Highlights of the National Mall With Tidal Basin

Entries on This Tour

An iconic symbol of freedom stands in the center of our nation’s capital: the Lincoln Memorial. This grand monument to one of our most influential presidents has been the site of countless concerts, speeches, and protests -- including Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Dedicated to the Savior of the Union, the memorial and its history call to mind the human rights struggles our nation has faced, from the Civil War to the March on Washington. Today, it is overseen by the National Park Service and is part of the National Mall and Memorial Parks.

2. The Three Soldiers Memorial

The Three Soldiers Memorial in Washington, D.C. is a statue of three soldiers facing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. Dedicated in 1984, the bronze statue depicting human figures was commissioned in response to controversy over the Vietnam Memorial's design, which some felt was too unconventional. The statue depicts a Latino-American and African-American, both U.S. Army soldiers, and European-American Marine while serving in Vietnam.

3. Albert Einstein Memorial

Einstein was born at Ulm, in Wurttemburg, Germany on March 14, 1879. In 1896 he entered the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich to be trained as a physics and mathematics teacher. He earned his diploma in 1901 and gained Swiss citizenship, but was unable to find work as a teacher. He worked as a Technical Assistant in the Swiss Patent Office and also worked to receive his doctor’s degree in 1905. In 1909 he became Professor Extraordinary at Zurich, and became Professor of Theoretical Physics in Prague. He became a German citizen in 1914, but emigrated to America in 1933 due to political reasons. He was visiting the United States when Hitler came to power. Being Jewish, he did not return to Germany. There, he became Professor of Theoretical Physics at Princeton. He eventually became U.S. citizen in 1940, and retired from his post in 1945.

4. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall

This memorial to the 58,272 American military personnel who perished or were declared missing in action (MIA) during the Vietnam War was completed in 1982. The wall, in addition to the Three Servicemen Statue and the Vietnam Women's Memorial, is part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The memorial demonstrates the way that public perception of monuments can change over time. The initial design for the monument at the National Mall received criticism from leading conservative politicians who hoped to create a memorial that was similar to other war monuments that depicted soldiers and military leaders. Some politicians and commentators even attacked the designer, 21-year old student May Lin, because she was the daughter of Chinese immigrants. By the time of the monument's dedication, however, most Americans approved of the monument's design. Those who saw the monument in person were moved to see the reflections of the living in the Black granite wall as they reflected upon the names of the dead.

5. Vietnam Women's Memorial

The Vietnam Women’s Memorial honors the 265,000 women who served in the American military in the Vietnam era, 10,000 to 11,000 of whom actively served in the Vietnam War. Dedicated in 1993, this is the first memorial in the nation’s capital specifically dedicated to women’s service in the Armed Forced. The sculpture, created by artist Glenna Goodacre, depicts three women caring for a male soldier. The memorial is located within walking distance of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall and the Lincoln Memorial.

6. Constitutional Gardens Pond and Memorial to the Signers of the Declaration

Constitution Gardens is a fifty-acre park situated near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. The gardens was established in 1976 after President Nixon ordered that a park be established on the land. The site became a separate unit of the National Park Service in 1982 and is maintained by the National Capitol Parks-Central (NACC) division. The park also includes a memorial to the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, which is located on a small island in the pond. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was erected in 1982.

7. Lockkeeper's House

The Lockkeeper’s House was built sometime between 1832 and 1837 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This structure, the oldest on the National Mall, was built as a home for the lockkeeper of the extension that was built onto the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal. Between 1833 and the Civil War, the canal allowed for the passage of freight along present-day Constitution Avenue. The canal was seldom used by 1870, and in the following decade, the city's engineers filled the canal with rock and soil, creating Constitution Avenue. To this day, the canal runs under Constitution Avenue serving as a closed sewer. After the abandonment of the canal, In 1902, the C&O Canal Company transferred the lockhouse to the Army Corps of Engineers who evicted an African American family who had taken up residence in the long-abandoned house. The house was converted into use for the Park Police headquarters in 1903. In around 1915 or 1916, with the widening of 17th street, the Lockkeepers house was moved around In 1940, the first floor was converted into a bathroom and the attic used for storage. It was renovated in 2017 to serve as a historical exhibit and today serves as a reminder of the historical importance of canals.

