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{{Short description|National memorial in Washington, D.C.}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Jefferson Memorial
| nrhp_type = nmem
| image = JeffersonMemorialNightFB.jpg
| caption = Jefferson Memorial across the [[Tidal Basin]] in August 2018
| location = 900 Ohio Drive, S.W., [[National Mall]], Washington, D.C., U.S.
| coordinates = {{coord|38|52|53|N|77|02|11.5|W|type:landmark_region:US-DC|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = United States Washington, D.C. central#USA
| map_caption = Location of Jefferson Memorial in central [[Washington, D.C.]]##Location within the United States
| area = 18.36 acres<ref name="acres">{{NPS area |year=2011 |access-date=March 8, 2012 }}</ref>
| built = {{start date and age|1943}}
| architect = [[John Russell Pope]]; [[Eggers & Higgins]]
| architecture = [[Neoclassical architecture|Classical Revival]]
| added = October 15, 1966<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2007a}}</ref>
| refnum = 66000029
| image_size = 250
| designated_nrhp_type = April 13, 1943<ref>Shalett, Sidney. "President Roosevelt Dedicates a National Memorial to Thomas Jefferson." ''New York Times''. 14 April 1943,1. Retrieved on October 7, 2008</ref>
| visitation_num = 2,312,726
| visitation_year = 2005
| website = [https://www.nps.gov/thje/ Thomas Jefferson Memorial]
}}
The '''Thomas Jefferson Memorial''' is a [[List of national memorials of the United States|national memorial]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], built in honor of [[Thomas Jefferson]], the principal author of the [[United States Declaration of Independence]] and the [[Presidency of Thomas Jefferson|nation's third president]].<ref name="Yarsinke p. 5">{{harvnb|Yarsinke|2017|page=5|ps=.}}</ref> Built between 1939 and 1943, the memorial features multiple quotes from Jefferson intended to capture his ideology and philosophy, known as [[Jeffersonian democracy]]. Jefferson was widely considered among the most influential political minds of his era and one of the most consequential intellectual forces behind both the [[American Revolution]] and the [[American Enlightenment]].

The Jefferson Memorial is built in [[neoclassical architecture|neoclassical style]] and is situated in [[West Potomac Park]] on the shore of the [[Potomac River]]. It was designed by [[John Russell Pope]], a [[New York City]] architect, and built by [[Philadelphia]] contractor [[John McShain]]. Construction on the memorial began in 1939 and was completed in 1943, though the bronze statue of Jefferson was not completed and added until four years after its dedication and opening, in 1947.<ref name = LOC>[http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/dc/dc0400/dc0473/sheet/00001a.tif Documentation of the Jefferson Memorial.] Office of the Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record (HABS/HAER), of the [[National Park Service]]. September 1994. Library of Congress. Retrieved October 13, 2008</ref> Pope made references to the Roman [[Pantheon, Rome|Pantheon]], whose designer was [[Apollodorus of Damascus]],<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eYdsCQAAQBAJ&q=apollodorus+of+damascus+the+pantheon&pg=PA227|title=The Pantheon: From Antiquity to the Present|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-80932-0|language=en}}</ref> and to Jefferson's own design for the [[The Rotunda (University of Virginia)|rotunda]] at the [[University of Virginia]] as inspirations for the memorial's aesthetics. The Jefferson Memorial and the [[White House]] form anchor points to the [[National Mall]] in Washington, D.C..

The Jefferson Memorial is a designated national memorial and is managed by the [[National Park Service]] of the [[United States Department of the Interior|U.S. Department of the Interior]]'s [[National Mall and Memorial Parks|National Mall and Memorial Parks division]]. It is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] and ranked fourth on the [[American Institute of Architects]]' "[[America's Favorite Architecture|list of America's favorite architecture]]".

==History==
===Early considerations===
[[File:Jefferson Memorial Washington April 2017 002.jpg|thumb|The Jefferson Memorial's exterior|left]]
The Jefferson Memorial sits on [[Fill (land)|filled land]] within the [[Potomac River]] that, in the late 19th century, was used as a beach.<ref name="Yarsinke p. 5" /> The site was appealing at least partly because it was located directly south of, and in view of, the [[White House]].<ref name="LOC" /> In 1901, the Senate Park Commission was established to create a plan for Washington, D.C.'s park system, later to become the [[McMillan Plan]].<ref name="Yarsinke pp. 5–6">{{harvnb|Yarsinke|2017|pages=5–6|ps=.}}</ref><ref name="Peterson2003">{{Cite book |last=Peterson |first=Jon A. |url=http://archive.org/details/birthofcityplann0000pete |title=The birth of city planning in the United States, 1840-1917 |date=2003 |publisher=Baltimore, Md. ; London : Johns Hopkins University Press |isbn=978-0-8018-7210-5 |pages=90-91 |url-access=registration}}</ref> The commission proposed building a [[Pantheon, Rome|Pantheon]]-like structure on the site to host "the statues of the illustrious men of the nation".<ref name="LOC" /><ref name="Yarsinke p. 6">{{harvnb|Yarsinke|2017|page=6|ps=.}}</ref> This structure, if built, would have been accompanied by six larger structures.<ref name="Yarsinke p. 6" /> Congress took no action on the commission's recommendation.<ref name="LOC" /><ref name="Yarsinke p. 6" />

