The monument was intended to stand at the center of a complex sequence of balustraded formal paved terraces and stairs that would have rationalized the steep natural slopes to north and west, but were eliminated in the execution. Its siting at a curve in Riverside Drive makes it visible from a distance, a desirable feature for a monument in the City Beautiful movement, of which this Beaux-Arts monument is a prime example. Originally, there was a planned stairway to the river and a battlemented wall to the south but these were never built. It appears that the area south of the plaza was simply paved, or perhaps treated with pebbles. On the south side of the monument are two mounted cannons. On the west side of the memorial, the back steps to the terraces offer views of the Hudson River.