WASHINGTON
MONUMENT

Of all the Presidents of the United States, George Washington is the most ebrated. Efforts to commemorate his legacy began during his lifetime and continue to this day. Down through the years they have taken on many forms. His leadership and service to the republic have been distinguished through the naming of the federal capital, universities, streets, counties, and a state. In addition to these honors, he had been remembered in works of art, monumental buildings, and historic preservation, involving Americans of all walks of life. But none have captured the imagination of the people world-wide like the Washington Monument.

LINCOLN
MEMORIAL

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, guided his country through the most devastating experience in its national history--the CIVIL WAR. He is considered by many historians to have been the greatest American president.

Situated on the South side of the Tidal Basin, in West Potomac park, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial is one of the cities most picturesque landmarks. Dedicated in 1943, on the 200th anniversary of Jefferson's birth, this simple circular classical white marble monument is in keeping with a style much favored by the third U.S. president, architect, scholar and political thinker. At its center, a towering 19-foot bronze portrait statue (the plaster one, in position until after WWII, is in the basement, too large to be removed intact) stands on a 6-foot pedestal. Panels are inscribed with excerpts of Jefferson's writing, including one that best sums up the man: "I have sworn upon the alter of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." The view from the steps is magnificent, especially at night when a halo of blue light crowns the structure. Cherry blossom season (March/April) bestows added beauty to the site. Park rangers give 15-minute talks several times an hour.

The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institution and associated museum complex, with most of its facilities in Washington, D.C. It consists of 19 museums and seven research centers, and has 142 million items in its collections. It is administered and funded by the government of the United States. The Smithsonian Institution was founded for the promotion and dissemination of knowledge by a bequest to the United States by the British scientist James Smithson (1765–1829). In Smithson's will, he stated that should his nephew, Henry James Hungerford, die without heirs, the Smithson estate would go to the United States of America for establishing an "Establishment for the increase & diffusion of Knowledge among men".