The completion of the Tidal Basin Inlet Bridge in 1908 helped facilitate and expand recreational usage of East and West Potomac Parks. In 1918, large liquid chlorine dispensers were installed under the bridge to treat the water, which made the [[Tidal Basin]], also known as Twining Lake, suitable for swimming. The Tidal Basin Beach, on the site of the future Jefferson Memorial, opened in May 1918, operating as a [[Racial segregation in the United States|"Whites Only"]] facility until 1925, when it was permanently closed to avoid addressing the question of whether it should be racially integrated.<ref>{{Cite report |date=May 2, 1986 |author=KressCox Associates |title=Historical Structures Report: Tidal Basin Inlet Bridge, Washington, DC |url=http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/ncr/tidal_basin_hsr.pdf |access-date=April 30, 2023 |page=34|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223072356/http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/ncr/tidal_basin_hsr.pdf |archive-date=February 23, 2015 |via=National Park Service }}</ref> The same year, a design competition was held for a memorial to [[Theodore Roosevelt]]. The winning design, submitted by [[John Russell Pope]], consisted of a semicircular memorial situated next to a circular basin. Like the McMillan Plan, this was never funded by Congress or acted upon.<ref name = LOC/>

===1930s proposal===

==== Plans proceed ====
[[File:Thomas Jefferson in Jefferson Memorial.jpg|thumb|The Jefferson Memorial's interior]]
Another opportunity for the Jefferson Memorial's development emerged in 1934, when then President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], who came to admire Jefferson after reading a book on Jefferson by his friend [[Claude G. Bowers]], inquired with the [[United States Commission of Fine Arts|Commission of Fine Arts]] about erecting a memorial to Jefferson. Roosevelt included plans for the Jefferson Memorial in the [[Federal Triangle]] project, which was then under construction. Later the same year, [[John J. Boylan|Congressman John J. Boylan]] followed Roosevelt's lead, urging Congress to create the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Commission to explore the memorial's development.<ref name="LOC" /> 

The organization was established on April 12, 1935—the day before Jefferson's 192nd birthday—with Boylan as the Commission's first chairman.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |date=April 13, 1935 |title=Organizes to Plan Jefferson Honor; Group in Washington Forms Commission to Arrange for Great Memorial. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/04/13/archives/organizes-to-plan-jefferson-honor-group-in-washington-forms.html |access-date=November 12, 2025 |website=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="n184789614">{{Cite news |date=April 12, 1935 |title=Memorial Set to Jefferson |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-washington-herald-memorial-set-to-je/184789614/ |access-date=2025-11-12 |work=The Washington Herald |pages=5}}</ref> At the time, the Commission was tentatively considering a memorial building to Jefferson opposite the National Mall from the [[National Archives Building]], as well as a monument to Jefferson halfway between the two structures. In conjunction, the original manuscript of the [[United States Declaration of Independence]] was to be moved to a new monument in the National Archives Building, forming a straight line of three memorials.<ref name=":1" /><ref name="n184789477">{{Cite news |last=Kennedy |first=Will P. |date=April 11, 1935 |title=Thomas Jefferson Memorial Commission to Study Plans |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-star-thomas-jefferson-memorial-c/184789477/ |access-date=2025-11-12 |work=Evening Star |pages=7}}</ref> The Commission chose [[John Russell Pope]], the new National Archives Building's designer, as architect for the Jefferson Memorial.<ref name="LOC" />

Pope prepared four different plans for the project, each on a different site. One was on the [[Anacostia River]] at the end of [[East Capitol Street]]; one at [[Lincoln Park (Washington, D.C.)|Lincoln Park]]; one on the south side of the National Mall across from the [[National Archives and Records Administration|National Archives]] administration building; and one was situated on the Tidal Basin, directly south of the White House. The Commission preferred the site on the Tidal Basin mainly because it was the most prominent site of those proposed and completed the four-point plan called for by the McMillan Commission, which encompassed the region including the [[Lincoln Memorial]] to the Capitol and from the White House to the Tidal Basin site. Pope designed a large pantheon-like structure designed to be situated on a square platform, flanked by two smaller, rectangular, colonnaded buildings.<ref name="LOC" />

