Washington D.C. Monuments and Memorials

Our leaders in Washington have a long-standing habit of paying tangible tribute to presidents, soldiers, scientists, civic leaders, war, peace, and just about anything else they think might have figured significantly in the history of our country. As a consequence Washington DC is chock full of monuments and memorials and statues, which makes it a photographer's paradise. FYI, a MONUMENT is a structure or statue built to honor some special event or notable person, while a MEMORIAL is a structure or statue built to preserve the memory of a person or persons who perished in some significant event (or who just died, period). The difference seems pretty thin to me. Seems like the Washington Monument could just as easily be the Washington Memorial. Just sayin. This is a long tour that includes the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Word War II Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, District of Columbia War Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, Martin Luther King Memorial, National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Arts of War and Arts of Peace Sculptures, and the Second Division Memorial.

Washington Monument

First stop is the Washington Monument. I don't recall ever being inside the Monument; seems like it's always closed for repairs whenever I'm there. However, I do have lots of photos from the outside. It's easy to tell the difference between film and digital in these photos.

Washington Monument 1995

Washington Monument at night Dec 1994

Sunny day

Cloudy day

Washington Monument
View from far end of Reflecting Pool

Washington Monument
and World War II Memorial

Washington Monument
View from Constitution Gardens

Washington Monument
View from across the Tidal Basin

Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial
and Reflecting Pool

Mallards on Reflecting Pool

Lincoln Memorial

Memorial frieze with names of the 36 states in the Union at the time of Lincoln's death

Lincoln quotes on Union

Gettysburg Address

Statue of Abraham Lincoln in the central chamber of the Memorial

Abraham Lincoln

"Old Abe"

Lincoln Memorial - The doorway below and to the left of the stairs leads to an anteroom with lots of Lincoln quotes on the walls

Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial
View from far end of Reflecting Pool

World War II Memorial

I took this series of photos not too long after Veterans Day in 2017. There were still a lot of wreaths at the military memorials.

World War II Memorial

World War II Memorial
Atlantic Side

State and Territory Pillars

Pacific Side

Atlantic Side

World War II Memorial

Atlantic

Pacific

Nice Photo

Coast Guard Wreath

Navy Wreath

Marine Corps Wreath

Army Wreath

Air Force Wreath

Quote from President Truman

World War II Memorial

Korean War Veterans Memorial

The Memorial was dedicated on July 27, 1995 and is in the form of a triangle that intersects a circle. There is a shallow pool called "The Pool of Remberance" in the middle of the circle, and unfortunately I don't have a singe photo of it. I actually didn't do a very good job of photographing this Memorial. Maybe next time. One of the walls of the triangle is a Mural Wall that has 2500 photographic images sandblasted into polished black granite. This is a really freaky Memorial because of the platoon of 19 ghostly white stainless steel soldiers in the triangle, many of whom have kind of a "thousand yard stare".

Korean War Veterans Memorial

Stainless Steel Platoon

Photographic images in the Mural Wall

Korean War Veterans Memorial

Mural Wall images

Korean War Veterans Memorial

Soldiers behind memorial wreaths

Steel soldiers

More steel soldiers

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial consists of 3 parts; the Memorial Wall, a sculpture called "The Three Servicemen" (aka "The Three Soldiers"), and the Vietnam Women's Memorial. The most famous of the three is the Memorial Wall which consists of two long, polished black granite walls set at 125° to each other and etched with the names of service men and women who died in the Vietnam war. It was designed by Maya Lin and completed in 1982.

"The Three Soldiers"
by Frederick Hart

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Flowers and mementos left at the Wall
Visitors reflected in the Wall

Memorial Wall

Wreaths along the Memorial Wall

Letters and mementos left at the Wall

9th and 47th Infantry Divisions Wreath

First Cavalry Division Wreath

Names inscribed on the Wall

Vietnam Women's Memorial
by Glenna Goodacre

District of Columbia War Memorial

DC War Memorial

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

Contruction of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial was started in 1939 and finished in 1943. The bronze statue of Jefferson by Rudulph Evans was installed in 1947. The statue is 19 feet high and weighs 5 tons. The basement of the memorial contains portraits and busts of Jefferson as well as several Jefferson quotes.

Rear of Thomas Jefferson Memorial

Front of Thomas Jefferson Memorial

Thomas Jefferson Memorial
View form MLK Memorial

Portico of Jefferson Memorial

Memorial Entrance

Dome Interior

Jefferson Statue

Thomas Jefferson

Jefferson Exhibits

Bust of Jefferson

Jefferson Exhibits

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

I have to say this is my favorite Memorial in DC. The Memorial is immense, covering 7.5 acres along the Tidal Basin. It depicts events from the 12 years of FDR's presidency in four outdoor rooms, one for each of the President's 4 terms in office. The Memorial, designed by Lawrence Halprin, is an artistic combination of water, stone, and sculpture.

FDR Memorial

Mr. Roosevelt
Prologue Room

The New Deal

Waterfall representing The Great Depression

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself"
First Term Room

"Breadline" by George Segal
Second Term Room

"Breadline"
by George Segal

"Social Programs"
Second Term Room

President Roosevelt and his dog Fala
Third Term Room

Water feature suggesting the violence of World War II
Third Term Room

Eleanor Roosevelt - The only first lady to be included in a presidential memorial
Fourth Term Room

Water and Stone

"The Four Freedoms"

Martin Luther King Memorial

The Martin Luther King Memorial, located on the Tidal Basin next to the FDR Memorial, opened on August 22, 2011. When entering the Memorial, visitors pass through two huge granite pieces known as the "Mountain of Despair" onto the 30 foot statue of Martin Luther King called the "Stone of Hope". This symbolism is taken from the line, "Out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope" in King's "I have a dream" speech.

Entrance to Martin Luther King Memorial

Visitors passing through
the "Mountain of Despair"

"Mountain of Despair"
and "Stone of Hope"

"The Stone of Hope
by Lei Yixin

Martin Luther King Memorial

Inscription wall containing excerpts from MLK's sermons and speeches

MLK quote
Alabama 1963

MLK quote
Norway 1964

MLK quote
1963

National Museum of African American History and Culture

I never got tickets to get into the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Since I only have a few photos of the exterior, I though it might be nice to place this section after the Martin Luther King Memorial, even though it's not a monument.

What the sign says

National Museum of African American History and Culture

U.S. Department of Commerce (left)
African American History Museum (right)

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Miscellaneous Monuments and Memorials

The Arts of War and Arts of Peace are bronze statue groups that were installed in 1951. The Arts of War were sculpted by Leo Friedlander and consist of two pieces, "Valor" and "Sacrifice" at the entrance to the Arlington Memorial Bridge. The Arts of Peace were sculpted by James Earle Fraser and also consist ot two pieces, "Music and Harvest" and "Aspiration and Literature". These are located at the entrance to the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway.