In front of Arlington House is the tomb of Maj. Pierre Charles L’Enfant, engineer, artist, and soldier, who, under the direction of President Washington and Thomas Jefferson, designed the plans for the city of Washington. ARLINGTON MEMORIAL AMPHITHEATER On May 5, 1868, Gen. John A. Logan, commander in chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, issued the following general order (No. 11): The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country, * * * posts and comrades will, in their own way, arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit. There has been an annual observance of this ceremony in all the national cemeteries of the country since this order was promulgated. For years a vine-covered pergola, erected by the Quartermaster’s Department of the Army, was used for the Memorial Day exercises. When it was found to be entirely inadequate to accommodate the increasing number of people who attended the exercises, it was decided to erect a suitable building which would serve not only as a memorial to our soldiers and sailors but which would also provide an assembly place for those attending such exercises as might be held in the cemetery grounds. Accordingly, the first steps toward this end were taken in 1903, when the necessity for such a building and the appropriateness of its erection were first suggested by the commander of the Department of the Potomac, Grand Army of the Republic. Preliminary sketches and plans were prepared in 1905 and presented to Congress by the Secretary of the Treasury, but no action was taken until 1908, when the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater Commission was created, and an appropriation of $5,000 to secure and present more detailed plans for the proposed memorial was made. No further action was taken by Congress for five years, when, by the act of March 3, 1913, the construction of a memorial amphitheater and chapel, in accordance with plans prepared by Carrere & Hastings, architects, of New York City, was authorized. Ground was broken March 1, 1915, the corner stone was laid October 13, 1915, and the memorial was dedicated May 15, 1920. [Illustration: THE TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER OF THE WORLD WAR]