Existing comment:
Jefferson Memorial; from across Tidal Basin; nighttime
A nighttime view of the Jefferson Memorial across the Tidal Basin.
The Memorial was dedicated in 1943 by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It was designed by John Russell Pope while the bronze statue was done by Rudolph Evans. Unfortunately, bronze was in short supply during World War II so a plastic cast of the statue was used during the dedication, the actual statue not being completed until several years after the war.
The site was actually controversial. The cherry blossom trees had been planted here in 1909 and the first Cherry Blossom Festival was held in 1935. The construction of the Jefferson Memorial threatened to cause several of the trees to be destroyed and protesters had chained themselves to trees to prevent this. They had to be reassured that no trees would be destroyed before they left and the necessary trees had to be quietly destroyed as a result. |