8. The Washington Monument

Perhaps the most iconic monument in the nation's capital, the Washington Monument honors America's first president, George Washington. The monument dates back to 1833 when the National Monument Society began raising funds for the completion of this and other monuments. The Society ran out of funds in 1856, leaving the base of the monument unfinished until 1876, when construction resumed. The monument was completed in 1885. In the early 20th century, the monument became the centerpiece of the National Park Service's National Mall and Memorial Parks. Discerning visitors will notice that the base and the top of the monument feature slightly different colors of stone, something that reflects the two different phases of construction. The two decades when construction was paused created a situation where the original quarry was not available for the second phase.

9. Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture

The National Museum of African American History & Culture was authorized by Congress and President George W. Bush in 2003. After 13 years of planning and construction, the museum opened on September 24th, 2016. The museum holds over 40,000 artifacts within its vaults, most of which were donated by institutions and individuals. Several thousand of artifacts are included in the museum's twelve galleries. The museum's three-tiered form is meant to symbolize hands held in prayer and was modeled from the shape of a traditional Yoruban crown. As of November, 2016, this museum uses a timed pass system to accommodate large crowds.

10. Smithsonian's National Museum of American History

The National Museum of American History is dedicated to the "infinite richness and complexity" of American history. Located on the National Mall, it is one of the most-visited museums in the country. The Smithsonian collections of American history date back to the 17th century and efforts to preserve artifacts date back to the 1840s, while the current museum building opened in 1964 as the Museum of History and Technology. Its name was changed to the National Museum of American History in 1980. The museum's renovation from 2006 to 2008 included the construction of the new Star-Spangled Banner gallery, which holds the original flag that inspired the national anthem. The Museum includes exhibits dedicated to a plethora of topics, including politics and government, civil rights, gender and sexuality, military and war, business and innovation, indigenous Americans, ethnicity and immigration, disability history, religion, and food history.

11. Solomon G. Brown Historical Marker

This historical marker commemorates the life of Solomon G. Brown (1829-1906) and was erected by the Smithsonian Institute. Brown was the first African American employee of the Smithsonian and is often described as a Renaissance man for his diverse skill set that included graphic design, assisting with scientific lectures, and writing poetry. Brown also served three terms in Washington D.C.'s House of Delegates. Brown also occupied a number of committee positions and worked on behalf of improving the conditions of his fellow African Americans.

12. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

The National Museum of Natural History is the most-visited natural history museum in the United States. Dedicated to inspiring curiosity and discovery of the natural world, the National Museum of Natural History preserves and interprets natural science, geology, and anthropology collections. The current building on the National Mall opened in 1910. Among the most popular exhibits are the Hall of Dinosaurs, Egyptian and Roman artifacts, the Hope Diamond, and the sarcophagus of the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamen.

13. National Archives Building and Museum, Washington DC

The National Archives and Records Administration operates the National Archives and the National Archives Museum. Everyone is welcome to explore U.S. history and heritage through the National Archives. In the Rotunda of the National Archives Building, visitors will find the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence. NARA was created in 1934, an independent agency of the U.S. government, and is the official repository for all federal records judged to be of enduring value. Its contents date back to the 18th century. The National Archives Building holds several museum galleries that offer exhibits that change throughout the year in addition to the public vaults and the rotunda which holds the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence.

14. National Gallery of Art

The National Gallery of Art is situated at 4th and Constitution Ave. in Washington, D.C. The museum was established in 1937 following a joint resolution by the U.S. Congress to establish a public art gallery. Funds for construction of the facility, and much of the initial collection itself, were donated by Andrew Mellon. Exhibitions at the gallery include a diverse array of media that highlight the development of western art in the Middle Ages through the present day. The gallery holds the only painting by Leonardo da Vinci in the western hemisphere and contains the largest mobile ever created by Alexander Calder.

