File:Original site of Woodrow Wilson cenotaph - Bethlehem Chapel - National Cathedral - DC.JPG

English: Standing in the Bethlehem Chapel looking south at the site of the former cenotaph of Woodrow Wilson at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

Wilson died on February 3, 1924, almost three years after his second term as president ended. He was buried in a private service (per his wishes; there was no state funeral) on February 6, 1924, at the Washington National Cathedral.

Wilson's body was interred in the burial vault beneath the Bethlehem Chapel -- the only part of the cathedral constructed at that time. There are eight vaults below the chapel, four to the east and four to the west. Each vault has an upper and lower shelf. Wilson's coffin was placed on the upper shelf of the southwesternmost vault (above the body of Henry Vaughn, first architect of the cathedral). A concrete slab five inches thick, topped by a three inch thick of Alabama marble, sealed the crypt.

Directly above the body, in the chapel, was a marble sill or seat. A glass window allowed someone sitting on the sill to see out into the south corridor of the crypt level. This sill was removed, and a marble slab inscribed with Wilson's name and his date of birth and dead installed. Constantly banked with flowers, this was the "tomb" of Woodrow Wilson.

Hundreds of people visited the tomb every day. In the first year alone, more than 189,425 people had visited the chapel to see where Wilson was buried.

It quickly became apparent that a larger memorial was needed. By May or June 1924, Mrs. Edith Wilson was consulting architects and designers about a larger tomb. The architectural firm of Cram & Ferguson designed a cenotaph (empty tomb) in the shape of a sarcophagus. The Wilson family chose a crusader's sword as the only emblem to be worked into the concave lid of the cenotaph, with only Wilson's name, date of birth, and date of death inscribed into the lid. The sides of the cenotaph were plainly decorated with plinths. The cenotaph was carved in Boston, and cenotaph was quietly emplace without fanfare in November 1924.

Above the cenotaph was a richly carved wooden canopy. The words "I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord" were carved into the front of the canopy, and its major design elements incorporated thistles (a nod to Wilson's Scottish heritage). A black wrought-iron grille sealed off the cenotaph from the public.

In 1951, Wilson's grandson, Francis B. Sayre, Jr., was named Dean of the National Cathedral. Sayre's goal was to complete the cathedral, whose construction had stalled for decades. By 1956, the walls of the nave had gone up and been roofed over. Since Wilson's entombment at the cathedral, the plan had been to move his body into a sarcophagus in the nave. Sayre, Mrs. Wilson, and Wilson's surviving daughter, Eleanor, chose a bay on the south side of the nave about halfway between the crossing and the narthex. Sayre himself designed the tomb, consulting with Cram & Ferguson. The cenotaph was moved from the Bethlehem Chapel to the center of the arch facing the nave. The sarcophagus now faced inward toward the bay. New ends for the sarcophagus were fabricated to fit with the low wall helping to seal off the bay from the nave. The the cenotaph's original outward face and the lid were reused. A new back of the sarcophagus also had to be constructed. This surface, which faced the nave, contained the coat of arms of the six colleges Wilson had attended.

Two niches to the right and left of the bay were also used. The Wilson family chose four inscriptions typical of Wilson's views: To the east were quotations from his first inaugural address and his "War Message" to Congress; to the west were quotations from his submissal of the Treaty of Versailles to Congress, and his final published words.

Hungarian refugee Erwin Bessanyi designed the lancet windows in the bay, which are meditations on the theme of "Peace." A two foot wide bronze medallion depicting the Great Seal of the President of the United States was laid into the floor of the bay. Originally, three historic flags stood in the niches to either side of the bay: the U.S. flag carried by the first detachment of troops to reach London in 1917, and the U.S. flags presented to Wilson at his inaugurals in 1913 and 1917.

The new sarcophagus cost $150,000, paid for by the Wilson family and admirers of the ex-president.

The Wilson Bay was dedicated on November 11, 1956 -- the 100th anniversary of Woodrow Wilson's birth. His body was moved from the burial vault to the new sarcophagus. His good friend, Bernard Baruch, was the keynote speaker at the event. Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt read from "Pilgrim's Progress."

Today, the Wilson Bay is almost unchanged. However, the flags have been replaced with modern nylon flags. The three flags now depict the current flag of the United States, the Presidential Flag of the United States (which depicts the Great Seal of the President on a blue background), and the flag of Princeton University.