Existing comment:
1922:
In 1922, President Warren G. Harding visited the soldiers of General Hospital No. 2 to dedicate a huge bronze statue of the Greek hero Orpheus in honor of Francis Scott Key. A new era of national memory for Fort McHenry had begun. The following decade saw the demolition of the hospital, restoration of the grounds and refurbishment of historic structures.
The declaration of "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the official national anthem of the United States in 1931 gave the park nationwide significance, and the US Army transferred Fort McHenry to the National Park Service in 1933.
In 1939 Congress again honored Fort McHenry by re-designating it a National Monument and Historic Shrine, the only site in the National Park Service with this dual designation. Visitation continued to rise during the 1930s in spite of the Great Depression, but the start of a second World War would give the fort a new mission.
From Active Post to National Monument and Historic Shrine, 1925-1939 |