Albert Gallatin Marker

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Northwest in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Albert Gallatin

By Craig Swain, August 4, 2007

1. Albert Gallatin Marker

Inscription. Secretary of the Treasury
Genius of Finance
Senator and Representative
Commissioner for the Treaty of Ghent
Minister to France and Great Britain
And Steadfast
Champion of Democracy
1761–1849

Location. 38° 53.905′ N, 77° 2.058′ W. Marker is in Northwest, District of Columbia, in Washington. Marker is at the intersection of Pennsylvannia Avenue and 15th Street, on the right when traveling east on Pennsylvannia Avenue. Click for map. In the Treasury Department courtyard. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1500 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington DC 20004, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. United States Department of the Treasury (a few steps from this marker); Webster-Ashburton Treaty (within shouting distance of this marker); The White House (within shouting distance of this marker); Freedman’s Savings And Trust (about 300 feet away, in a direct line); The Tayloe House (about 400 feet away); Site of Rhodes Tavern (about 500 feet away); The Cosmos Club (about 500 feet away); Cesar Chavez (about 600 feet away). Click for a list of all markers in Northwest.

More about this marker. “The memorial was authorized by Congress on January 11, 1927 and responsibility for the installation of the memorial was placed with the Albert Gallatin Memorial Fund Commission. By 1934 enough funds had been raised, but the memorial was delayed by the U.S. Fine Arts Commission’s approval of a suitable model. By the time the model was ready to be cast, World War II had created a ban on the non-war use of bronze. Before installation in the north courtyard of the Treasury, a fountain had to be removed. Finally the sculpture was installed and dedicated on October 15, 1947.” —Smithonian Institution Research Information System.

Albert Gallatin Memorial Photo, Click for full size

By Craig Swain, August 4, 2007

2. Albert Gallatin Memorial

Bronze sculpture, painted black, by James Earle Fraser (1876–1953) is 8 feet high on a 4 foot high granite base.

Regarding Albert Gallatin. The Treaty of Ghent was the “Treaty of Peace and Amity between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America” which concluded the War of 1812.

Albert Gallatin is also known as the Father of the National Road, “the road that built the nation.” He advised George Washington on possible routes and later, while Thomas Jefferson’s Treasury Secretary, he formulated the plan to fund the project. Started in 1811, it became the first federally funded highway. The National Road ran from Maryland through Pennsylvania to Wheeling, West Virginia, and then through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. There are a great number of markers on the National Road in this database.

Also see . . .
1. Albert Gallatin. (Submitted on August 19, 2007, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.)
2. The Treaty of Ghent. (Submitted on August 19, 2007.)
3. Road through the Wilderness: The Making of the National Road. Article by Timothy Crumrin describes how Gallatin invented the first method of constitutionally funding state projects with federal money. (Submitted on August 19, 2007.)