FDR Memorial

“The test of our progress is not whether we add to the abundance of those who have much. It is whether we provide enough to those who have little.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

This sculpture is the "Breadline" which stands in the FDR memorial.

On May 2, 1997, President Clinton joined Mike Wallace, Master of Ceremonies, FDR Commission Co-chairs Senators Daniel K. Inouye and Mark O. Hatfield, David B. Roosevelt, Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and opera singer Denyce Graves to dedicate the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. The FDR memorial is only the third presidential memorial dedicated in the United States this century. The last time such a dedication took place was in 1943, when President Roosevelt dedicated the Jefferson Memorial.

The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial Commission was established by the United States Congress in 1955 "for the purpose of considering and formulating plans for the design, construction and location of a permanent memorial. . ." to honor our 32nd President. In 1959, land was set aside in West Potomac Park for the memorial, following a layout established in 1901 by the McMillan "kite" Plan for monuments in the city of Washington. In 1978, after several design competitions, Lawrence Halprin's memorial design received final approval from the FDR Memorial Commission of Fine Arts.

The 7.5 acre memorial honors President Roosevelt in a landscape of four outdoor rooms with granite walls, statuary, inscriptions, waterfalls and thousands of plants, shrubs and trees. The memorial is located along the famous cherry tree walk on the Tidal Basin. The memorial's four outdoor gallery rooms offer visitors a historical narrative of the years 1933 to 1945, each symbolizing one of FDR's four terms in office.

Five sculptors were assembled by designer Halprin to create bronze sculptures placed throughout the memorial. They are: Leonard Baskin, Neil Estern, Robert Graham, Tom Hardy, and George Segal. Master stone carver John Benson inscribed the enduring words of FDR on the memorial,s meandering 800 foot granite wall. Among these are: "This generation has a rendezvous with destiny." "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." "I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a New Deal for the American People."

The FDR Memorial marks the first time that a First Lady has been honored in a presidential memorial. It includes a bronze statue of Eleanor Roosevelt standing before a symbol of the United Nations, for which she served as America's first Delegate after the president's death. Also included is an exact replica of one of FDR's wheelchairs, on display in the Memorial Entry Building.

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty. Thomas Jefferson


The Jefferson Memorial Memorial at the National Mall in Washington D.C. pays tribute to the author of the Declaration of Independence, one of our nation's founding fathers, a former President, an architect, farmer, educator, and one of the most enlightened men of the 18th Century.

To many, Thomas Jefferson epitomizes democracy. It was his fervent belief in the rights of man, government derived from the people, the separation of church and state, and free and universal education, that became the sacred tenets for our fledgling nation. His idea of a nation has been more prosperous, resilient, and long-lasting than any other nation in the history of mankind.

The planning of the memorial to Jefferson is quite a tale. For not only did the original architect die, and Japanese people chain themselves to its cherry trees during WWII, but the statue of Jefferson did not arrive to grace his exhibit until four years after the monument was dedicated.

The idea for the memorial came from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was upset that there was not a memorial dedicated to the accomplishments Jefferson, like there was to Lincoln and Washington. FDR felt that Jefferson had just as monumental of an impact on the nation as both of these men. In 1934, Congress passed a resolution to establish a Thomas Jefferson Memorial Commission to plan, design, and construct the memorial. The goal of the committee was to honor Jefferson as a president, politician, farmer, architect, educator, and intellectual. But the task of the committee was an arduous one indeed. For how do you honor the man who framed the nation, and a man with so many talents and accomplishments? Essentially, the commission had the task of creating a design to honor the guiding spirit of Jefferson, a spirit that still shines on.

Initial ideas for the monument included displaying the Declaration of Independence across from the Archives building and a colonial style library also across from the Archives building. However, FDR did not find either one of these ideas suitable for the honoring of such a man as Jefferson. The commission, along with FDR, wanted the monument to pay homage to all of Jefferson's characteristics and accomplishments. In the end, the commission settled on a design by the McMillan Commission, which was to create a five-point composition in the middle of the city. The idea was originally proposed by the person who first designed the federal city. At that time, the project was begun, but not completed. The commission decided that a fitting tribute to Jefferson would be to finish the project. The design for the project was then submitted by John Russell Pope. Quite fittingly, he chose a design that Jefferson had himself used for Monticello and the University of Virginia. It was composed of a circular dome based on the Panthenon in Rome. Because Pope utilized a design that Jefferson found so inspiring, it was seen as the ultimate tribute. The monument, fashioned after Jefferson's liking, would then convey the free and independent spirit that he had so embodied. In 1936, this design was accepted and the ground-breaking occurred.

The memorial sits as stately as the Parthenon with a statue of Jefferson featured as the centerpiece. Inside are engraved inscriptions taken from the Declaration of Independence, speeches, and more of his writings. Perhaps the most famous, from the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men. We...solemnly publish and declare, that these colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states...And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

The total cost of the monument was a little over $3 million. It occupies 2.5 acres in the National Mall. The distance to the top of the dome is over 129 feet, while the thickness of the dome is 4 feet. The memorial weighs in at a massive 32,000 tons. The statue of Jefferson stands 19 feet tall and weighs 10,000 pounds.

Honest Abe

IN THIS TEMPLE
AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE
FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION
THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN
IS ENSHRINED FOREVER

The Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC

Sculpted in 1920 by Daniel Chester French. The statue stands 19 feet 9 inches (6 m) tall and 19 feet (6 m) wide, and was carved from 28 blocks of white Georgia marble by the Piccirilli Brothers studio of Bronx, New York.

March 2010 Theme Day - Passageway

First of the month = "Theme Day" among the City Daily Photo bloggers. This month's theme is Passageway. My interpretation of the theme is the somber passageway along the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall which at the time lists 58,261 names, and approximately 1200 of these are listed as missing (MIA's, POW's, and others). Always remember that freedom isn't free. For more information on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, CLICK HERE

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

SkyWatch Friday

Amercian flags around the Washington Monument against a colorless winter sky! To see more skies from all over the world, visit Skyley!

Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool

On Saturday we took a little drive up to DC for the day. As you can see, they still have a lot of the snow from that big storm that blew through recently. This is the reflecting pool in front of the memorial and it is a block of ice, notice everyone walking on it? We were walking on it too until a police officer yelled for everyone to get off the ice. He kept quite busy trying to keep people off it, it was pretty much a losing battle lol.

Paula Scher

Hello, I'm back! I know, I've been on a blogging hiatus, waiting for that new camera, which by the way, I think I finally found one that I will love and it should be here sometime today! I have missed my friends from all over the world!

I am starting back with a post about an artist that I want to introduce to you, Paula Scher. I have included a piece of her work, pictured at the top of this post. This one in particular is titled The World, dated 2006. I love the colors she uses and her style is reminiscent of a patchwork quilt! Isn't it a fun piece?

Paula Scher's maps have become very popular amongst fine art print collectors and you can see some of her newest work at a new exhibit at Stendhal Gallery which is titled "Paula Scher: Maps Screenprints 2006-2010" and will run from February 4 - March 27.

Ms. Scher's limited edition screenprints are created with the highest quality printing techniques, these screenprints will last over 500 years and can be passed down and shared from generation to generation as highly collectible works of art.

The prints included in the exhibition are: India (2010), Europe (2009), NYC Transit(2008), China (2008), Manhattan at Night (2008), The United States (Blue) (2007), The United States (Red) (2007), The United States (White) (2007), The World (2006), The Dark World (2006) and Africa (2006).

Stendhal Gallery is announcing the pre-publication of 3 new limited edition Paula Scher maps screenprints; Israel (release date in the spring of 2010), South America (release date in the summer of 2010) and The World II (release date in the fall of 2010).

These prints are made in collaboration with Andy Warhol's master printer Alexander Heinrici and printed on Deluxe Lana Quarelle paper, hand-made in the Vosges region of France. Each Limited Edition Screenprint is inspected, signed, numbered and dated by the artist, and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

Paula Scher has recently been commissioned by the "Percent For Art Program" for the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs to paint 2 murals at the Metropolitan High School in Queens. The murals will be installed for the opening of the school year in the fall of 2010.

Paula Scher is a partner at Pentagram Design, Inc., where she has created identities for companies from the New York Public Theater to Citibank, among many others. Scher’s work has been exhibited in the world’s leading museums including the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York, the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., the Denver Art Museum, the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.

For more information on Paula Scher and her beautiful prints, please visit Stendhal Gallery .