Ranger at the Visitor Center talks about the General Grant National Memorial

LOCATION

The General Grant National Memorial Visitor Center is located in a separate building from the mausoleum. If at the mausoleum, it is across the street and downhill towards the Hudson River. Reaching it requires taking two large flights of granite stairs. The Visitor Center is accessible to those in wheelchairs and who have trouble walking. The mausoleum, on the other hand, is not.

The bi-level Visitor Center was built in 1910 and originally served as the restrooms for Grant’s Tomb. The upper level is an observation deck that once allowed guests to look out over the Hudson River. When the mausoleum was built in the late 1890s, Riverside Park was wide open and had great views of the river, which is one reason why the Grants chose this site. Today, however, the park is covered in trees, so there is no longer a view. In fact, you can barely get a photo of the mausoleum due to encroachment by trees.

OPERATING HOURS

The General Grant National Memorial Visitor Center is typically open Wednesdays through Sundays between the hours of 9 AM and 5 PM during the tourist season, and from 10 AM to 4 PM in the winter. It is closed for lunch from 12 PM to 1 PM. It is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day. However, the memorial is open, regardless of the day of the week, on Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Juneteeth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, and Veteran’s Day.

Times can always change, so before making travel plans be sure to get the latest schedule on the National Park Service’s official Operating Hours and Seasons web page for the General Grant National Memorial.

AMENITIES

• Information desk where you can ask questions and pick up a park brochure
• Exhibit area
• Park film
• Book and souvenir store
• Restrooms

Book and souvenir store inside the Visitor Center at General Grant National Memorial

EXHIBITS

Six information panels about Ulysses S. Grant hang on the wall of a small exhibit room. These cover his life from boyhood through death.

Information panels on Ulysses S. Grant inside the Visitor Center at General Grant National Memorial

In addition to the information panels are exhibits on Richard Greener (the first black graduate from Harvard and a founding member of the Grant Monument Association), historical photos, memorabilia from the memorial dedication on April 27, 1897, and an original copy of Grant’s memoirs. The book was hastily written as Grant was dying from throat cancer. He announced he had finished the book on July 20, 1885, then died three days later. He did most of the writing himself, foregoing pain medicine so that he could think clearly. Published by Mark Twain, the book was such a huge success that Julia Grant’s royalty payments amounted to nearly $500,000.

First edition copy of Grant’s memoirs and a book of speeches from his 63rd birthday celebration on display inside the Visitor Center at General Grant National Memorial

Historical photos and memorabilia from the dedication of the Monument and Tomb of General Grant on display inside the Visitor Center at General Grant National Memorial

The original plan for the tomb as designed by John Duncan was to include a statue of Grant on a horse, but due to budget constraints, this was never realized. For the next thirty years, talk arose every now and then about adding some of the decorative elements that were omitted, with the equestrian statue always being at the forefront of the conversation. Financial commitments were obtained to create the sculpture just before the Great Depression hit, which wiped out funding for the project. However, sculptor Paul Manship was hired, and he actually completed a model of the statue before the funds dried up. This is now on display in the Visitor Center.

Paul Manship’s equestrian model on display at the General Grant National Memorial Visitor Center

PARK FILM

The 20-minute film Ulysses S. Grant: A Legacy of Freedom is shown on demand in the media room. The film is suitable for all ages.

SCHEDULING YOUR TIME

It takes about an hour to read all of the information and to see the exhibits and film at the General Grant National Memorial Visitor Center. However, most people aren’t interested in reading everything, but at least take the time to watch the film. Time spent at the Visitor Center will probably be greater than time spent visiting the actual tomb, which is just that—a tomb.

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