About

Designed by Lawrence Halprin in 1978, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Memorial was built to honor the 32nd president of the United States. The monument is divided into four outdoor “rooms,” signifying FDR’s four terms in office. Sprawling over seven acres, the memorial features 21 FDR quotes, along with accompanying statues and murals representing major events during Roosevelt’s four terms, including World War II and the Great Depression. The structure is made out of red South Dakota granite and was the first memorial built to be wheelchair accessible. It is also the only Presidential memorial to include a First Lady; a bronze statue of Eleanor Roosevelt stands beside the United Nations emblem. The National Park Service estimates that 2.8 million people visit the monument per year.

History

The memorial honors Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s presidency, which lasted four terms between from 1933 to his death in 1945. FDR led the nation through a worldwide economic depression and the Second World War, and was the only American president to be elected to more than two terms. Roosevelt once joked to his friend, Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, that if Congress ever made a monument for him, he would like it to be no larger than the size of his desk and placed in front of the National Archives. Obliging this request, Congress placed a desk size stone and a plaque in honor of FDR in that exact location. However, a few years later, Congress decided that this was not enough of a tribute and selected a location in West Potomac Park along the Tidal Basin for a much larger monument. The design of the memorial was chosen in 1978, and it opened to the public in 1997 after a dedication ceremony led by President Bill Clinton.

Experience

The FDR Memorial is free and open to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Park Rangers are on duty to answer questions from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. daily. Interpretive programs are provided every hour on the hour from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.