OBELISK IN NEW YORK CENTRAL PARK WAS BROUGHT TO AMERICA BY A NAVAL OFFICER
In the unhappy years immediately following the Civil War, the people of the United States, sick of war, of armies and navies, held the popular delusion that there would be no more wars. This attitude of mind resulted in slow but sure degeneration of the material of the Army and the Navy. Yet the Spirit of the Services lived on in the officers and men! If their country gave them little opportunity for constructive work in the services, at least it did not prevent their interesting themselves in worthy scientific and explorative enterprises. Of such was the “Obelisk Expedition” undertaken by Lieutenant Commander Henry H. Gorringe, U. S. Navy.
After the removal of the prostrate obelisk from Alexandria to England in 1877, it became known that Ismail, Khedive of Egypt, was favorably disposed toward presenting the standing obelisk to the United States. Commodore William H. Vanderbilt had become interested in securing this obelisk for the City of New York and had agreed to pay the sum of $75,000 for its delivery in New York City. It was in the spring of 1879 that Lieutenant Commander Henry H. Gorringe read of the movement to bring an Egyptian obelisk to this country. He became intensely interested in the subject and, after a due study of the difficulties involved, accepted Commodore Vanderbilt’s offer. Conditions in our Navy at that time were conducive to a man of Gorringe’s enterprise taking an extensive leave. He enlisted the aid of Lieutenant Seaton Schroeder (late Rear Admiral and Commander in Chief), who had previously served with him in the U.S.S. Gettysburg, and both officers obtained indefinite leave from the Navy Department.
Gorringe has written in his book Egyptian Obelisks in great detail and in a most interesting manner of the transportation of this obelisk to New York. He also gives a very complete description and history of Egyptian obelisks in general. Admiral Schroeder devotes, in his Half Century of Naval Service, a chapter to the difficulties encountered in the transportation of this obelisk.
Historical.—The New York obelisk was the companion of the obelisk now standing on the Thames embankment in London. The pair were originally erected at Heliopolis near Cairo, by Thothmes III (XVIII Dynasty, 16th Century B.C.).
It is probable that both obelisks shared the fate of many others that were thrown down by Cambyses (b.c. 525-521). They probably lay prostrate for five centuries until removed by the Romans to Alexandria. An inscription in Greek and Latin was found by Gorringe on a bronze crab supporting the New York obelisk, which stated that it was erected in Alexandria in the 8th year of Augustus Caesar (corresponding to 22 b.c.).
Records show that the New York and London obelisks were erected in front of the Caesareum or Temple of the Caesars. Both were known as “Cleopatra’s Needle” in modern times. Gorringe thinks that the name “Cleopatra’s Needle” belongs only to the New York obelisk for the reason that the London obelisk had lain prostrate for five centuries before its removal to London. (It is noted that the 1929 edition of Encyclopedia Britannica refers to the London obelisk as the “Cleopatra’s Needle.”) Although Cleopatra died eight years before they were erected, she may have been instrumental in their removal to Alexandria and made plans for their erection. These obelisks have been referred to many times by noted medieval writers. One of the earliest, Edirizi, the Arabian geographer, writing about 1154 a.d., refers to the obelisks as if both were still standing, as does the Arabic physician Add-el-Lateef in 1201 a.d. However, in the sixteenth century, Belonius refers to one of them as prostrate. Gorringe thinks that the London obelisk fell in the severe earthquake of 1303, which nearly destroyed the cities of Cairo and Alexandria. For several hundred years the New York obelisk was known as the “standing obelisk” and therefore as the “Cleopatra’s Needle.”
The New York obelisk is of fine syenite from the Assouan quarries. Three columns of hieroglyphs appear on each of the four faces; the central columns being placed by Thothmes III who erected the obelisks, and the side columns being added by Rameses II, several hundred years later. The Rosetta Stone discovered in 1799 by Captain Bouchard, French Army Engineer officer, furnished a key to hieroglyphical writings. Gorringe believes that the translation of the obelisk inscriptions is by no means accurate. He says, “Men combining the superior qualities of Thothmes III and Rameses II could not have left such incomprehensible nonsense for posterity to judge them by as that now assumed to be the meaning of the hieroglyphs on the obelisk.”
