Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
These are the words of our 32nd President, a man who truly knew the meaning of the word courage. Despite being stricken with polio and paralyzed from the waist down, he emerged as a true leader, guiding our country through some of its darkest times: the Great Depression and World War II. The FDR Memorial honors this man and his story.
In August, 1955 Congress formed a commission to oversee the creation of a memorial to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Before his death, Roosevelt joked to his friend, Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, that if Congress ever tried to make a monument for him, he would like it to be no larger than the size of his desk and placed in front of the National Archives. Congress obliged this request and today, there is a desk-sized stone plaque in honor of FDR outside the National Archives. However, the commission decided that a plaque was not a sufficient way to honor one of America’s most beloved presidents so it selected a location in West Potomac Park, half-way between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. The monument was dedicated by President William J. Clinton on May 2, 1997.
Lawrence Halprin’s design was chosen in 1978. In honor of FDR’s four terms, the monument is divided into four outdoor “rooms.” As visitors wander the 7.5 acre monument, they can see 21 FDR quotes and a myriad of statues and murals representing issues from the Great Depression to World War II. It is made entirely of red South Dakota granite and is the first monument in Washington, DC that was purposely designed to be completely wheelchair accessible.
Did you know?
President Roosevelt’s beloved Scottish Terrier featured in the memorial was originally named “Big Boy.” His name was changed to “Murray the Outlaw of Falahill,” Fala for short. Fala was so dear to FDR that when he died seven years after him, he was buried next to the President.
In the prologue room of the memorial, FDR is depicted sitting in a wheelchair, modeled after one he made for himself by attaching tricycle wheels to a dining chair.
The artist of the relief carving depicting FDR’s first inauguration used a still frame of the inaugural footage to recreate the scene.
54 New Deal programs are represented in 5 bas relief panels in the memorial. The panels are accompanied by 5 bronze cylinders covered with braille and other textural elements to make the memorial more accessible.
The FDR Memorial is the only presidential memorial to depict a First Lady. In the last room of the memorial, the emblem of the United Nations hangs behind Eleanor Roosevelt, for she served as a delegate after her husband’s death.