Once you’ve explored Sakura Park, you can head over to General Grant’s Tomb by crossing the street into Riverside Park. The park’s entrance is located at the intersection of Riverside Drive and West 122nd Street, and you can take the steps up to the final resting place of President Ulysses Simpson Grant and his wife, Julia, is the largest mausoleum in North America, and the sixth stop of your tour. General Grant’s Tomb is located inside of Riverside Park, with an entrance north of the Interchurch Center, on your western side.
The General Grant National Memorial visitor center is open Thursday through Monday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Free talks are available to the public at the visitor center, Thursday through Monday, at the following times: 11:15 AM, 1:15 PM, and 3:15 PM.
The architect of the monument, John H. Duncan, envisioned “a Monumental Tomb, no matter from what point of view it may be seen.” Th
e structure symbolically faces south. Once you walk inside of the tomb, pay attention to the mosaic murals, designed by Allyn Cox in 1966, which feature three lunettes. Near the tomb are mosaic benches, bursting with color and innovative design.
A West Point graduate, Grant served in the Mexican War and at various frontier posts before rapidly rising through the ranks during the Civil War. Grant’s tenacity and boldness led to victories in the Battles of Vicksburg and Chattanooga and Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. Scenes of these events are depicted in mosaics within the tomb.
The monument testifies to a people’s gratitude for the man who ended the bloodiest conflict in American history as Commanding General of the Union Army and then, as President of the United States, strove to heal a nation after a civil war and make rights for all citizens a reality.
General Grant National Memorial
Riverside Park, W 122nd St & Riverside Dr
New York, NY 10027
Hours: Open Thursday through Monday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Free talks are available to the public at the visitor center, Thursday through Monday, at: 11:15 AM, 1:15 PM, and 3:15 PM.
(212) 666-1640