File:Looking E from atop Memorial Amphitheater at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - Arlington National Cemetery - Arlington County VA USA - between 1921 and 1923.jpg

English: Standing atop the entrance hall of the Memorial Amphitheater in Arlington National Cemetery, looking east and down at the new Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. In Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States. Image taken between 1921 and 1923.

The image depicts the original tomb (or cenotaph), which was nothing more than a low marble slab over the shaft (which led down approximately 40 feet into the earth below, where the coffin lay). Guarding of the tomb would not occur until 1937. The amphitheater's original balustrade and the retaining wall below it are clearly visible; the monumental stairs leading down to the overlook below would not be constructed until the tomb block itself was set in place in 1931.

Note the original landscape to the east of the amphitheater grounds. It contains roadways, little landscaping, and it slopes north. There is no overlook to the east. This area would be significantly regarded, the roads removed, a formal Italiante garden planted, and a new concrete and granite overlook with pylons and fountain placed on the far eastern end in 1931.