Development of plans.—Gorringe studied carefully the plans and records connected with the transportation and erection of the Paris and London obelisks.1 These obelisks were transported in vessels built expressly for the purpose; the Luxor was built of wood in Toulon, sailed to Egypt and far up the Nile to Luxor, took aboard the obelisk after prolonged effort, was towed across the Mediterranean, thence to the mouth of the Seine and up that river to Paris. It was erected October 25, 1836; almost exactly five years elapsed between the dates of lowering and re-erecting this obelisk.
1 Following dimensions and weights are given for these obelisks: Paris, ht. 74'11", wt. 249 tons; London, ht. 68'5½”, wt. 209 tons; New York, ht. 69'6”, wt. 224 tons. Two large obelisks in Rome; Vatican, ht. 83'1½”, wt. 360 tons; Lateran, ht. 105'6", wt. 510 tons. The latter fell in the Middle Ages and was broken into three pieces—re-erected in 1552.
The Cleopatra was built of iron in London and shipped in pieces to Alexandria. The prostrate obelisk was taken aboard and the Cleopatra was towed to London. After rounding Cape St. Vincent, a gale was encountered in which the Cleopatra was separated from its towing vessel and was abandoned. The Cleopatra was later picked up as a derelict and the Admiralty Court awarded its finders £2,000 in salvage money. The obelisk was erected in 1878, taking about a year and a half for the job.
The Paris obelisk was lowered by rotating it on its base by means of a maze of tackles and derricks. It was pushed to the Nile River bank on skids and into the barge Luxor at low-river stage. The Luxor had, the previous season, been beached at a favorable spot at high-river stage. It was floated again at the next high water.
As there was no tide at Alexandria, the British had to use some other device for launching the London obelisk. The barge Cleopatra was built of steel in the form of a cylinder. It was taken to Alexandria in pieces and put together around the obelisk. The obelisk was placed about 9 inches below the center of gravity of the cylinder to insure its stability in being towed. Being placed thus in a cylinder, it was launched by simply rolling it down the shore into the water until it was afloat. A rudder was shipped, a deck house was built on, and it was ready for towing to London. The costs of these respective jobs were £13,500 for the London obelisk, raised by private subscription, and an estimated cost of $500,000 for the Paris obelisk, paid by the French Government.
Gorringe could find no records of how the ancients lowered these obelisks. It is probable that they had never been removed from an erect position. The many obelisks removed from Egypt by the Romans were probably those that had fallen from their pedestal. The only available records found were that of the lowering of the Paris obelisk in 1836 and the lowering of the Vatican obelisk in 1585 by Fontana. The latter had been brought from Egypt in the first century of the Christian Era and set up in the Circus of Caligula, Rome. There it remained for 15 centuries, the only one of some 15 obelisks in Rome to escape being overthrown. It was moved to its present site in St. Peter’s Square by Fontana. His plans involved raising the obelisk bodily and lowering it on a platform on rollers. This work entailed the erection of huge scaffolding, 90 feet high, with a net work of heavy tackles and stays.
Lowering.—Gorringe decided that the problem of transportation across the Atlantic must be solved by the use of a self-propelled, seagoing vessel, and some way of getting the obelisk on board must be devised. The problem of lowering and erecting, he solved by the utilization of steel towers resting on masonry. At the top of the towers rested a pair of pivots, like the trunnions of a gun, which clasped the obelisk a little below the center of gravity. This was the turning structure. However, the obelisk had to be lifted before it could be turned. This was provided for by utilizing tie rods, capable of being shortened by turnbuckles, connecting the trunnion plates with steel heel beams under the bottom of the obelisk. Fortunately the obelisk rested on bronze crabs, leaving a space between its heel and the pedestal, so that the heel beams could be fitted. Thus, when the trunnion-plate bolts were slacked, the obelisk could be raised clear of the crabs and pedestal by simply setting up on the tie-rod turnbuckles, thus causing the obelisk to rise through the trunnion plates. Actually, difficulty was experienced in removing these supporting crabs. Each crab had a dowel projecting up into the base of the obelisk and one projecting down into the pedestal. The Roman engineers had cut notches in the dowels, and had poured molten lead into the mortices. Of course, before turning the obelisk the trunnion-plate bolts were again tightened. The turning structure was manufactured by John A. Roebling’s Sons, of Trenton, as was also the transporting cradle.
