Thomas Jefferson Memorial ⓘ

The Jefferson Memorial interior is constructed of white Georgia marble with an axed finish, and the floor is made of pink Tennessee marble. The interior freize is topped by a dentiled cornice and a massive Indiana limestone dome. The dome's interior is divided into two parts: the lower section has a coffered surface containing lights that illuminate the statue and the upper section has a smooth, uninterrupted surface.

The Statue: Rudulph Evans' bronze statue of Jefferson stands centered in the chamber on a black Minnesota granite pedestal, which is inscribed with the dates of Jefferson's birth and death (1743-1826). The statue depicts Jefferson in mid-life, holding the Declaration of Independence in his left hand.

Quotations: Four quotations from Jefferson's writings are carved into the walls of the memorial chamber. An excerpt from the Declaration of Independence, the document for which Jefferson is best known, is located on the southwest wall. The southeast wall features a statement on the evolution of law and the constitution, which was taken from a letter written to Samuel Kercheval in 1816.

The northwest wall is inscribed with a combination of six quotations taken primarily from Jefferson's "1786 Notes of Virginia" and "Summary Views," which illustrate his beliefs in the evils of slavery and the need to educate the masses. The northeast wall contains a quote from the "Act of Religious Freedom," which was adopted in 1779 and eliminated the state church of Virginia; this quote expresses Jefferson's views on freedom of religion.

A fifth quote is engraved on the freize encircling the memorial's interior. This quote "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man," is taken from an 1800 letter from Jefferson to Benjamin Rush.

The Jefferson Memorial sits on the south side of the Tidal Basin on reclaimed land created during the construction of Hains Point. After reclamation and before the memorial was built, the area of newly created parkland was planted with trees and lawn. This area was often use for swimming by city residents. Japanese cherry trees were planted on the site in 1912 when the Mayor of Tokyo presented three thousand trees to the city. Well-known 19th century landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. designed the memorial landscape. The Olmsted planting plan installed at the time of construction featured a simple design within a circular driveway; primarily evergreen trees with limited flowering trees and shrubs. The design was perceived as too thin, so white pines were added and some other plantings took place before the dedication in 1943. Many changes to Olmsted's plans occurred in the 1970s, and restorations in 1993 and 2000 have attempted to restore integrity to Olmsted's altered design.

Views and Vistas Once the site for the Jefferson Memorial was chosen, there was never any question about its visual relationship with the White House - a direct line. In fact, President Roosevelt ordered trees to be cut so that the view of the memorial from the White House would be enhanced. As the National Park Service manages most of the land in the viewshed from the Jefferson Memorial to the White House, the commanding view from the memorial across the Tidal Basin to the Washington Monument and White House remains largely unchanged.

At the time of construction, much thought was also given to the relationship between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. Additional tree pruning was completed to ensure a narrow view from one memorial to the other.

1791-1897 1791: Washington, D.C. is chosen as the capital city for the new nation and Pierre L'Enfant drafted his plan for the city layout. Prior to this, American Indians utilized this marshy, estuary area, then part of Tiber Creek (originally called Goose or Tuber Creek) for hunting and gathering.

1809: Long Bridge is constructed. This is the first permanent bridge across the Potomac to the new capital city. It occupied almost the exact position as the 14th Street Bridge today. It became so heavily used that Congress decided to build a second bridge, 75 feet downstream. The area between the bridges became known as Potomac Flats.

1828: The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal is completed. These canals realized George Washington's vision that the city would develop into a major port with river commerce.

1857: Civil engineer Alfred Landon Rives submitted plans to reclaim 166 acres of mudflats near Long Bridge to make a park.

1875: The Army Corps of Engineers proposed to fill in Potomac Flats using the dredge from the silted-in Potomac. This reclaimed the land, making the Potomac navigable for large ships and making a park for the people.

1882: Major Hains of the Army Corps of Engineer completed the majority of the dredging and reclamation work. Two separate tracks of land were created. The southern area, approximately two miles long, paralleled the old shoreline of the Potomac River and became known as East Potomac Park. The other, now known as West Potomac Park, was located to the west of the Washington Monument. It is Hains who establishes the flow of water coming into the Tidal Basin through Inlet Bridge, and out into the Washington Channel through Outlet Bridge. The tip of East Potomac Park is now known as Hains Point.

1947 - Present Day 1947: The original plaster statue was replaced with bronze. Plaster was used for the original statue because of World War II restrictions on the use of metal. The statue is 19 feet high and stands on a 6 foot pedestal of black Minnesota granite.

1965: Reports show the settlement issues surrounding the memorial have pushed the adjacent roadway and sidewalks up three feet.

1969: The Jefferson Memorial was closed to carry out a stabilization project which included installing concrete reinforcing struts to stop the settlement, reconstruction and regrading of the sidewalks and roadways, rebuilding of the terrace walk, and replanting of landscaping.

December of 1970: The circular road around the memorial was cut off and a multicolored aggregate and concrete plaza was added.

1993: Restoration added the grassy, elevated terrace that rings the base of the memorial, returning the planting in the area back to the 'as-built' design.

1998: The lower level of the memorial was rehabilitated to add exhibits, public restrooms, staff offices and a bookstore.