the facing in July 1972, and the facing was finished in March 1973. The tower, too, remained only partially lit. But the Grand Lodge of New York provided the funds to finish the lighting, and the final tower exterior illumination was completed in the summer of 1973. ==Design==