The DC Traveler

Monument Monday - The FDR Memorial

by Jon on November 26th, 2007

America’s 32nd and only 4 term President (1933-45), Franklin Delano Roosevelt led the nation out of the Great Depression and through most of World War II.

Growing up in upstate New York, FDR won a seat on the New York State Senate and later was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913.

In 1920, he ran for Vice President with Ohio Governor and Presidential hopeful James Cox, but was crushed by Republican Warren Harding.  

The following year, while on vacation he became ill from polio, resulting in permanent paralysis from the waist down, leaving him almost incapable of walking unaided. Years later while President, he helped found the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, now called The March of Dimes.

By 1928, feeling much recovered, he ran and won the New York Governors race, and then won a second term.

In 1932,  he ran for President on a “New Deal” platform pledging to end the Great Depression and unseated incumbent President Herbert Hoover.

At that time, 1 in 4 Americans were out of work and FDR blamed the crisis on banker’s greed which led to runs on the banks. In his inaugural address he used the now famous phrase “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” and pledged to start government programs to get people back to work. 

Economic relief measures included passing new legislation controlling business and forming multiple agencies designed to “prime the pump” (deficit spending) by creating jobs through public works projects. New agencies popped up across the nation including the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Public Works Administration, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which when combined put millions of Americans back to work, but also doubled the national debt.  But unemployment rates dropped from just under 25% in 1933, to less than 10% immediately before America entered World War II when millions of American men were drafted into the Armed Services.

Roosevelt won a second term with 60% of the popular vote in 1936. Four years later, he won an unprecedented 3rd term, during which World War II took up most of his and the nation’s attention. 

In 1944, he won his fourth term. at that time, there was no limit to the number of terms a President could hold, only a silent acceptance that a President would step down after his second term.  In poor health by this time, he died on April 12, 1945 after suffering a massive brain hemorrhage while on vacation in Georgia.   

Dedicated in 1997, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial was designed by Lawrence Halprin and is spread over 7½ acres. It’s one of the most elaborate memorials in terms of space use, concept and message.

The memorial honors one of America’s greatest Presidents across four unique rooms or areas, each depicting a different periods in Roosevelt’s Presidency. Using statues, reflecting moments in time, famous FDR quotes, open space and five waterfalls, the space tells the historical story, of each of FDR’s terms in office, from the depression to the New Deal and economic recovery, through World War II and ending at Roosevelt’s death in 1945. 

Some of the many statues include one of his wife, Eleanor, The Breadline (the most popular photo op), The Fireside Chat depicting an American listing to one of FRD’s many radio broadcasts, one of FRD with his dog Fala, and another in his wheelchair.

More than 20 of his quotes are inscribed throughout the memorial.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
Between Ohio Drive, SW and the Tidal Basin, between East and West Basin Dr. SE
Washington, DC,  (map it)

Dates and Times - open daily.

Tickets - Free, tickets are not required.

Nearest Metro Subway Station - Smithsonian, Blue and Orange lines, then a 10 block walk.

Parking - Street parking is available, but limited.

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