==== Funding and authorization ====
Pope had died in 1937 and his surviving partners, [[Eggers & Higgins|Daniel P. Higgins and Otto R. Eggers]], assumed leadership for the Jefferson Memorial's construction.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Thomas Jefferson Memorial—Presidents: A Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary |url=https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/presidents/thomas_jefferson_memorial.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430111402/http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/presidents/thomas_jefferson_memorial.html |archive-date=April 30, 2009 |access-date=November 1, 2019 |website=www.nps.gov}}</ref> The Thomas Jefferson Memorial Commission supported the pantheon-like structure, but the Commission of Fine Arts wanted the design to be "more open in character", with more horizontal design emphases and greater similarities to the White House.<ref name="p514567073">{{cite news |date=18 Apr 1938 |title=Sharp Difference of Opinion Seen on Jefferson Memorial: Proposed Jefferson Memorial |work=The Christian Science Monitor |page=6 |issn=0882-7729 |id={{ProQuest|514567073}}}}</ref> At the request of the Commission of Fine Arts, a slightly more conservative design for the memorial was agreed upon. The memorial's cost was approximately $3 million.<ref name=":0" /> Congress eventually appropriated this amount for the Jefferson Memorial,<ref name="LOC" /> including $500,000 in its deficiency bill of June 1938.<ref name="p151002894">{{cite news |date=19 June 1938 |title=D.C. to Start $43,000,000 Construction By January 1: Capital Labor May Earn $15,000,000 on Funds From Congress. $18,150,000 Now Sought From PWA Huge Buildings, Bridge, and Alley Housing to Be Sped. D.C. Will Start $43,000,000 Works by Jan. 1 Build |work=The Washington Post |page=1 |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|151002894}}}}</ref>

===Construction===
Construction proceeded amid some opposition. The Commission of Fine Arts never actually approved any design for the memorial and even published a pamphlet in 1939 opposing both the proposed design and site for the memorial. Additionally, some Washingtonians opposed the proposed location for it because it did not align with [[Pierre Charles L'Enfant|L'Enfant]]'s [[L'Enfant Plan|original plan]] for the city, and many established elm and [[West Potomac Park#Cherry trees|cherry trees]], including rare stock donated by [[Japan]] in 1912,<ref name="Hendrix30Mar" /> would be removed under the memorial's original plan. Construction continued amid the opposition,<ref name="LOC" /> which included women protestors chaining themselves to cherry trees around the construction site in November 1938.<ref>{{cite web |date=November 19, 1938 |title=Roosevelt Curbs Tree 'Rebellion'; Women Unchain Themselves From Trunks After Ultimatum From President |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/11/19/archives/roosevelt-curbs-tree-rebellion-women-unchain-themselves-from-trunks.html |access-date=November 11, 2025 |website=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="p1323348613">{{cite news |date=19 Nov 1938 |title=Women Ousted by Roosevelt in Trees Fray: Rebel Rickets Chain Selves to Cherry Trunks; Dare Workmen to Clear Area for Jefferson Memorial Opposition Formed |work=The Globe and Mail |page=9 |id={{pq|1323348613}}}}</ref>  Opposition to the memorial proved dismaying to Roosevelt, but the opposition diminished notably once revised plans identified a means for maintaining the surrounding cherry trees amidst the memorial's construction.<ref name="Hendrix30Mar">{{cite news|newspaper=The Washington Post|first=Steve|last=Hendrix|date=March 30, 2019|access-date=April 19, 2019|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/03/30/stop-massacre-when-women-chained-themselves-washingtons-cherry-trees/?noredirect=on |title= 'Stop the massacre!': When women chained themselves to Washington's cherry trees}}</ref>

Construction on the Jefferson Memorial began December 15, 1938.<ref name="p150934375">{{cite news |date=16 Dec 1938 |title=Cheers Greet Roosevelt at Memorial Site: Breaks Ground for the Jefferson Shrine; No Disorder Materializes Only Cheers Greet Roosevelt At Jefferson Shrine Exercises Shrine |work=The Washington Post |page=1 |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|150934375}}}}</ref> The [[cornerstone]], containing 15 volumes with all of Jefferson's publications,<ref name="p1287073978">{{cite news |date=12 Nov 1939 |title=The Jefferson Memorial Gets Its Cornerstone: Roosevelt Will Put It in Place on Wednesday in Ceremony at the Capital |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=A2 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1287073978}}}}</ref> was laid roughly eleven months later, on November 15, 1939, by Roosevelt himself.<ref name="p815739690">{{Cite news |last=Philpott |first=A. |date=16 Nov 1939 |title=Jefferson Memorial Will Resemble Roman Pantheon: Will Be Made of Vermont Marble, and Surrounded by Cherry Trees |work=Daily Boston Globe |page=15 |issn=0743-1791 |id={{Pq|815739690}}}}</ref><ref name="p515077396">{{cite news |date=15 Nov 1939 |title=President Lays Jefferson Memorial Cornerstone |work=The Christian Science Monitor |page=1 |issn=0882-7729 |id={{ProQuest|515077396}} |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> In 1939, the Memorial Commission hosted a competition to select a sculptor for the planned Jefferson statue to be placed in the center of the memorial. They received 101 entries and chose six finalists. Of the six, [[Rudulph Evans]] was chosen as the main sculptor, and [[Adolph Alexander Weinman|Adolph A. Weinman]] was chosen to sculpt the pediment relief situated above the memorial's entrance.<ref name="LOC" />

