Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

Title

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

Description

This is the second memorial to Roosevelt in the city; the first is near the National Archives and matches Roosevelt's own statement about what a memorial to him should look like: a block of stone about the size of a desk. However, in the 1970s, Congress approved a larger memorial, which was constructed in the 1990s once funding was secured. The FDR memorial generated controversy over depictions of Roosevelt in a wheelchair. Some activists argued that the wheelchair should be more prominent, while others pointed out the fact that Roosevelt's disability was largely hidden during his own lifetime.

Source

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. View original.

Date

05/02/1997 (Dedicated)

Coverage

1980-1999

Physical Description

Comprising a sequence of four galleries or garden rooms, one for each of Roosevelt's terms as president, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial includes ten bronze sculptures, 21 carved inscriptions, quotations from Roosevelt's speeches and radio talks, and motifs from the Great Depression as well as from Roosevelt's domestic life. The Memorial spans 7.5 acres.

Location

38°53′2″N 77°2′40″W

Type

Memorials

Description

This is the second memorial to Roosevelt in the city; the first is near the National Archives and matches Roosevelt's own statement about what a memorial to him should look like: a block of stone about the size of a desk. However, in the 1970s, Congress approved a larger memorial, which was constructed in the 1990s once funding was secured. The FDR memorial generated controversy over depictions of Roosevelt in a wheelchair. Some activists argued that the wheelchair should be more prominent, while others pointed out the fact that Roosevelt's disability was largely hidden during his own lifetime.

Creator

Lawrence Halprin

Date

05/02/1997 (Dedicated)

Coverage

1980-1999

Source

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. View original.

Geolocation