Tidal basin Archives

After a lunch break at the Pentagon City Mall it was back on the tour bus for one final stop. We headed back to the Tidal Basin. Half way between the Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson Memorials we pulled over for a walk to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.

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There are actually 2 memorials to FDR in Washington DC. The first, located in front of the National Archives was built to FDR’s specifications, about the size of his desk.

When Memorial #2 (the one we were about to visit) was dedicated his granddaughter, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, made the shrewd comment, “Memorials are for us. They aren’t necessarily for the people they memorialize.”

The new Memorial consist of 4 open air rooms, one for each term of his presidency.

The Prologue Room

Enter the memorial at the visitor center on north side off West Basin Dr. I don’t think I did that and it left me confused as to which room I was in from that point on.

You will know you are in the Prologue room because you’ll see a life size statue of FDR in his wheelchair. This room and the statue was added 3 years after the memorial was opened and following a great deal of debate. FDR never wanted to appear weak in public so did his best to avoid using the wheelchair except in private.

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Today the advocacy groups for people with disabilities consider FDR a role model and lobbied hard for the inclusion of the wheelchair statue.

Room 1

In room one we find a bronze bas-relief of the first inauguration. The single drop waterfall symbolizes the economic crash that started the Great Depression.

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Room 2

This room contains two very powerful statues…The Breadline which illustrates despair

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and The Fireside Chat which symbolizes Hope.

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The water fall in this room is multi-tiered and controlled, a nod to the Tennessee Valley Authority dam-building project.

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Room 3

Water crashes over boulders in all directions suggestion the chaos and destruction of the War years.

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Amidst this violence Roosevelt with his beloved dog, Fala, calmly presides over the world around them.

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Room 4

Roosevelt’s death is symbolized by the silent pool of water. It’s still surface reflects the Bas Relief called The Funeral Cortege. The carving represents a nation mourning following the death of the only president many can remember.

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Eleanor Roosevelt also has a statue here. It the only statue to honor a First Lady. She is honored for her contributions not only as First Lady but as one of the early delegates representing the United States at the newly formed United Nations.

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Throughout the Memorial the walls are etched with quotes from speeches and writings built on FDR’s 4 fundamental beliefs also called the 4 Freedoms:

Freedom of Speech
Freedom of Worship
Freedom from Want
Freedom from Fear

We would do well to remember those four Freedoms today.

Back on the bus we basked in the warmth. Tony, our driver, had the heater blasting. A welcome reprieve from the raw, wet cold outside.

Around the Tidal Basin we went pulling up next to an easily recognizable monument; the Jefferson Memorial. When I say we pulled up it was to a bus stop. You can’t get near any of the memorials by car. If you are visiting the monuments you will get plenty of walking.

The Jefferson Memorial

The Jefferson Memorial is a circular, open structure topped by a shallow dome. The exterior is beautiful white marble from Vermont. The interior with Jefferson’s 19 ft tall statue is accessed by a series of granite and marble stepped terraces.

For those of us who might not be in the best physical shape the stairs can be intimidating. There is an elevator if you are handicapped or just not up to stair climbing. Unfortunately it was out of order the day of my visit.

But back to some of the significance of various features. Until my visit I just thought the building was meant to resemble Jefferson’s home of Monticello but I learned that there is much more symbolism than that.

As I mentioned the outer marble is from Vermont, the interior walls are Georgia Marble. These choices symbolize the geographic extremes of the original 13 states. The floor is marble from Tennessee. The inner dome is limestone from Indiana. This diversity symbolizes the expanding union.

Jefferson’s ties to the Louisiana Purchase are honored by the pedestal of Minnesota Granite and a ring of gray marble surrounding the base made of Missouri stone.

Four quotations from Jefferson’s writings are carved into the walls of the memorial chamber. One of the quotes, from the Declaration of Independence, can be found on the southwest wall.

Location

The monument is located on the south side of the Tidal Basin with a clear sight line of the Washington Monument. President Roosevelt ordered trees cut to make it possible to view the monument from the White House.

In 1912 Japanese Cherry Trees were planted on the site, part of the gift of 3000 trees from the mayor of Tokyo. That was what I wanted to see but sadly, most of the blossoms had been destroyed by the unseasonable cold weather.

In conclusion

Even without the flowers, the beautiful monument is a suitable memorial to our Founding father, an author of the Declaration of Independence, Statesman and Visionary for the founding of a Nation.