<gallery mode=packed heights=150>
File:Jefferson Memorial under construction LCCN2016877445.jpg|The Jefferson Memorial's construction as seen from across the left side of the Tidal Basin in 1940
File:Jefferson Memorial under construction.jpg|The Jefferson Memorial's construction as seen from the top of the [[Washington Monument]] in 1940
File:Jefferson Memorial taken May 15, 1941.jpg|The Jefferson Memorial's construction as seen from across the center of the [[Tidal Basin]] in May 1941
</gallery>

Landscape architect [[Frederick Law Olmsted Jr.]] designed the memorial landscape, which featured a simple design within a circular driveway including primarily [[Evergreen]] trees with limited flowering trees or shrubs. The design was perceived as too thin, so [[Pinus strobus|white pines]] and some other plantings were later added before the memorial's dedication in 1943. 

=== Opening and subsequent history ===
On April 13, 1943, the 200th anniversary of Jefferson's birthday, the Jefferson Memorial was officially dedicated and opened by Roosevelt.<ref name="p540989205">{{Cite news |last=Short |first=Joseph H. |date=14 Apr 1943 |title=President Dedicates Jefferson Memorial: Executive Predicts Today's Fight Against Will Bring Greater Freedom Than Before |work=The Baltimore Sun |page=1 |issn=1930-8965 |id={{ProQuest|540989205}}}}</ref> At the time, Evans' statue had not yet been finished due to material shortages that emerged during [[World War II]]. Instead, the memorial opened with a temporary plaster cast statue similar to the bronze statue that Evans completed four years later.<ref name="NYT c051">{{cite web |date=April 30, 1947 |title=Bronze Jefferson Placed in Capital; Huge Statue Rests in Memorial Facing White House From Across the Tidal Basin |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1947/04/30/archives/bronze-jefferson-placed-in-capital-huge-statue-rests-in-memorial.html |access-date=November 9, 2025 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> The statue's cast was developed by [[Roman Bronze Works]] in [[New York City]].<ref name="LOC" />  The statue was ultimately installed inside the memorial in April 1947.<ref name="NYT c051" /><ref name="p151934431">{{cite news |date=23 Apr 1947 |title=New Jefferson Statue Rolled Into Rotunda |work=The Washington Post |page=1 |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|151934431}}}}</ref> The ground around the monument began to visibly sag in the years after it was completed.<ref name="p152012965">{{cite news |date=20 Sep 1948 |title=Jefferson Memorial Land Sinks 2 Feet |work=The Washington Post |page=8 |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|152012965}}}}</ref>

In the 1970s, nearly three decades after the memorial's opening, additional changes to Olmsted's landscaping were implemented. But in 1993 and 2000, attempts to restore the integrity of Olmsted's initial design were made.<ref name="NPS">{{cite web |title=Thomas Jefferson Memorial Features |url=https://nps.gov/thje/learn/historyculture/memorialfeatures.htm |access-date=November 11, 2016 |work=[[National Park Service]]}}</ref> Roosevelt ordered trees be cut so that the Jefferson Memorial was clearly visible from the [[White House]]; additional tree [[pruning]] was also completed to create an unobstructed view between the Jefferson Memorial and [[Lincoln Memorial]].<ref name="NPS" />

By the 2000s, the grounds were sinking, and part of the seawall surrounding the monument was falling into the Tidal Basin, despite efforts over the years to shore up the monument.<ref name="Ruane i844">{{cite web |last=Ruane |first=Michael E. |date=June 16, 2007 |title=Jefferson Memorial's Signs of Sinking Raise Fresh Alarms |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/national/2007/06/16/jefferson-memorials-signs-of-sinking-raise-fresh-alarms/d4f1a0dd-fe47-42e7-85f3-f68198ca719b/ |access-date=November 12, 2025 |website=The Washington Post}}</ref> Water regularly flooded over the seawall at high tide by the 2020s, sometimes reaching the monument, prompting a reconstruction of the seawall.<ref>{{cite web |last=McGrath |first=Kaitlyn |date=March 12, 2025 |title=Tidal Basin Construction: How seawall reconstruction will impact cherry blossom season |url=https://www.wusa9.com/article/tech/science/environment/cherry-blossoms-dc-tidal-basin-peak-bloom/65-7f425b54-280b-41bc-9d44-a455f6f10101 |access-date=November 12, 2025 |website=wusa9.com}}</ref>