15. Major General George Gordon Meade Memorial

This statue was dedicated in 1927 and honors Major General George Gordon Meade. Meade was a Union commander during the American Civil War who is best known for a major Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg. In that battle, Meade's forces repelled a Confederate invasion by General Robert E. Lee. The monument was made possible by the people of Pennsylvania and commemorates Meade's actions to force the Confederates out of their state in 1863.

16. Robert A. Taft Memorial and Carillon

The son of President William Howard Taft, Senator Robert A. Taft represented Ohio in the Senate from 1938 to 1953. By 1952, Taft was known as "Mr. Republican" and would have likely been the GOP candidate for the Presidency that year had it not been for Dwight D. Eisenhower's decision to run on the Republican ticket. Taft represented the conservative wing of the Republican Party and sought a return to isolationism after World War II. Eisenhower was more liberal and felt strongly about the need to maintain a global military and alliances through organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization which had been formed in 1949. As a result, Eisenhower made Taft an offer in the months leading up to the election. If Taft would support a globalist position, Eisenhower would not run for President leaving the Republican nomination to the Ohio Senator. Taft also believed fervently in his position and refused, giving up a Presidential nomination in the process. Taft died in 1953 and most Republicans by that time endorsed Eisenhower's globalist vision of the United States as the leader of NATO.

17. Summerhouse, U.S. Capitol

Construction on this hexagonal brick structure that is built into the sloping hillside of the front lawn of the Senate side of the Capitol began in 1879. The building was part of Frederick Law Olmsted's plan to improve the Capitol Grounds, a task that he had been appointed to by Congress five years prior. Dubbed the Summerhouse, the hexagon building was a response to parched and overheated visitors to the capitol and featured shady spaces and water fountains along with wrought-iron gates and decorative landscaping. The Summerhouse utilized an open-air design to maximize breezes while the benches are covered and protected from the sun and rain.

18. United States Capitol Building

The United States Capitol building is the home to the United States Congress. As one of the most recognizable buildings in the world, the Capitol serves as a working office building and monument to American history. Visitors are welcome to attend tours and explore exhibits. The original portion of the building was completed in 1800 and has been expanded through the years.

19. James A. Garfield Monument

Dedicated on May 12, 1887, this monument commemorates the twentieth President of the United States, James A. Garfield (1831-1881). A native of Ohio and U.S. Army general during the Civil War, he served for nine terms in the U.S House of Representatives as a Republican before being elected president in 1881. Less than four months after his inauguration, on July 2, 1881, Garfield was shot twice by Charles Guiteau, a disgruntled officer seeker, while waiting at a train station in Washington, D.C. For several weeks, he languished in pain as doctors unsuccessfully searched for one of the projectiles. Riddled with infection from the countless unsterile examinations, he passed away on September 19. Garfield’s death came as the Society of the Army of the Cumberland was holding its annual reunion in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Before adjourning, members of the Union veterans’ organization voted to create the Garfield Memorial Committee and charged it with erecting a monument to their former officer and fellow member in Washington, D.C. After fundraising proved challenging, the committee held a fair in the Capitol Rotunda in 1882, which raised nearly $15,000. The following year, Congress appropriated $30,000 for the project. At the 1883 reunion of the veterans’ organization, members selected esteemed New York sculptor John Quincy Adams Ward to design the monument. Dedicated near the U.S. Capitol, the monument consists of a larger-than-life sized bronze statue of Garfield on a marble pedestal, designed by prominent architect Richard Morris Hunt. Ward depicted Garfield standing, as if delivering a speech. Lounging around the base of the pedestal are three larger-than-life-sized bronze figures, each representing one of the three stages of Garfield’s life: scholar, soldier, and stateman.

20. United States Botanic Garden Conservatory

Established by the U.S. Congress in 1820, this botanic garden is one of the oldest in the nation and reflects President George Washington's vision for the nation's capital which included aesthetically pleasing buildings and gardens. The indoor exhibits and gardens take users through a variety of natural environments and include many endangered species. The outdoor spaces offer a variety of species that are native to the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.

21. Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) is a recent addition to the historical museums of the Smithsonian. Unlike almost any other museum in the country, the NMAI displays exhibits that center upon the life, history, and culture of Western Hemisphere Native Americans. The museum opened to the public on September 21st, 2004. Prior to that time, the creation of the museum was a collective venture between the Smithsonian and various Native communities that began in the early 1990s. Through this cooperation, the museum creates and maintains exhibits on Native peoples and their history. The architecture of the building also incorporates many thematic elements central to the lives and culture of Native peoples.

22. Dwight D Eisenhower Memorial

The Dwight D Eisenhower Memorial commemorates the life of the 34th US President who is best known for leading allied forces in World War II. The memorial was designed by Frank Gehry and consists of a series of three statues, inscriptions, and a first-of-its-kind tapestry. The memorial features three statues sculpted by Sergey Eylanbekov, one of Eisenhower as a boy, one as Supreme Allied Commander with troops from the 101st Airborne Division, and one as President featured with civilian and military advisors. The tapestry by Tomas Osiniki depicts the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc on the Normandy coastline. Dedicated on September 18, 2020, this was the newest memorial on or near the National Mall at the time this article was written.

23. Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum houses the largest collection of artifacts related to space and aviation. With both the location in Washington, D.C. and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, the National Air and Space Museum is the most popular museum in the country, drawing in more than eight million visitors per year. Dating back to its founding in 1876, the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum holds true to its mission to educate, inspire, and celebrate the history and progress of both air and space flight.

24. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

Maintaining the world's largest collection of aviation and space artifacts and memorabilia, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum is a monument to the achievement of human flight and all related works of art and archival materials. Between the main facility on the National Mall, opened in 1976, and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington-Dulles International Airport, the museum welcomes over eight million visitors a year, making it the most visited museum in the country. As part of their mission to showcase works of art related to the history, culture, and science of spaceflight, the museum currently houses a collection of works by Alma Thomas entitled The Art of Alma W. Thomas: A Colorful Response. Within this collection are several of Thomas's abstract paintings inspired by the Apollo Moon landing, as well as other works produced by Thomas in the late 1960s and early 1970s that reinterpreted the natural world through her unique lens.

25. Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is a modern art museum that opened in 1974 and was established by an Act of Congress in 1966. With an indoor space of 60,000 square feet to house exhibitions and almost four acres making up its two-level sculpture garden, it is one of the nation’s largest modern art museums. The site where it was built was originally the Army Medical Museum and Library. The idea for an art museum on the National Mall began as early as the thirties, but the project was postponed due to the Second World War. It is named for entrepreneur and financier Joseph H. Hirshhorn, who donated his priceless art collections to the Smithsonian.

26. Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building

Completed in 1881, the Arts and Industries building was the second structure on the National Mall and the first building dedicated solely to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum. It housed early collections of natural history, American history, anthropology, and art. As the Smithsonian Institution grew, these collections were given their own museums on the National Mall. Currently undergoing renovations, the Arts and Industries Building is open for special events and pop-up exhibitions. The grounds are home to the beautifully landscaped Mary Livingston Ripley Garden. The Arts and Industries Building, one of the finest examples of architecture inspired by the world's fairs, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969 and named a National Historic Landmark in 1971.

27. Smithsonian National Museum of African Art

Established in 1963 as a freestanding museum near Capitol Hill in a townhouse, this museum grew to become part of the Smithsonian Institution in 1979. After an act of Congress in 1981, the museum was renamed the National Museum of African Art. The museum was created thanks to the leadership and advocacy of Warren M. Robbins, a prominent art collector, and former U.S. Foreign Service Officer who saw this museum as a way to foster an appreciation of this heritage and an understanding of the African continent generally. When the museum opened to the public in May 1964, it was the first museum in the United States dedicated to African art exclusively. Today it is the only national museum in the United States dedicated to the collection, exhibition, conservation, and study of the arts of Africa.

