Dewey Arch ca. 1899 This wood-and-plaster arch and colonnade at Madison Square was the focal point of Commodore George Dewey's triumphal procession through New York City on September 30, 1899, after defeating the Spanish forces at Manila Bay on May 1, 1898. The temporary construction, erected by the National Sculpture Society under the leadership of architect Charles R. Lamb and sculptor Frederic W. Ruckstall, was completed on September 29, just one day before the procession. The arch was intended to attract subscriptions for a permanent structure, but Dewey's popularity waned and the project was abandoned. The heavily deteriorated temporary monument was removed in late 1900.

On September 29th, 1899, a two-day land and sea parade welcomed Rear Admiral George Dewey (1837-1917) home. Dewey had become the nation’s great naval hero, the first and only admiral to be titled “Admiral of the Navy”, after his 1898 victory at the Battle of Manila Bay, in the Philippines, during the Spanish–American War. Take a virtual walk into the Manhattan of 1899, and see the celebrations with the photographs of amateur photographer Thomas W. Kennedy (active ca. 1890-1915.) The Spanish–American War ended with the 1898 Treaty of Paris, and the US took possession of several former Spanish colonies including Puerto Rico, the island of Guam, and the Philippine Islands. The US occupation of the Philippines would lead to the brutal Phillipine-American War.