== Site<span class="anchor" id="Location"></span> ==
[[File:WasMonJeffersonMem.JPG|alt=Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial|thumb|The [[Washington Monument]] (left) and Jefferson Memorial (right) with the [[Tidal Basin]] in the foreground]]
The monument is located in [[West Potomac Park]] in [[Washington, D.C.]].<ref name="NPS p. 2">{{harvnb|National Park Service|1966|ps=.|page=2}}</ref> It sits on the shore of the [[Potomac River]]'s [[Tidal Basin]], which borders the monument to the west and north; ramps from the [[14th Street bridges|14th Street Bridges]] surround it on the other two sides.<ref name="NPS p. 2" /> Because the monument sits on filled land,<ref name="Yarsinke p. 5" /> it is supported by [[Deep foundation|deep foundations]] that extend {{Convert|90|ft}} deep.<ref name="p152012965" /> The park is enhanced with the massed planting of Japanese [[cherry blossom|cherry blossom trees]], which predated the memorial's construction and were a 1912 gift from the people of [[Japan]].<ref name="CherryBlossoms">{{cite web |title=Cherry Blossom History |url=http://www.nps.gov/nama/planyourvisit/cherry-blossom-history.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070207121237/http://www.nps.gov/nama/planyourvisit/cherry-blossom-history.htm |archive-date=February 7, 2007 |access-date=January 13, 2009 |publisher=[[National Park Service]]}}</ref> 

The Jefferson Memorial is located exactly south of the [[White House]].<ref name="NPS p. 2" /><ref name="p559783563">{{cite news |date=13 Apr 1943 |title=New Jefferson Memorial Completes Group of Washington Monuments |work=The Hartford Courant |page=5 |issn=1047-4153 |id={{ProQuest|559783563}}}}</ref> The north–south axis through the Jefferson Memorial and White House, and the west–east axis through the [[Lincoln Memorial]] and [[National Mall]], were originally intended to converge at the [[Washington Monument]]. The Washington Monument was built farther east because the ground at that location was deemed too soft and swampy.<ref>{{citation |last=Torres |first=Louis |title="To the immortal name and memory of George Washington": The United States Army Corps of Engineers and the Construction of the Washington Monument |year=1984 |url=https://www.publications.usace.army.mil/Portals/76/Publications/EngineerPamphlets/EP_870-1-21.pdf |access-date=April 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624020048/http://www.publications.usace.army.mil/Portals/76/Publications/EngineerPamphlets/EP_870-1-21.pdf |archive-date=June 24, 2016 |url-status=live |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=US Government Printing Office}}</ref> The Jefferson Memorial also lies approximately on the same axis as [[Maryland Avenue (Washington, D.C.)|Maryland Avenue]] across the Tidal Basin, which continues northeast.<ref name="NPS p. 2" />

Although the Jefferson Memorial is geographically removed from other buildings and monuments in Washington, D.C., the [[National Mall]], and [[Washington Metro]], the memorial plays host to many events and ceremonies each year, including memorial exercises, the Easter Sunrise Service, and the annual [[National Cherry Blossom Festival]], and ranks highly among destinations for visitors to the city each year.<ref name="CherryBlossoms" />

== Description and features ==

===Exterior===
[[File:Thomas-jefferson-memorial-front-view.jpg|thumb|The monument's marble steps, portico, circular colonnade of [[ionic order]] columns, and shallow dome]]
The Jefferson Memorial is composed of circular marble steps, a [[portico]], a circular colonnade of [[Ionic order]] columns, and a shallow [[dome]]. The building is open to the elements. It has a diameter of approximately {{convert|165|ft|-1}}.<ref name=":0" /> Each of the 26 columns is {{convert|14|ft}} high and measures {{Convert|5|ft|3|in}} in diameter.<ref name="p559783563" /> The [[Bay (architecture)|bays]] between each column are {{Convert|6+3/4|ft}} wide.<ref name="p151934431" />

The memorial is constructed with white Imperial [[Dorset Mountain|Danby marble]] taken from [[Vermont]],<ref name="p559783563" /> which rests on a series of granite and marble-stepped terraces. A flight of granite and marble stairs and platforms, flanked by granite buttresses, leads up to the memorial from the Tidal Basin to a portico with a triangular [[pediment]]. The front of the portico is seven bays wide (interspersed between eight columns), while the sides are two bays wide.<ref name="p559783563" />

The pediment features a sculpture by [[Adolph Alexander Weinman]] depicting the [[Committee of Five]], the five members of the committee charged with drafting the [[United States Declaration of Independence|U.S. Declaration of Independence]]. In addition to Jefferson, who was the primary author, committee members included [[John Adams]], [[Benjamin Franklin]], [[Robert R. Livingston]], and [[Roger Sherman]]. A [[cornice]] with an egg and dart molding surrounds this pediment, and below that is a plain [[frieze]].<ref name = NPS />