28. Smithsonian Institution Building, the Castle

Completed in 1855, the Smithsonian Institution Building, commonly known as the Castle, was the first building of the Smithsonian Institution and also the first building on the National Mall. Its beautiful Norman, Romanesque, and Gothic architectural styles earned it the nickname “the Castle.” It was the first building to house Smithsonian exhibits and collections of natural history, history, anthropology, and art. Today, the Castle houses administrative offices, an information center, exhibits, and the crypt of James Smithson, the benefactor and namesake of the Smithsonian Institution.

29. Statue of Joseph Henry

The statue of Joseph Henry, first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, welcomes visitors to the Smithsonian Institution Building, also known as the Castle. Joseph Henry (1797-1878) was renowned as a scientist who made important contributions to the study of electromagnetism and invention of the electric motor, telegraph, and telephone. The Smithsonian Board of Regents appointed him Secretary in 1846, and he spent the rest of his life laying essential groundwork for the Smithsonian Institution as it is today. The bronze statue in his memory, created by William Wetmore Story, was erected in 1883.

30. The Discovery Theater

The Discovery Theater is a theater for children run by the Smithsonian Institute. Originally opened as a small puppet theater, the Discovery Theater works to give children diverse learning experiences on stage, putting on productions that allow children to discover and learn about different cultures, science, and diversity while having fun. Today, the Theater continues to offer numerous performances, striving for scientific and cultural accuracy, as well as the most fun that children can have learning.

31. Freer Gallery of Art

Opened in 1923, the Freer Gallery of Art was the first art museum of the Smithsonian Institution. It is named for Charles Lang Freer, who donated his collection of Asian and American art to the United States government in 1906. With the adjoining Sackler Gallery, the Freer and Sackler Galleries comprise the nation’s premier collections and exhibits of Asian, Middle Eastern, Indian, and Islamic art, as well as the largest research library in the United States related to these forms of art.

32. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Established in 1993, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is dedicated to educating citizens about the events of the Holocaust and strives to confront contemporary instances of genocide and anti-Semitism. The museum contains a permanent exhibit that operates on a free ticketing system owing to continued public demand and the importance of allowing each visitor to experience the exhibits at their own pace. The museum also offers a variety of temporary exhibits and special events such as conversations with Holocaust survivors and lectures by scholars and artists. The museum also operates a research library with a vast collection of publications, photographs, documents, and other artifacts related to the Holocaust.

33. National World War II Memorial

Opened in 2004, the World War II Memorial honors the 16 million who served in the United States Armed Forces, the more than 400,000 members who made the ultimate sacrifice, and the millions who supported war efforts on the home front. This is the only memorial related to an event in the 20th century that appears in the central axis of the National Mall. It is part of the National Park Service's National Mall and Memorial Parks.

34. John Paul Jones Memorial

This West Potomac Park memorial honors John Paul Jones (1747-1792), a Scottish-born naval commander who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolution. Referred to as the “Father of the American Navy,” he is best remembered for his victory at the Battle of Flamborough Head on September 23, 1779. During the naval engagement, Jones’s vessel, USS 'Bonhomme Richard,' caught fire and began to sink. In response to a British request to surrender, he defiantly replied, “I have not yet begun to fight!” In June 1909, Congress allocated $50,000 for the construction of a memorial in honor of Jones. Dedicated in 1912, the memorial consists of a bronze statue of the Scottish-born naval commander backed by an elaborate marble stele fountain. Designed by sculptor Charles Henry Niehaus, the statue depicts Jones, dressed in full military uniform, standing and gazing into the distance with his left hand resting on the hilt of his sword. Etched into the back of the marble stele is a relief of Jones raising an American flag aboard the Bonhomme Richard. At the stele’s ends, near its base, two stylized fish spout water into two small basins.

