Memorial Amphitheater was designed by Thomas Hastings to be the center of a biaxial grouping of landscape features and monuments that included the "USS Maine" Mast Memorial in the west, the Spanish–American War Memorial to the south, and a formal Italianate garden to the east. Greek Revival, Romanesque Revival, and Renaissance decorative elements are used throughout the structure. Ulysses Ricci designed the various friezes, ornamental devices, and decorative elements of the amphitheater and entrance hall. Hastings said he wanted Memorial Amphitheater to be the building he was most remembered by.