James Monroe Tomb
- Address: 412 S Cherry St
- Vicinity: Hollywood Cemetery
This tomb, a small-scale architectural masterpiece, contains the remains of President James Monroe. Upon his death in New York City on July 4, 1831, his body was interred in that city's Marble (Second Street) Cemetery. In 1858, the 100th anniversary of his birth, municipal officials and representatives of the State of Virginia decided that the remains should be returned to his home State for reburial. The Virginia legislature appropriated funds for this purpose. On July 5 the body, accompanied by the 7th Regiment of the New York National Guard, arrived in Richmond on the steamboat Jamestown. That same day, an impressive burial ceremony, highlighted by a speech delivered by Gov. Henry A. Wise of Virginia, was held at the gravesite, on a high bluff overlooking the James River, in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery.
The tomb is an ornate Gothic Revival structure. Designed by Alsatian architect Albert Lybrock, it was erected in 1859. The innovative and imaginative use of cast iron, obtained from the Philadelphia firm of Wood and Perot, provided the opportunity for a delicacy and intricacy of design that was not possible on the same scale in stone. - NPS