Jefferson Memorial - The Tidal Basin, Washington D.C.

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Located by the Tidal Basin this magnificent Monument to Thomas Jefferson is superb..Dedicated to Thomas Jefferson the third President of the United States and recognised as one of the founding fathers of America..To be inside this monument with its highly polished marble is to truly enjoy the workmanship that exists in it..The large bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson looking east towards the White House is superbly crafted and highly detailed .This monument as with all these Monuments is administered by The National Park Service. This monument is ranked number four on the list by Americans of their favourite National Monuments

INFO: C/- WIKIPEDIA..Inspired so much by Thomas Jefferson, the then President Franklin D. Roosevelt appropriated 3 million dollars in funds to design and construct the memorial..Construction began on December the 15th 1938 and although construction being interupted by the Second World War the memorial was finally finished and dedicated by President Roosevelt on April the 13th 1943 the 200th anniversary of Thomas Jeffersons Birthday. Due to wartime metal shortages the first statue of Thomas Jefferson was made out of plaster and painted bronze and so, four years after the war it was replaced with a true bronze statue.The Statue stands 5.8 meters ( 19 ft.) Tall and weighs 4,336 kgs (10.000lbs)..

The Jefferson Memorial is dedicated to America’s third president, Thomas Jefferson. One of the greatest political minds to ever live, Jefferson is also called the 1-2-3 President, as he was the first Secretary of State, the second Vice President and the third President. Besides these accomplishments, he was the main author of the Declaration of Independence, as well as an accomplished architect.

Jefferson Memorial was built in 1943 to honor the third president of United States, Thomas Jefferson(1743-1826). It’s a nice structure, again in neoclassical style with Ionic columns, probably modeled after the Pantheon in Rome. I guess Jefferson would be proud and happy to see it as he loved architecture.

In 1947 a 19-foot bronze statue of T.Jefferson was added and placed inside the memorial.
The first day we took a pic from the tourmobile, and we were supposed to return the next day to stay a bit and check the Jefferson’s words that adorn the interior walls of the memorial. We were so tired that never made it to return…

It is open 24 hours with no entrance fee. Rangers are on duty 9.30-23.00

The Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial, are two of my favorite monuments. Like many buildings in D.C., they are Greek in design, featuring columns, wide stairways and, of course, imposing statues as their centerpieces. The Lincoln Memorial is situated at the end of a long reflecting pool and the Jefferson Memorial sits across a tidal basin from the center of the National Mall, giving each their signature photogenic qualities, particularly as night falls and their ivory facades are washed in illumination. (Unfortunately, I was only 13 at the time and had not yet taken up photography as an addictive hobby).

The Jefferson Memorial is a monument built to honor the nations's 3rd President and founding father Thomas Jefferson. The monument was designed by John Russell Pope, construction started in 1939 and was completed in 1943 with the bronze statue of Jefferson added in 1947.

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It should come as no surprise that Thomas Jefferson merits the third most impressive of monuments to commemorate presidents. He was after all the writer of the Declaration of Independence and a chief contributor to the Constitution. Jefferson was also an architect and having introduced the classic circular colonnaded style to the United States, it only seems natural that his monument should be modeled after the Pantheon in Rome, perhaps its most renowned Neoclassical forerunner. As impressive as its exterior is, the 19 foot 5 ton bronze statue of Jefferson does the great man justice. Opened in 1941 amid much previous controversy with regard to its style and location, it has become a cornerstone feature of DC's core of monuments.

We visited this fairly early in the morning after walking over from the Lincoln Memorial and found it very peaceful and serene. The views from the steps to The Mall and White House are amongst the finest in DC.

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The Jefferson Memorial is always a stop for Liz and I when we are in D.C. Jefferson is Liz's favorite President and she likes to "stop in and visit" with him as she puts it.

The Jefferson Memorial was completed in 1943. John Russell Pope designed this large neoclassical structure but died before its completion. In 1947, the large bronze statue of Jefferson was added to the memorial , completing it.

Jefferson was a man who loved architecture and he would be proud of this memorial to him. The circular steps of mable, the portico, the Ionic colums, the dome and rotunda...would have made him quite happy.

Inside the memorial stands a 19 foot high bronze statue of Jefferson by Rudolph Evans. The walls inside have some passages from Jefferson's writing engraved in the marble. Below the dome is written "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." Jeferson believed in free thought and that no person should hold sway over another's beliefs. He wrote this at a time when the government wanted to declare a state religion much to Jefferson's dissaproval. As much as he had beliefs he felt that no man should force his beliefs onto another.

The memorial overlooks the Tidal Basin of the Potomac River and many D.C. sights are within view. It is always a pleasure to sit on the steps with the Washington Monument soaring above the treeline.

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“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 that these people are to be free. Establish a law for educating the common people. This it is the business of the state and on a general plan.”
— This quote, which appears on the third panel inside the Jefferson Memorial, is a compilation from writings by Jefferson, “A Summary View of the Rights of British America” and “Notes on the State of Virginia”

This is one of three buildings associated with Jefferson whose design is inspired by Ancient Rome’s glorious Pantheon. The other two, in Virginia, are Jefferson’s beloved home, Monticello, and the Rotunda, which Jefferson designed, at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville (see von.otter’s Things-To-Do Tip for Charlottesville for more information and photos on both sights).

The Jefferson Memorial’s site was originally created with landfill dredged from the Potomac River in the late 1800s. It is situated in West Potomac Park, on the shore of the Tidal Basin of the Potomac River.

John Russell Pope, selected in 1935, served as the architect for the Memorial; Pope died in 1937, one year before construction began on December 15, 1938; and two years before President Franklin D. Roosevelt laid the cornerstone on November 15, 1939. The building was completed in 1943.

At the center of the Memorial stands Rudulph Evans’s 19-foot tall, 10,000 pound bronze of Thomas Jefferson (see photo #5).