DETAILS AND SITE PLANNING

The site planning is very obvious from the drawings. As no specified instructions were given as to accommodation required, it was decided that only a suggestion as to the final layout should be shown, providing, of course, that approximately the correct size of the various units was maintained. Santo Domingo is a place with an atmosphere completely its own. To suit and maintain this the other units have been shown with what can only be described as a kind of confined spaciousness. The approaches, roads, are quite big enough, but are not monumental in, say, the Washington or Parisian sense of the word. Such a layout would be unreasonably expensive, would ruin the delicate air of Santo Domingo, and would take away the effect of the great Cross. They could be toned down and broken up in scale, colored if necessary, decided only after prolonged study from the air itself.

Granting the positions of the airport and seaport, and then fixing the distance to be traveled between them, it is surely far better to use the coast road as the main connecting road. Not only is it a more pleasant road to journey along, but it keeps the monument itself isolated-almost lost in the jungle. If the main traffic road were close to the monument, the desired effect could never be obtained. For this reason also the bridge is brought down close above the harbor mouth, joining up to the Calle Separación, and the planting is let run to seed, though actually carefully led in the way it should go. The roads leading to the monument itself are rough and pebbly, only the road from the water gate is topped, and there are wide, rough grass margins on each side of the roads, with the forest creeping up and back, so that the monument can easily be seen from the roads. The great mass shoots forwards, westward. Civilization always travels westward, as did Columbus. When it reaches the tomb it turns also north and south to both the Americas, and from it radiate, fan-shaped, 21 roads, one for each of the Pan American Republics. What a fine effect an array of flags round the cross at the end of these roads would have! Under the foot of the cross comes the great arena. If an arena is built for a huge concourse, and it is only half filled, the effect is ruinous, but it is worse still to have a small arena overcrowded. This point has received a great deal of consideration in the scheme. At a small gathering, the preacher would stand in the slit, backed up by the gleaming tomb set back in the darkness. If a large crowd gathered, the preacher would still stand on the steps, ranks of soldiers, bands and choirs on the court behind him, and the people on the terrace in front. If a tremendous

crowd gathered, the great cross over the ditch could be used also, so that however small or big the crowd, the monument seems suitable.

An organ has not been placed in the monument because of the cost, but how fine it would be if one could be installed! Perhaps a Columbus requiem could be played every night through the ages. Imagine it composed of a sevenfold phrase, starting very softly as the lights are turned on, swelling louder and louder, the lights climbing higher and higher, into a great final Gloria in Excelsis as the lights shoot up to heaven, lighting up the watching crowds below.

Accommodation for the lighting equipment would be provided in the hollow arms and head, as much as required. There is also a basement under the chapel entered from the roads at the bottom of the ditch, so that not only goods and machinery enter there, but perhaps the principal in some meeting, entering at this level, goes up the spiral staircase which rises to the top of the monument into the chapel, suddenly appearing before the waiting thousands from along the slit.

The mound asked for in the conditions has not been shown in the drawings or the model, as it was thought that a monument of this description was not in mind when the condition was framed. If it was thought necessary, it is obvious how the great cross could be raised above the ground level to the required height, giving a very fine, but unfortunately expensive effect. Definition from the air is given by the simple method of digging trenches in the ground.

CONSTRUCTION

As required by the conditions, the structure is steel framed, and to the steel framing are clamped great slabs of reinforced concrete with rebated joints. Concrete can be very fine nowadays, and naturally it was used. The most extensive tests, samples, and specifications would be tried. The steel work is all of a standard, flat section, forming a huge bird-cage effect of light members close together, cross braced, making a tremendously strong structure at little cost. The slabs of concrete would be cast on the ground beneath the position they finally take up. This construction has been gone into very carefully, and various experts agree as to its suitability.

Founded in 1497, this city was the first permanent settlement in the New World. The site on the Ozama River was selected by Columbus after deciding that an earlier location surveyed during his first visit in 1492 was unsuitable. Upper: The entrance to the port and a section of the city as seen from the air. Lower: Looking toward the mouth of the Ozama River, from the city. The Memorial Lighthouse is to be erected a short distance inland from the river bank at the left. In the foreground is a part of the ruins of the House of Columbus.

At the mouth of the Ozama River, on the left bank, stands the old Fortress and Homage Tower upon which construction was begun in 1503. It is still used as a garrison for military forces and as a municipal prison. Lower: Bastion 27 de Febrero. Originally a fort in the city wall, it was converted into the main gateway to the city from the land side to commemorate a victory over the English expedition in May, 1655. Since February 27, 1844, when Dominican independence was proclaimed, it has been known by its present name.

COLUMBUS PARK AND CATHEDRAL, SANTO DOMINGO

In the old section of the city is the main plaza, in which a luxuriant growth of trees and flowers forms a tropical setting for the statue of the Great Admiral. The north entrance to the Cathedral, whose foundation stones were laid in 1514, faces the park. The frescoes surrounding the doorway of the façade have mellowed to soft tones from exposure to the elements during passing centuries. Within the nave is a memorial to Columbus.