Jefferson Memorial | |
 Jefferson Memorial across theTidal Basin in August 2018 | |
  Location within the United States Show map of the United States | |
| Location | 900 Ohio Drive, S.W.,National Mall, Washington, D.C., U.S. |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38°52′53″N77°02′11.5″W / 38.88139°N 77.036528°W /38.88139; -77.036528 |
| Area | 18.36 acres[1] |
| Built | 1943; 82 years ago (1943) |
| Architect | John Russell Pope;Eggers & Higgins |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| Visitation | 2,312,726 (2005) |
| Website | Thomas Jefferson Memorial |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000029 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966[2] |
| Designated NMEM | April 13, 1943[3] |
TheThomas Jefferson Memorial is anational memorial inWashington, D.C., built in honor ofThomas Jefferson, the principal author of theUnited States Declaration of Independence and thenation's third president.[4] Built between 1939 and 1943, the memorial features multiple quotes from Jefferson intended to capture his ideology and philosophy, known asJeffersonian democracy. Jefferson was widely considered among the most influential political minds of his era and one of the most consequential intellectual forces behind both theAmerican Revolution and theAmerican Enlightenment.
The Jefferson Memorial is built inneoclassical style and is situated inWest Potomac Park on the shore of thePotomac River. It was designed byJohn Russell Pope, aNew York City architect, and built byPhiladelphia contractorJohn McShain. Construction on the memorial began in 1939 and was completed in 1943, though the bronze statue of Jefferson was not completed and added until four years after its dedication and opening, in 1947.[5] Pope made references to the RomanPantheon, whose designer wasApollodorus of Damascus,[6] and to Jefferson's own design for therotunda at theUniversity of Virginia as inspirations for the memorial's aesthetics. The Jefferson Memorial and theWhite House form anchor points to theNational Mall in Washington, D.C..
The Jefferson Memorial is a designated national memorial and is managed by theNational Park Service of theU.S. Department of the Interior'sNational Mall and Memorial Parks division. It is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places and ranked fourth on theAmerican Institute of Architects' "list of America's favorite architecture".
The Jefferson Memorial sits onfilled land within thePotomac River that, in the late 19th century, was used as a beach.[4] The site was appealing at least partly because it was located directly south of, and in view of, theWhite House.[5] In 1901, the Senate Park Commission was established to create a plan for Washington, D.C.'s park system, later to become theMcMillan Plan.[7][8] The commission proposed building aPantheon-like structure on the site to host "the statues of the illustrious men of the nation".[5][9] This structure, if built, would have been accompanied by six larger structures.[9] Congress took no action on the commission's recommendation.[5][9]
The completion of the Tidal Basin Inlet Bridge in 1908 helped facilitate and expand recreational usage of East and West Potomac Parks. In 1918, large liquid chlorine dispensers were installed under the bridge to treat the water, which made theTidal Basin, also known as Twining Lake, suitable for swimming. The Tidal Basin Beach, on the site of the future Jefferson Memorial, opened in May 1918, operating as a"Whites Only" facility until 1925, when it was permanently closed to avoid addressing the question of whether it should be racially integrated.[10] The same year, a design competition was held for a memorial toTheodore Roosevelt. The winning design, submitted byJohn Russell Pope, consisted of a semicircular memorial situated next to a circular basin. Like the McMillan Plan, this was never funded by Congress or acted upon.[5]
Another opportunity for the Jefferson Memorial's development emerged in 1934, when then PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt, who came to admire Jefferson after reading a book on Jefferson by his friendClaude G. Bowers, inquired with theCommission of Fine Arts about erecting a memorial to Jefferson. Roosevelt included plans for the Jefferson Memorial in theFederal Triangle project, which was then under construction. Later the same year,Congressman John J. Boylan followed Roosevelt's lead, urging Congress to create the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Commission to explore the memorial's development.[5]
The organization was established on April 12, 1935—the day before Jefferson's 192nd birthday—with Boylan as the Commission's first chairman.[11][12] At the time, the Commission was tentatively considering a memorial building to Jefferson opposite the National Mall from theNational Archives Building, as well as a monument to Jefferson halfway between the two structures. In conjunction, the original manuscript of theUnited States Declaration of Independence was to be moved to a new monument in the National Archives Building, forming a straight line of three memorials.[11][13] The Commission choseJohn Russell Pope, the new National Archives Building's designer, as architect for the Jefferson Memorial.[5]
