 Twelve sculptors participated in a design competition, and J. Otto Schweizer was judged the winner.A contract was signed with him in March 1929, but it took five years to agree on a site.Philadelphia's Art Jury ruled against placing the monument on the Parkway, arguing that it needed to "avoid turning the Parkway into an 'Avenue of War Memorials' since most are more or less mediocre, due either to lack of funds or misdirected efforts."