The Harding Memorial
966 Delaware AvenueMarion, Ohio 43302
800-600-6894 | www.hardinghome.org
The Harding Memorial
The largest presidential memorial outside Washington, DC, the Harding Memorial is the final resting place of Warren and Florence Harding.
Warren G. Harding was a popular president and the national deeply mourned his unexpected death at the age of 58 in 1923. An organization was formed to create a lasting memorial to the 29th president and the group set about raising funds. More than one million people contributed $978,000, including pennies donated by more than 200,000 school children.
The architectural firm of Henry Hornbostel and Eric F. Wood, Pittsburgh, was chosen to design and construct the monument on land chosen by Florence Harding. The design is based on a Greek temple, featuring an open colonnade to honor Harding’s desire to be buried under the open sky. Forty-six Doric columns made of Georgia marble create an open cloister in which President and Mrs. Harding rest amid the interior landscape.
Phillip Payne described the Harding Memorial as “a mausoleum that was the last great memorial in the older style popular before the rise of presidential libraries.” Dedicated in 1931, it is the largest presidential gravesite outside of Washington, D.C. and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.