35. Japanese Stone Lantern, Tidal Basin

In 1912, after several years pursuing "landscape diplomacy," American and Japanese representatives planted the first cherry trees gifted by the city of Tokyo, Japan. A few years later, Japan offered this seventeenth-century stone lantern from Tokyo's Ueno Park as a gift to the city of Washington. However, deteriorating relations and the hostilities of World War II prevented the acceptance of the gift. In 1954, Japanese ambassador Sadao Iguchi worked with American diplomats to complete the gift. In March 1954, 33 years after the initial offer, the lantern was dedicated in this location. This stone lantern is central to Washington's celebration of the trees every spring, as lighting the lantern is part of the Cherry Blossom Festival every year.

36. District of Columbia War Memorial

Built in 1931, the District of Columbia War Memorial honors the 26,000 residents of D.C. who served in World War I. With architecture inspired by ancient Greece and Rome, it was designed as a functional bandstand for commemorative and military concerts that were popular in the early to mid twentieth century. Today, it is part of the National Park Service's National Mall and Memorial Parks, where it has recently undergone restoration. It is the only locally-focused memorial on the National Mall.

37. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial

This West Potomac Park memorial commemorates one of the leaders of the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968). A Baptist minister and advocate of non-violent protest, he rose to prominence within the movement and became a national figure as a result of the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956). Between 1957 and 1964, King founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, organized the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and received the Nobel Peace Prize for his leadership efforts. On April 4, 1968, while in Memphis to lend his support to striking sanitation workers, he was assassinated by James Earl Ray. Nearly thirty years after King’s death, Congress authorized his fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, to erect a memorial in his honor in the nation’s capital. After its formation, the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation selected West Potomac Park's Tidal Basin as the memorial’s site and held a design competition, which drew more than 900 entrants. In 2000, the foundation selected the proposal submitted by ROMA Design Group. To execute the work, the group hired Chinese sculptor Lei Yixin. Dedicated in 2011, the memorial consists of a thirty-foot-tall rough granite mountain with a large section sliced from it. The section features a relief of King, standing defiantly with arms crossed. The design was inspired by a line from the civil rights leader’s famous “I Have a Dream Speech” in which he states: “With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.”

38. Japanese Cherry Trees

These Yoshino cherry trees, or sakura, were a gift from the city of Tokyo, Japan to the United States and were planted in 1912 in a small ceremony with First Lady Helen Herron Taft and Viscountess Iwa Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador to the United States. The trees symbolized the friendship between the two nations, and was the culmination of several years' work trying to transport trees to the US without disease or pests. These trees were the first of over 3,000 trees from Japan planted in the nation's capital. The city began celebrating the Cherry Blossom festival in 1935 and the symbolic planting of two cherry trees has been a reoccurring event in Japanese-American diplomacy for decades.

39. Korean War Veterans Memorial

The Korean War Veterans Memorial, situated just off of the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall, honors those who served in the Korean War. The memorial was commissioned by the U.S. Congress on October 28, 1986 and the design and construction of the monument was jointly managed by the Korean War Veterans Memorial Advisory Board and the American Battle Monuments Commission. The final design selected for the monument was created by Washington architectural firm Cooper-Lecky, following a bitter dispute that involved a government-sponsored design contest and four students from The Pennsylvania State University (see NY Times article below). The groundbreaking ceremony was held on June 14, 1992 and the memorial was dedicated on the 42nd anniversary of the end of the conflict-- July 27, 1995. The memorial is managed by the National Mall and Memorial Parks division of the National Park Service.

40. John Ericsson Memorial

This memorial commemorates Swedish-born engineer and inventor, John Ericsson (1803-1889). He is best remembered for designing the U.S. Navy’s first ironclad, the Monitor, during the Civil War. Following Ericsson’s death, Scandinavian-Americans petitioned Congress to erect a memorial in honor of him in Washington, D.C. In 1916, Congress appropriated $35,000 and established a commission to oversee the project. The John Ericsson Memorial Committee then raised an additional $25,000, and in cooperation with the Commission of Fine Arts chose sculptor James Earle Frasier to design the memorial. Dedicated on May 29, 1926 in West Potomac Park, it depicts Ericsson seated in a chair with a cloak draped around him. With his head tilted down and slightly to the side, he appears deep in thought. An ode to the engineer and inventor’s Scandinavian roots, Frasier included in the composition the Yggdrasill, the tree of life in Norse mythology, which rises behind Ericsson. Standing around the tree are three allegorical figures that represent “Adventure,” Labor,” and “Vision.”

41. Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

This West Potomac Park memorial commemorates the thirty-second President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945). Elected to the presidency four consecutive times (1932, 1936, 1940, and 1944), he served for a total of just over twelve years. During his time in office, Roosevelt enacted the New Deal to combat the effects of the Great Depression and prevent something like it from happening again. Later in his tenure, he shepherded the nation through the Second World War, the deadliest conflict in human history. On April 12, 1945, while vacationing in Warm Springs, Georgia, Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of sixty-three. Following his death, Congress established the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial Commission in 1955. After nearly two decades of delay, the commission chose landscape architect Lawrence Halprin to design the memorial in 1974. Dedicated on May 2, 1997 by President Bill Clinton, it consists of five loosely-defined outdoor areas, four of which focus on Roosevelt’s four terms in office. Constructed of over four and a half tons of South Dakota red granite and utilizing 100,000 gallons of water, the memorial features several bronze sculptures and reliefs designed by various artists, in addition to a large waterfall, reflecting pool, and numerous quotations etched into the granite walls. After the National Organization on Disability criticized the memorial for not adequately addressing Roosevelt’s disability, a bronze sculpture of the president in his wheelchair was added in 2001.

42. George Mason Memorial

This memorial in East Potomac Park commemorates an often-overlooked Founding Father, George Mason (1725-1792). In 1776, he drafted the Virginia Declaration of Rights, a document that not only served as a model for the U.S. Bill of Rights, but also influenced Thomas Jefferson’s writing of the Declaration of Independence. Later, Mason was one of the few men who attended the Constitution Convention of 1787 to not sign the U.S. Constitution. He died at Gunston Hall, his stately mansion in Virginia near the Potomac River, on October 7, 1792. Roughly two hundred years after Mason’s death, the Board of Regents of Gunston Hall provided funds to erect a memorial in honor of the Virginia Founding Father in Washington, D.C. Designed by architect Faye B. Harwell and dedicated by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist on April 9, 2002 in East Potomac Park, the memorial features a seventy-two-foot-long, nine-foot-tall curved pergola. Beneath it, on a granite bench, sits a life-sized bronze sculpture of Mason. Designed by sculptor Wendy M. Ross, the statue depicts him sitting casually with his legs crossed. He holds a book in his right hand while gazing into the distance, as if deep in thought. Two thick bronze books are stacked on the bench to his left, while his tri-corner hat and walking stick are on his right. Flanking the sculpture and bench are two, four-foot-tall granite walls inscribed with some of Mason’s most profound quotations.

43. Thomas Jefferson Memorial

The Thomas Jefferson Memorial is a presidential memorial in Washington, D.C. dedicated to Thomas Jefferson, an American Founding Father and the third President of the United States. Built between 1939 and 1943, the Jefferson Memorial was designed by John Russell Pope in neoclassical architecture styles reminiscent of Jefferson's estate Monticello, the Rotunda at the University of Virginia, and the Pantheon in Rome. The memorial interior includes a bronze statue of Jefferson by Rudulph Evans and five of Jefferson's notable quotations. It is situated on the picturesque Tidal Basin on the National Mall, managed by the National Park Service.

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Highlights of the National Mall With Tidal Basin

Created by Clio Admin on February 7th 2017, 11:27:00 pm.

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This extended walking tour was designed to connect people to some of the most well-known monuments, government buildings, and museums within the boundaries of the National Mall. Users are welcome to explore and even customize this tour to include any combination of the hundreds of additional sites in Clio. Visitors to Washington DC might also enjoy the tour of President's Park along with over fifty additional walking tours in the DC metro that are in Clio.

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Highlights of the National Mall With Tidal Basin

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