Page 88 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Washington, DC

86  W ASHINGT ON , DC AREA B Y AREA

s Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial

Franklin Roosevelt once told Supreme Court Justice
Felix Frankfurter, “If they are to put up any mem­
orial to me, I should like it to be placed in the center
of that green plot in front of the Archives Building.
I should like it to consist of a block about the size
of this,” pointing to his desk. It took more than 50
years for a fitting monument to be erected, but
Roosevelt’s request for modesty was not heeded.
Opened in 1997, this memorial is a mammoth
park of four granite open­air rooms, one for each
of Roosevelt’s terms, with statuary and waterfalls. The statue of Roosevelt by Neil Estern, is one
The president, a polio sufferer, is portrayed in a of the memorial’s most controversial elements
chair, with his dog Fala by his side. as it shows the disabled president sitting in a
wheelchair hidden by his Navy cape.

A relief of Roosevelt’s
funeral cortège was
carved into the granite
wall by artist Leonard
Baskin. It depicts the
coffin on a horse-drawn
cart, followed by the
crowds of mourners
walking behind.

KEY
1 The fourth room honors
Roosevelt’s life and legacy. A
statue of his wife, Eleanor, stands
in this room.
2 Third room
3 Second room
Dramatic
4 The first room commemorates waterfalls cascade
FDR’s first term and includes a bas- into a series of
relief of his inaugural parade.
pools in the fourth
5 The Visitor Center includes an room. The water
information area and a bookstore. reflects the peace
The wheelchair that FDR used after that Roosevelt was
he had polio is also on display. so keen to achieve
before his death.

086-087_EW_Washington.indd 86 04/04/17 2:39 pm
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Starsight template “UK” LAYER
(Source v1.8)
Date 23rd July 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm