Monuments, Memorials and Museums

Opened in 1910, the museum on the National Mall was one of the first Smithsonian buildings constructed exclusively to hold the national collections and research facilities. It is administered by the Smithsonian Institution and admission is free. It is the most visited museum in North America. The main building has an overall area of 1,320,000…

The White House, located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, was built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia Creek sandstone in the Neoclassical style.  It was expanded outward in 1801, creating two colonnades that were meant to conceal stables and storage.  In 1814 the mansion was set ablaze by the British Army in the Burning of Washington, destroying the interior and charring much of the exterior. It was partially reconstructed…

The National World War II Memorial is dedicated to Americans who served in the armed forces and as civilians during World War II. Consisting of 56 pillars and a pair of triumphal arches surrounding a plaza and fountain, it is located on the National Mall on the former site of the Rainbow Pool at the eastern end of the Reflecting Pool, between the Lincoln Memorial and…

The Korean War Veterans Memorial is located in West Potomac Park, southeast of the Lincoln Memorial and just south of the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall. It commemorates those who served in the Korean War.  The main memorial is in the form of a triangle intersecting a circle using more than 100 tons of highly polished “Academy Black” granite from California: more than 2,500 photographic,…

Built to honor Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States . It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. across from the Washington Monument. The architect was Henry Bacon, the sculptor of the primary statue was Daniel Chester French, and Jules Guerin was the painter of the interior murals. Dedicated in 1922, it is in the form of a Greek Doric temple and…

The Franklin Delano Roosevelt memorial was dedicated on May 2, 1997. The monument, spread over 7.5 acres (3.0 ha), traces 12 years of the history of the United States through a sequence of four outdoor rooms, one for each of FDR’s terms of office. Sculptures inspired by photographs depict the 32nd president alongside his dog Fala anddepict scenes from the Great Depression, such as listening to…

The Thomas Jefferson Memorial is dedicated to Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States. The neoclassical building was designed by the architect John Russell Pope and built by the Philadelphia contractor John McShain. Construction of the building began in 1939 and was completed in 1943. The bronze statue of Jefferson was added in…