President Roosevelt Lays Cornerstone for Jefferson Memorial (1939)
On November 15, 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt laid the cornerstone for the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C.
Roosevelt highly regarded Thomas Jefferson and wanted to build a memorial much like the Lincoln Memorial to honor him. Jefferson, the main author of the Declaration of Independence, 3rd U.S. President, Governor of Virginia, and founder of the University of Virginia, among many other accomplishments, was a founding father in the birth of the United States.
Architect, John Russel Pope, was hired to design the Memorial. Construction of the Memorial began in December 1938, and on this day, November 15, 1939, President Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the Memorial. The Memorial was completed in 1943.
The Jefferson Memorial is located on the south side of the Tidal Basin in Washington D.C. It stands as a symbol of liberty, represents one of the founding fathers of the United States, and is one of the most photographic monuments in the city.
Today, the Memorial is managed by the National Park Service as part of the National Mall and division of Memorial Parks.