Article for Page One of the February TNA,   Code ARWASH.FEB

                     The George Washington Bay
                       JOHN W. BOETTJER, 32
            Managing Editor, THE SCOTTISH RITE JOURNAL
      1733 Sixteenth Street NW., Washington, D.C. 20009-3199
     Two hundred years ago, on February 22, l790, George 
Washington celebrated his first birthday as America's first 
President.  Nearly ten months had elapsed since Washington's 
inauguration in New York City on April 30, l789, and Washington 
was revealing his great talents as a statesman and conciliator.  
He was, after all, the rock of stability upon which the fledgling 
Nation was founded.  Should he waver, the very existence of 
America could have been threatened.  But he did not.
     This strength of will and character, of faith and 
determination, is evident in the heroic statue of the Father of 
our Country as it stands in splendid isolation at the western end 
of the south outer aisle of the Washington National Cathedral in 
Washington, D.C.  A full seven feet six inches tall and carved of 
pure white Vermont marble, the magnificent representation of 
Washington pictures him, in the words of the statue's sculptor, 
Lee Lawrie, "not as the soldier, nor the president, but the man 
Washington, coming into Christ Church, Alexandria, pausing a 
moment before going down the aisle to his pew."
     In l947 The Supreme Council, 33, Mother Council of the 
World, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry of the 
Southern Jurisdiction, presented the statue, then located in the 
north transept of the cathedral, and declared: "It was 
fitting--and indeed it was necessary--that here, in this hallowed 
place, which is set upon a hill within the city that bears his 
name, there should be raised a monument to the Father of his 
Country.  For while the whole American land is his monument, it 
is an inspiring duty to make visible his presence."
     Today the statue stands as an impressive reminder of all 
Washington accomplished for America.  Inscriptions on its 
two-foot-high octagonal pedestal remind us of his contributions 
as "First Citizen--Churchman--President--Statesman--Farmer--Soldi
er--Patriot--Freemason."  The latter, Washington's lifelong love 
of Freemasonry, is accented by three stone wall plaques shaped in 
the form of heraldic shields placed on the large traceried panels 
behind the statue.
     The plaque over Washington's right shoulder is embellished 
with a likeness of the Holy Bible, Square and Compasses.  The 
words "Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4, l752" recognize the Lodge and 
date when Washington took upon himself the Masonic obligations he 
respected all his life.  
     The center plaque is carved from a direct impression of 
Washington's Past Master's Jewel, now on display at the George 
Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia.  It 
includes the words "Alexandria Lodge No. 22, l788," the year 
Washington became Master of that Lodge. (?)
     The third plaque, located on the wall above Washington's 
left shoulder, incorporates two small cornerstones.  The first, 
surmounted by the dome of the United States Capitol, is dated 
l793, the year Washington lead the Masonic ceremonies laying the 
cornerstone of our Nation's Capitol Building.  The second 
cornerstone, surmounted by a carving of the Washington National 
Cathedral and the date l907, recognizes the fact that the same 
mallet used by Washington in laying the cornerstone of the 
Capitol, a mallet presented to him by Potomac Lodge No. 5, F... 
A...A...M..., was also used in laying the cornerstone of 
Washington National Cathedral.
     To the right hand of this magnificent statue is the doorway 
to the Washington Cathedral Rare Book Library.  The delicate 
carvings of the tympanum over the entrance reflect Washington's 
life as a farmer and soldier.  At the apex is Washington's 
three-starred coat of arms, and to the left is a figure of a 
farmer, tobacco leaf in hand, while to the right is a figure in 
the costume of a general officer of the Continental Army.  
     Running down the entire tympanum is an encircling border of 
holly leaves typical of the lovely holly trees of Mount Vernon.  
This decoration terminates in two moldings, the left picturing 
Mount Vernon and the right representing Independence Hall in 
Philadelphia, birthplace of the Constitution.
     Above the doorway to the Rare Book Library is a beautiful, 
tall stained glass window, entitled "The Founding of a New 
Nation," whose abstract design suggests liberty's bright flame 
and the struggle necessary to secure it.  The indigoes and 
violets at the window's base evoke the powers of tyranny and 
oppression; the reds and crimsons above these darker colors 
symbolize the blood shed by American patriots in the 
Revolutionary War;  the emergent greens above these ruddy hues 
remind us of America's fertility and growth; while the window's 
uppermost facets of clear blue may be interpreted as a 
celebration of our Nation's hard-won independence.  Finally, the 
glass inserts in the tracery above the window evoke Old Glory's 
red, white and blue.
     The Martha Washington Window, facing the statue of 
Washington, completes the Washington Bay and underlines Brother 
Washington's devotion to his wife and hearth.  Based on motifs 
from Mount Vernon, the window illustrates domestic life at the 
plantation.  At the bottom the stained glass pattern represents 
first a colonial quilt pattern and then a pineapple, the symbol 
of hospitality.  Above this are the stars of the Washington 
family's coat of arms.  Holly berries and dogwood blossoms from 
Mt. Vernon's gardens compose, moving upward, the next panel, and 
these then yield to a blue dove of peace, complete with olive 
branch, modeled after a weather vane at Mount Vernon.  Another 
colonial quilt pattern intervenes before the window's climactic 
rainbow-tipped shell pattern, a design taken from the dining room 
chairs at Mount Vernon.
     Taken together, the Washington Bay's statue, wall carvings 
and stained glass windows form a fitting tribute to this foremost 
of Americans and Masons.  The Supreme Council is proud of it role 
in making this one of our Capital's most beautiful and 
significant patriotic shrines.  To visit it is to sense the 
greatness of Washington and the glory of our Craft. 

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