Pope prepared four different plans for the project, each on a different site. One was on theAnacostia River at the end ofEast Capitol Street; one atLincoln Park; one on the south side of the National Mall across from theNational Archives administration building; and one was situated on the Tidal Basin, directly south of the White House. The Commission preferred the site on the Tidal Basin mainly because it was the most prominent site of those proposed and completed the four-point plan called for by the McMillan Commission, which encompassed the region including theLincoln Memorial to the Capitol and from the White House to the Tidal Basin site. Pope designed a large pantheon-like structure designed to be situated on a square platform, flanked by two smaller, rectangular, colonnaded buildings.[5]
Pope had died in 1937 and his surviving partners,Daniel P. Higgins and Otto R. Eggers, assumed leadership for the Jefferson Memorial's construction.[14] The Thomas Jefferson Memorial Commission supported the pantheon-like structure, but the Commission of Fine Arts wanted the design to be "more open in character", with more horizontal design emphases and greater similarities to the White House.[15] At the request of the Commission of Fine Arts, a slightly more conservative design for the memorial was agreed upon. The memorial's cost was approximately $3 million.[14] Congress eventually appropriated this amount for the Jefferson Memorial,[5] including $500,000 in its deficiency bill of June 1938.[16]
Construction proceeded amid some opposition. The Commission of Fine Arts never actually approved any design for the memorial and even published a pamphlet in 1939 opposing both the proposed design and site for the memorial. Additionally, some Washingtonians opposed the proposed location for it because it did not align withL'Enfant'soriginal plan for the city, and many established elm andcherry trees, including rare stock donated byJapan in 1912,[17] would be removed under the memorial's original plan. Construction continued amid the opposition,[5] which included women protestors chaining themselves to cherry trees around the construction site in November 1938.[18][19] Opposition to the memorial proved dismaying to Roosevelt, but the opposition diminished notably once revised plans identified a means for maintaining the surrounding cherry trees amidst the memorial's construction.[17]
Construction on the Jefferson Memorial began December 15, 1938.[20] Thecornerstone, containing 15 volumes with all of Jefferson's publications,[21] was laid roughly eleven months later, on November 15, 1939, by Roosevelt himself.[22][23] In 1939, the Memorial Commission hosted a competition to select a sculptor for the planned Jefferson statue to be placed in the center of the memorial. They received 101 entries and chose six finalists. Of the six,Rudulph Evans was chosen as the main sculptor, andAdolph A. Weinman was chosen to sculpt the pediment relief situated above the memorial's entrance.[5]
Landscape architectFrederick Law Olmsted Jr. designed the memorial landscape, which featured a simple design within a circular driveway including primarilyEvergreen trees with limited flowering trees or shrubs. The design was perceived as too thin, sowhite pines and some other plantings were later added before the memorial's dedication in 1943.
On April 13, 1943, the 200th anniversary of Jefferson's birthday, the Jefferson Memorial was officially dedicated and opened by Roosevelt.[24] At the time, Evans' statue had not yet been finished due to material shortages that emerged duringWorld War II. Instead, the memorial opened with a temporary plaster cast statue similar to the bronze statue that Evans completed four years later.[25] The statue's cast was developed byRoman Bronze Works inNew York City.[5] The statue was ultimately installed inside the memorial in April 1947.[25][26] The ground around the monument began to visibly sag in the years after it was completed.[27]
In the 1970s, nearly three decades after the memorial's opening, additional changes to Olmsted's landscaping were implemented. But in 1993 and 2000, attempts to restore the integrity of Olmsted's initial design were made.[28] Roosevelt ordered trees be cut so that the Jefferson Memorial was clearly visible from theWhite House; additional treepruning was also completed to create an unobstructed view between the Jefferson Memorial andLincoln Memorial.[28]
By the 2000s, the grounds were sinking, and part of the seawall surrounding the monument was falling into the Tidal Basin, despite efforts over the years to shore up the monument.[29] Water regularly flooded over the seawall at high tide by the 2020s, sometimes reaching the monument, prompting a reconstruction of the seawall.[30]
The monument is located inWest Potomac Park inWashington, D.C..[31] It sits on the shore of thePotomac River'sTidal Basin, which borders the monument to the west and north; ramps from the14th Street Bridges surround it on the other two sides.[31] Because the monument sits on filled land,[4] it is supported bydeep foundations that extend 90 feet (27 m) deep.[27] The park is enhanced with the massed planting of Japanesecherry blossom trees, which predated the memorial's construction and were a 1912 gift from the people ofJapan.[32]
The Jefferson Memorial is located exactly south of theWhite House.[31][33] The north–south axis through the Jefferson Memorial and White House, and the west–east axis through theLincoln Memorial andNational Mall, were originally intended to converge at theWashington Monument. The Washington Monument was built farther east because the ground at that location was deemed too soft and swampy.[34] The Jefferson Memorial also lies approximately on the same axis asMaryland Avenue across the Tidal Basin, which continues northeast.[31]