===Interior===
[[File:Jefferson Memorial with Declaration preamble.jpg|thumb|[[Rudulph Evans]]'s statue of [[Thomas Jefferson]] in front of excerpts from the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], a document Jefferson principally authored and which historian [[Joseph Ellis]] has described as "the most potent and consequential words in U.S history."<ref name="American Creation">{{cite book | author-link=Joseph Ellis | first=Joseph | last=Ellis | title=American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic | location=New York | publisher=Knopf | date=2007 | isbn=978-0-307-26369-8 | pages=55–56}}</ref>]]

The memorial's interior is made of Georgia white marble.<ref name="p559783563" /> It has a {{convert|19|ft}} tall, {{cvt|10000|lb|-2}} [[bronze]] statue<ref name = sculptor>No Author. "Model of building for Jefferson Memorial." ''New York Times''. March 7, 1943, 13-13. Retrieved October 7, 2008</ref> of Jefferson developed by sculptor [[Rudulph Evans]].<ref name="sculptor" /> The statue was added four years after the dedication. Among many Jefferson quotes inside the memorial, one of the most prominently situated are those inscribed in the frieze below the dome: "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."<ref>[http://www.playboy.com/playground/view/playboy-interview-stephen-colbert ''interview''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628110026/http://www.playboy.com/playground/view/playboy-interview-stephen-colbert |date=June 28, 2014 }} October 16, 2012, with [[Stephen Colbert]], ''[[Playboy.com]]''</ref> This sentence is taken from a letter written by Jefferson on September 23, 1800,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/P/tj3/writings/brf/jefl134.htm |title=From Revolution to Reconstruction: Presidents: Thomas Jefferson: Letters: I HAVE SWORN UPON THE ALTAR OF GOD |access-date=August 2, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061210083019/http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/P/tj3/writings/brf/jefl134.htm |archive-date=December 10, 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> to [[Benjamin Rush]] in which Jefferson defends the constitutional refusal to recognize a state religion.

A lower level of the structure contains a gift shop and a museum focusing on Jefferson's life and political career.

==== Inscribed panels ====
Four panels in the memorial bear inscribed quotations.<ref name="p559783563" /> On the panel of the southwest interior wall are excerpts from the [[United States Declaration of Independence]]:<ref name="JMMonticello">{{cite web|title=Quotations on the Jefferson Memorial|url=http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/quotations-jefferson-memorial|work=Thomas Jefferson's Monticello|publisher=monticello.org|access-date=August 11, 2012}}</ref>

<blockquote>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.</blockquote>

The inscription uses the word "[[wikt:inalienable|''in''alienable]]", as appears in Jefferson's draft rather than "[[wikt:unalienable|''un''alienable]]" as ultimately appeared in the final Declaration.<ref>{{cite web|title=Unalienable / Inalienable |url=http://www.ushistory.org/DECLARATION/unalienable.htm |publisher=ushistory.org |access-date=August 11, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002143731/http://www.ushistory.org/DECLARATION/unalienable.htm |archive-date= October 2, 2012 }}</ref>

[[File: USA - Thomas Jefferson Memorial.JPG|thumb|The interior columns and walls]]
On the panel of the northwest interior wall is a quote from the 1777 [[Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom]], which excludes the quote's final sentence and is taken from an August 28, 1789, letter Jefferson wrote to [[James Madison]]:<ref name="JMMonticello" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Jefferson|first=Thomas|title=The Works of Thomas Jefferson|volume=5|chapter=TO JAMES MADISON 1, Aug. 28, 1789 |year=1904–1905 |publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons|location=New York and London|url=http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=802&chapter=86730&layout=html&Itemid=27|edition=Federal|editor=Paul Leicester Ford |access-date=August 11, 2012}}</ref>

<blockquote>Almighty God hath created the mind free...All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens...are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion...No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship or ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion. I know but one code of morality for men whether acting singly or collectively.</blockquote>

