On the eve of the presidential election in the United States, contested by the Democratic vice-president, Kamala Harris, and the Republican and former president Donald Trump, attention is focused on the American capital, Washington, DC. The winner will occupy the White House, one of the most important monuments in the city.
In addition to the Oval Office, the legacy of American presidents is remembered in several historic landmarks in the District of Columbia. See which presidents have already been honored in monuments in the capital:
Washington Monument
The monument created in honor of the first president of the United States, George Washington, is located in the center of the American capital and was completed in 1884. It was built to be “incomparable to any other building”, and, at the time, it was considered the tallest building in the world, almost 170 meters high.
In the shape of an obelisk, the monument recalls George Washington’s role as one of the “founding fathers” of the USA. According to the National Park Service, “The Washington Monument rises above the city that bears his name, serving as an inspiring reminder of George Washington’s greatness. The monument, like the man, is not in anyone’s shadow.”
The building was one of the structures damaged when a 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck Washington DC in August 2011. Visitors inside the obelisk were slightly injured by rocks and shrapnel. Since then, the Washington Monument has undergone a restoration process.
The first US president also named the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Known as “America’s first modern highway,” the road connected George Washington’s home at Mount Vernon to Washington, D.C. Today, the highway stretches 25 miles.
Thomas Jefferson Memorial
Another “founding father” of the United States honored in a historical monument in the American capital is Thomas Jefferson, the country’s third president. The building was dedicated to him in 1943, by decision of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
The monument was inspired by Jefferson, who was an architecture student,’s appreciation for the classical style. The building is perfectly aligned with the White House and overlooks other historic landmarks in the capital.
The walls were engraved with some of the most important texts written by Thomas Jefferson.
Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial overlooks the Capitol and is one of the most famous landmarks in the District of Columbia. The monument was completed in 1922, and since then, millions of people climb the building’s steps every year to see the statue of the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln.
The statue, made by sculptor Daniel Chester French, features a symbol that appears in several details of the memorial’s construction. The calls fascisesa Latin word, is a bundle of wooden sticks and an ax tied by leather straps, and represents union.
In the famous sculpture, Lincoln’s hands rest on two fasciseswith the aim of remembering the president’s role in maintaining the union of the American states during the Civil War, in the 1860s.
Theodore Roosevelt Island
Formerly known as Mason Island, the island surrounded by the Potomac River is currently named after the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt.
Landscapers in the 1930s designed a forest to cover abandoned farmland, in honor of Roosevelt’s legacy as a conservationist. The aim was to imitate the island’s original forest.
In addition to his name, Roosevelt is also honored with a 17-meter statue in a square in the center of the territory.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial retells the story of the 32nd president of the United States, who led the country through the Great Depression and World War II. The monument was dedicated to Roosevelt in 1997 by President Bill Clinton.
The memorial consists of four rooms, one for each FDR term. The space recalls the New Deal measures, which were implemented by the Democrat, the speech “I hate war”, proclaimed by Roosevelt during the Holocaust, until his death, which interrupted his fourth term.
Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial
The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial is surrounded by institutions that the 34th US president was close to, such as the Department of Education, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services. The location was chosen to represent Eisenhower’s efforts to develop the country’s infrastructure.
The monument is one of the most recent to honor an American president, having been inaugurated in 2020.
The sculptures represent Eisenhower as a general and as head of state. A tapestry also recalls the president’s victory against the Axis as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in World War II, during D-Day, in Normandy.
Lyndon B. Johnson Memorial Grove
Located on an island in the Potomac River, between Washington DC and the state of Virginia, the forest with hundreds of pine trees was dedicated to the 36th American president, Lyndon B. Johnson.
During his presidency, Johnson and then-first lady Claudia Alta “Lady Bird Johnson” often visited the site to admire the views of the river and the Washington Monument.
Today, a 5.7-meter-high, 43-ton monolith is the centerpiece of the memorial grove.
This content was originally published in Who are the US presidents honored in the capital’s monuments? on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
