Free previewStop 8 of National Mall Walking Tour
Chained to the Cherry Trees
You're standing at the Jefferson Memorial on the Tidal Basin, directly south of the White House. Look at the shallow white dome and the ring of columns beneath it. Then look between the columns, to the bronze figure standing alone in the center. That's Thomas Jefferson. Now look at the cherry trees along the water's edge, because they are the heart of this story.
In 1934, Franklin Roosevelt read a book about Jefferson by Claude Bowers and asked about erecting a memorial. The architect was John Russell Pope, who had also designed the National Archives. Pope borrowed from the ancient Pantheon in Rome and from the rotunda Jefferson himself designed for the University of Virginia. So you're looking at a Roman temple filtered through Jefferson's own taste.
But the site was the problem.
That's the opening. The rest plays at stop 8 of National Mall Walking Tour (3 min in all). Unlock the tour to hear it all, or try stop 1 free first.