Although the Jefferson Memorial is geographically removed from other buildings and monuments in Washington, D.C., theNational Mall, andWashington Metro, the memorial plays host to many events and ceremonies each year, including memorial exercises, the Easter Sunrise Service, and the annualNational Cherry Blossom Festival, and ranks highly among destinations for visitors to the city each year.[32]
The Jefferson Memorial is composed of circular marble steps, aportico, a circular colonnade ofIonic order columns, and a shallowdome. The building is open to the elements. It has a diameter of approximately 165 feet (50 m).[14] Each of the 26 columns is 14 feet (4.3 m) high and measures 5 feet 3 inches (1.60 m) in diameter.[33] Thebays between each column are6+3⁄4 feet (2.1 m) wide.[26]
The memorial is constructed with white ImperialDanby marble taken fromVermont,[33] which rests on a series of granite and marble-stepped terraces. A flight of granite and marble stairs and platforms, flanked by granite buttresses, leads up to the memorial from the Tidal Basin to a portico with a triangularpediment. The front of the portico is seven bays wide (interspersed between eight columns), while the sides are two bays wide.[33]
The pediment features a sculpture byAdolph Alexander Weinman depicting theCommittee of Five, the five members of the committee charged with drafting theU.S. Declaration of Independence. In addition to Jefferson, who was the primary author, committee members includedJohn Adams,Benjamin Franklin,Robert R. Livingston, andRoger Sherman. Acornice with an egg and dart molding surrounds this pediment, and below that is a plainfrieze.[28]
The memorial's interior is made of Georgia white marble.[33] It has a 19 feet (5.8 m) tall, 10,000 lb (4,500 kg)bronze statue[36] of Jefferson developed by sculptorRudulph Evans.[36] The statue was added four years after the dedication. Among many Jefferson quotes inside the memorial, one of the most prominently situated are those inscribed in the frieze below the dome: "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."[37] This sentence is taken from a letter written by Jefferson on September 23, 1800,[38] toBenjamin Rush in which Jefferson defends the constitutional refusal to recognize a state religion.
A lower level of the structure contains a gift shop and a museum focusing on Jefferson's life and political career.
Four panels in the memorial bear inscribed quotations.[33] On the panel of the southwest interior wall are excerpts from theUnited States Declaration of Independence:[39]
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men. We...solemnly publish and declare, that these colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states...And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.
The inscription uses the word "inalienable", as appears in Jefferson's draft rather than "unalienable" as ultimately appeared in the final Declaration.[40]
On the panel of the northwest interior wall is a quote from the 1777Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which excludes the quote's final sentence and is taken from an August 28, 1789, letter Jefferson wrote toJames Madison:[39][41]
Almighty God hath created the mind free...All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens...are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion...No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship or ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion. I know but one code of morality for men whether acting singly or collectively.
The Jefferson quotes from the panel on the northeast interior wall come from multiple sources. The first, which begins "God who gave us life gave us liberty" is fromA Summary View of the Rights of British America.[42] The second, third, and fourth sentences are fromNotes on the State of Virginia.[43] The fifth quote, which begins "Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than that these people are to be free" is from Jefferson's autobiography.[44] The sixth sentence, beginning "Establish the law...", is from a letter of August 13, 1786, toGeorge Wythe.[45] The final sentence is from a letter of January 4, 1786, toGeorge Washington:[39][46]
God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever. Commerce between master and slave is despotism. Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than these people are to be free. Establish the law for educating the common people. This it is the business of the state to effect and on a general plan.
The inscription on the panel of the southeast interior wall is excerpted from Jefferson's July 12, 1816, letter toSamuel Kercheval:[39][47]
I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.
In 1944, Eggers & Higgins received the Biennial Certificate of Merit for their work on the Jefferson Memorial.[48] On October 15, 1966, in recognition of the Jefferson Memorial's historical and artistic significance, the Jefferson Memorial was named to theNational Register of Historic Places.[2][49] In 2007, it ranked fourth on the "list of America's favorite architecture", published by theAmerican Institute of Architects.[50]
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromThomas Jefferson Memorial Features.National Park Service.
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