The Jefferson quotes from the panel on the northeast interior wall come from multiple sources. The first, which begins "God who gave us life gave us liberty" is from ''[[A Summary View of the Rights of British America]]''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Jefferson|first=Thomas|title=The Writings of Thomas Jefferson|volume=1|year=1905|pages=211|editor=Andrew A. Lipscomb and Albert Ellery Bergh}}</ref> The second, third, and fourth sentences are from ''[[Notes on the State of Virginia]]''.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Works of Thomas Jefferson|volume=4, Notes On Virginia, QUERY XVIII, The particular customs and manners that may happen to be received in that State?|year=1904–1905|pages=82–84|publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons|location=New York and London|url=http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=756&layout=html#chapter_86252|editor=Paul Leicester Ford|access-date=August 11, 2012|archive-date=May 16, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100516080029/http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle%3D756&layout=html#chapter_86252|url-status=dead}}</ref> The fifth quote, which begins "Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than that these people are to be free" is from Jefferson's autobiography.<ref>{{cite book|last=Jefferson|first=Thomas|title=The Works of Thomas Jefferson|volume=1|chapter=AUTOBIOGRAPHY 1743–1790 |year=1904–1905 |pages=77|publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons|location=New York and London|url=http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=800&chapter=85776&layout=html#a_1984157|edition=Federal |editor=Paul Leicester Ford |access-date=August 11, 2012}}</ref> The sixth sentence, beginning "Establish the law...", is from a letter of August 13, 1786, to [[George Wythe]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Jefferson |first=Thomas |title=Letter Wythe "A CRUSADE AGAINST IGNORANCE" To George Wythe Paris, August 13, 1786 1786081 |url=http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=JefLett.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=47&division=div1 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121215111015/http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=JefLett.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=47&division=div1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 15, 2012 |publisher=Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library |access-date=August 11, 2012 }}</ref> The final sentence is from a letter of January 4, 1786, to [[George Washington]]:<ref name="JMMonticello" /><ref>{{cite web|last=Jefferson|first=Thomas|title=Thomas Jefferson letter to George Washington, 4 January 1786|url=http://www.familytales.org/dbDisplay.php?id=ltr_thj1489|publisher=FamilyTales|access-date=August 11, 2012|archive-date=April 10, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140410122105/http://www.familytales.org/dbDisplay.php?id=ltr_thj1489|url-status=dead}}</ref>

<blockquote>God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever. Commerce between master and slave is despotism. Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than these people are to be free. Establish the law for educating the common people. This it is the business of the state to effect and on a general plan.</blockquote>

The inscription on the panel of the southeast interior wall is excerpted from Jefferson's July 12, 1816, letter to [[Samuel Kercheval]]:<ref name="JMMonticello" /><ref>Jefferson, Thomas [http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=459 Teaching American History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502174743/http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=459 |date=May 2, 2013 }}, ''Teaching American History''</ref>

<blockquote>I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.</blockquote>

== Awards and landmark designations ==
In 1944, Eggers & Higgins received the Biennial Certificate of Merit for their work on the Jefferson Memorial.<ref>{{cite web |date=March 16, 1944 |title=Architects Get Award; Eggers & Higgins, Who Finished Jefferson Memorial, Honored |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1944/03/16/archives/architects-get-award-eggers-higgins-who-finished-jefferson-memorial.html |access-date=November 9, 2025 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> On October 15, 1966, in recognition of the Jefferson Memorial's historical and artistic significance, the Jefferson Memorial was named to the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris" /><ref name="nrhpinv2">{{Cite web |author=Donald C. Pfanz |date=January 12, 1981 |title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Thomas Jefferson Memorial |url={{NRHP url|id=66000029}} |publisher=National Park Service}}</ref> In 2007, it ranked fourth on the "[[America's Favorite Architecture|list of America's favorite architecture]]", published by the [[American Institute of Architects]].<ref>[https://www.npr.org/documents/2007/feb/buildings/150buildings.pdf America's Favorite Architecture.] [http://www.aia.org/ American Institute of Architecture.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508072810/http://www.aia.org/|date=May 8, 2015}}. Retrieved October 14, 2008</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center" caption="Exterior details" heights=120 widths=120>
File:Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC 2012.JPG|Pediment, with an [[Adolph Alexander Weinman]] sculpture of the [[Committee of Five]]
File:Thomas-jefferson-memorial-portico-celing.jpg|Portico ceiling
File:Thomas-jefferson-memorial-sculpture-dome.jpg|Bronze statue and dome ceiling
File:Thomas-jefferson-memorial-dome-interior.jpg|Dome ceiling and frieze
File:Thomas-jefferson-memorial-column-top.jpg|Exterior columns
</gallery>

<gallery class="center" caption="Interior details" heights=120 widths=120>
File:Jefferson statue.JPG|Detail of the statue's head
File:"We Hold These Truths" at Jefferson Memorial IMG_4729.JPG|"We Hold These Truths"
File:"God who gave us life" at Jefferson Memorial IMG_4728.JPG|"God Who Gave Us Life"
File:"I Am Not an Advocate for Frequent Changes . . ." at Jefferson Memorial.jpg|"I Am Not an Advocate for Frequent Changes..."
File:"Almighty God as Created the Mind Free . . ." at Jefferson Memorial.jpg|"Almighty God Hath Created the Mind Free..."
</gallery>