Financing.—Gorringe solved the problem of financing his undertaking through a friend, Mr. L. F. Whitin, of New York. Through him he was loaned the money to begin operations. A grave financial risk was thus being run by Gorringe.
The expedition.—The party sailed for Europe August 24, 1879. With Gorringe were Lieutenant Schroeder and two civilian assistants—a foreman for woodwork, Mr. Davis, and a foreman for ironwork, Mr. Price. They were unable to charter a suitable vessel in Europe for the transportation of the obelisk, but later did purchase the old steamer Dessoug from the Egyptian Government. The party arrived at Alexandria October 16. After receiving due permission to begin work, he took possession of the obelisk, and began operations October 29, 1879. The obelisk was first sheathed with wood plank and an American flag hoisted.
Physical difficulties were not the only ones encountered by Gorringe in removal of the obelisk. The foreign residents in Alexandria evinced considerable antagonism to the removal of the obelisk and certain foreign department heads placed or failed to remove obstacles. The London obelisk had been removed only two years before. While that obelisk was prostrate at the time of removal, its mate would have fallen in a few years due to the encroachment of the sea upon its foundation. Work was held up for a time due to the demands made by the Italian owner of the land on which the obelisk stood. Gorringe states that his job was made more difficult and more expensive by $21,000, due to the fact that the foreign merchants in Alexandria would not give the city’s permission for the obelisk to be hauled through the streets. He states that even a local American missionary roundly abused him for the removal of the obelisk, “as the work of the devil.” Feeling became so intense that when the time came for the obelisk to be placed in a horizontal position, a hostile demonstration was feared. Rear Admiral A. S. Lasambekoff, of the Russian Navy, through friendship with Gorringe, landed a large force of unarmed seamen for the purpose of making a cordon around the scene of operations. Another act of non-co-operation on the part of a European head of a government storehouse caused Gorringe unnecessary expense for timber amounting to $4,300.
Turning the obelisk.—Gorringe proceeded with his work and successfully turned the obelisk to a horizontal position December 6 before a large and interested group of spectators. As no obelisk had been turned by grasping by its mid-section, he feared that it might break there due to the weight of its ends. He therefore used a steel wire-rope truss, as shown in sketch, to relieve the section of the obelisk through point of suspension, of that weight. A timber stack had been built to receive the upper end in turning, which was a wise foresight, for the reason that just before the obelisk approached the horizontal, one of the lowering tackles gave way and the obelisk crashed the remaining few feet onto the timber stack, without damage. A timber stack was then built up under the opposite end. The weight was taken off the supporting trunnions by using 60-ton hydraulic pumps on top of the stacks and under the obelisk. The pedestal of the obelisk was then removed and a caisson built in the excavation for the reception of the obelisk. The obelisk was lowered into the caisson with the use of these hydraulic pumps by pulling out one tier of timber at a time. The caisson was a large box 83 feet long, 22 feet wide at one end and 30 feet wide at the other, and 11 feet deep. It had been built on launching ways, so that when the obelisk was lowered and secured it was launched into the sea. Great difficulty was overcome in build- mg the 200 yards of track for the launching ways, as extensive diving operations had to be carried out to clear the path of stone debris lying along the shore and in the water. The state of the sea was not always suitable for carrying on this work. On March 31, 1880, five months after beginning work, the caisson was floated and towed 10 miles around to the Port of Alexandria.
Embarkation.—After the Dessoug had been refitted, repaired, and cleaned up, and a crew obtained, steps were taken to embark the obelisk. The caisson containing the obelisk was placed ahead of the ship in a floating dry dock. A hole was cut in the bow of the ship and the obelisk was shoved into its hold, being moved on cannon balls, using metal grooves for tracks. Many technical difficulties and delays were incurred in the work. The obelisk was carefully wedged and secured for the sea voyage. It weighed 224 tons. After due consideration it was decided to bring to America the pedestal upon which the obelisk rested. This was done because no other obelisk outside of Egypt rested on its original pedestal. The pedestal weighed some 44 tons but it was brought around to the harbor by making another trip with the caisson and was placed on the after deck of the ship by utilizing all the crane capacity in the harbor.
Sailing. On June 12, 1880, the Dessoug sailed for America. Gorringe’s troubles were not yet over. When about midway across the Atlantic the after crankshaft broke, due to an old flaw. The situation was saved, however, by the foresight of Gorringe and the ingenuity of his engineer. Before leaving Alexandria he put aboard the Dessoug a spare section of shaft which he found belonged to that vessel. However, the shaft was found to have no bolt holes and there were no tools to bore them. The engineer found some bar steel out of which tools were made and holes were laboriously bored. The bolts were made out of the tools. The engine thus got running after the ship drifted about for six days, covering 76 miles under sail. With no further trouble the Dessoug arrived in New York and anchored off Staten Island on July 20, and the same day anchored in the Hudson off 23d Street.
Site. The site for the erection of the obelisk had been selected before leaving America. It was known as Graywracke Knoll, near the Metropolitan Museum of Art, on the east side of Central Park, about 81st Street. Gorringe says that the objection that this site would not be easy of access to visitors “does not seem reasonable in view of the prevailing opinion and hope that the Central Park will be at no very distant day what its name implies.” It should be remembered that these words were written in 1880 when Central Park was far uptown.
Disembarkation.—The pedestal was first landed at a wharf at 51st Street, August 4. The foundations were completed and the cornerstone with Masonic ceremonies was laid October 9, 1880. Gorringe enumerates in detail the list of items placed under the cornerstone. All Government Departments contributed. Among the items from the Navy Department were: Navy Registers for January and July, 1880, Secretary of the Navy Report of 1879, and a model of an improved anchor. The pedestal was put in place, masonry piers were built, and turning structure was erected on them.
The obelisk was removed from the ship at a marine railway in Staten Island. The Dessoug’s bow was hauled out of water, opened up and the obelisk withdrawn onto a set of piles especially built, then transferred to a set of pontoons, September 13. The pontoons were towed to the foot of 96th Street, Hudson River, and the obelisk transferred to a land stage. Gorringe states that he blocked the tracks of the Hudson River Railway only one hour and twenty minutes.
The route of the obelisk was east on 96th Street to Eleventh Ave., then south to 86th Street, then east to and across Central Park on roadway to Fifth Ave., then south to 82nd Street, and west in the Park to the site. The distance covered from the river to the site was 10,905 feet; difference of elevation from water level to axis of trunnions was 147 feet; elapsed time 112 days. The obelisk arrived at its site on a trestle built at correct height above ground for the turning structure to grasp it and take its weight. The trestle was removed and the obelisk was then turned to an upright position. This was done before a vast crowd on January 22, 1881—15 months from the day work began in Alexandria. The Secretaries of State and of War were present at the ceremonies.
Although Commodore Vanderbilt had guaranteed only $75,000, he eventually paid $103,732 for the cost of transportation and erection of the obelisk in Central Park. Gorringe gives the cost in detail. Most of the increased cost he attributed to the transportation of the 44-ton pedestal which had not been included in the original estimates. He states that his net profit for this enterprise was $1,156, representing about a year and a half’s work. The Dessoug was given American registry by a special Act of Congress in 1881 and was later sold to the Ocean Steamship Company of Savannah.
Gorringe resigned his commission in the Navy two years after this work (February 21, 1883), and headed a shipbuilding company, which later went into the hands of a receiver. He died in 1885 from injuries received in a fall while attempting to board a train in motion. Gorringe was born August 4, 1841, in the Barbados, the son of an English clergyman. He joined the Navy as Acting Master’s Mate July 13, 1862. After the Civil War he was a Lieutenant in the Navy.
