Thomas Jefferson Memorial United States

Legendary

A memorial built to honor Thomas Jefferson and the Founding Fathers of the United States.

When the Jefferson Memorial opened in 1943, the statue of Jefferson inside wasn't bronze at all. It was plaster, painted to look like metal.

The United States was fighting World War II, and bronze was needed for the war. The real statue didn't arrive until 1947.

The memorial honors Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States and the main author of the Declaration of Independence. It sits on the edge of the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C.

Jefferson loved the buildings of ancient Rome. He designed his own home, Monticello, and the University of Virginia with round, domed shapes inspired by them.

The architect John Russell Pope gave Jefferson's memorial the same look. He based it on the Pantheon, a domed temple in Rome that Jefferson admired.

Pope never saw it built. He died in 1937, and two architects from his firm, Otto Eggers and Daniel Higgins, finished the plans.

Not everyone liked the location. Building it meant cutting down some of the cherry trees Japan had given to Washington in 1912.

A group of women chained themselves to the trees in protest. Construction went ahead anyway, starting in 1939.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the memorial on April 13, 1943. It was Jefferson's 200th birthday.

For the ceremony, the original Declaration of Independence was brought out of hiding at Fort Knox. It was displayed at the foot of the statue with Marines guarding it around the clock.

The bronze statue that stands there today was sculpted by Rudulph Evans. It's 19 feet tall, weighs about 10,000 pounds, and stands on a pedestal of black granite.

The dome above it rises 129 feet. Around the walls are carved some of Jefferson's most famous words, including lines from the Declaration.

Stand in front of the statue and look up at Jefferson, then read the quotes carved on the walls around you. Walk the path around the Tidal Basin for views back toward the memorial. Visit in late March or early April, when thousands of cherry trees bloom pink and white around the water.

Sources: National Archives, Trust for the National Mall, and Ben's Guide.