<gallery class="center" caption="Views of the Memorial" heights=120 widths=120>
File:JeffersonMemorial.jpg|Jefferson Memorial with the [[Washington Monument]] in background
File:Clouds over the Jefferson Memorial and the Tidal Basin, March 2016.jpg|[[Tidal Basin]] view in March 2016
File:JeffersonMemorialNE.jpg|Jefferson Memorial looking Northeast
File:JeffersonMemorialNight.jpg|Jefferson Memorial at night
File:JeffersonMemorialNorth.jpg|Jefferson Memorial looking North
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|United States|Architecture|National Register of Historic Places}}
* [[Adams Memorial]] (proposed)
* [[Architecture of Washington, D.C.]]
* {{anl|Benjamin Franklin National Memorial}}
* {{anl|George Mason Memorial}}
* {{anl|James Madison Memorial Building}}
* [[List of national memorials of the United States]]
* [[List of sculptures of presidents of the United States]]
* [[List of statues of Thomas Jefferson]]
* {{anl|Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence}}
* {{anl|Monticello}}
* [[Presidential memorials in the United States]]
* {{anl|Washington Monument}}

==References==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}
{{NPS|title=Thomas Jefferson Memorial Features|url=https://www.nps.gov/thje/learn/historyculture/MemorialFeatures.htm}}

=== Bibliography ===
* {{Cite book |last=Goode |first=James M. |url=http://archive.org/details/outdoorsculpture1974good_p0x0 |title=The outdoor sculpture of Washington, D.C. : a comprehensive historical guide |date=1974 |publisher=Washington : Smithsonian Institution Press [distributed by G. Braziller] |isbn=978-0-87474-138-4 |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite report |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/9de39bc1-a695-4052-968d-97b45e54feb1 |title=Historic Structures Report: Thomas Jefferson Memorial |date=October 15, 1966 |publisher=[[National Register of Historic Places]], [[National Park Service]] |ref={{harvid|National Park Service|1966}}}}
* {{cite book |last=Yarsinske |first=Amy Waters |url=https://archive.org/details/jeffersonmemoria0000yars |title=The Jefferson Memorial Through Time |publisher=Fonthill Media LLC |isbn=978-1-63500-049-8 |url-access=registration |year=2017}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book |last=Bedford |first=Steven |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/John_Russell_Pope.html?id=RNtPAAAAMAAJ&source=kp_book_description |title=John Russell Pope: Architect of Empire |date=1998 |publisher=Rizzoli |isbn=978-0-8478-2086-3 |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last=Ferry |first=Joseph |url=https://archive.org/details/jeffersonmemoria00ferr |title=Jefferson Memorial: A Monument to Greatness |date=2003 |publisher=Mason Crest Publishers |isbn=978-1-4222-8748-4 |url-access=subscription}}
* {{cite book |author1=United States National Park Service Office of Public Affairs |title=The National parks : index 2001-2003 |author2=United States National Park Service Division of Publications |publisher=U.S. Dept. of the Interior : For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O. |year=2001 |publication-place=Washington, D.C. |oclc=53228516}}

==External links==
{{Commons and category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110611032535/http://www.nationalmall.org/sites-subpage-jefferson.php Trust for the National Mall: Thomas Jefferson Memorial]
* Official NPS website: [https://www.nps.gov/thje/ Thomas Jefferson Memorial]
* [http://libertyonline.hypermall.com/Jefferson/Autobiography.html "Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate..."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422040714/http://libertyonline.hypermall.com/Jefferson/Autobiography.html |date=April 22, 2021 }} in its original context
* [http://www.sight3d.com/sights/Jefferson-Memorial Three-dimensional rendering of Jefferson Memorial] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120080439/http://www.sight3d.com/sights/Jefferson-Memorial |date=January 20, 2012 }} (without plugin; in English, Spanish, German)
* [http://www.american-history-fun-facts.com/jefferson-memorial-history.html/ Jefferson Memorial History and Fun Facts]

{{Thomas Jefferson}}
{{Washington DC landmarks}}
{{Protected Areas of the District of Columbia}}
{{John Adams}}
{{Benjamin Franklin}}
{{Robert Livingston}}
{{Roger Sherman}}
{{Adolph Weinman}}
{{Franklin D. Roosevelt}}
{{Registered Historic Places}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:1943 establishments in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:1947 sculptures]]
[[Category:John Adams]]
[[Category:Artworks in the collection of the National Park Service]]
[[Category:Bronze sculptures in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1943]]
[[Category:Domes]]
[[Category:Benjamin Franklin]]
[[Category:Jeffersonian democracy]]
[[Category:John Russell Pope buildings]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials to Thomas Jefferson]]
[[Category:National Mall and Memorial Parks]]
[[Category:National memorials of the United States]]
[[Category:National Park Service areas in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Neoclassical architecture in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Southwest (Washington, D.C.)]]
[[Category:Statues of Thomas Jefferson]]
[[Category:United States Declaration of Independence in art]]
[[Category:Sculptures by Adolph Alexander Weinman]]