Jefferson Memorial
The Jefferson Memorial is located in West Potomac Park on the South Bank of the Tidal Basin near Downtown Washington D.C. The Memorial is dedicated to our third President, Thomas Jefferson, who is known for his contributions to the Declaration of Independence and help in negotiating the Louisiana Purchase.
The site for the Jefferson Memorial was selected in 1937 and designed by John Russel Pope whose design reflected Thomas Jefferson’s own neoclassical style. Both the exterior and interior walls and floors are made of marble. The interior has a 19 foot bronze statue of Jefferson by Rudulph Evans along with passages from Thomas Jefferson’s personal writings engraved on the walls. The Memorial was completed in 1943 and dedicated on April 13, 1943. The total cost for the construction of the Jefferson Memorial was a little over 3 million dollars.
The Memorial is open daily from 8:00am to 11:45pm with the only closure being on December 25.
