Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial is a national monument in Southwest Washington D.C. composed of four granite-walled outdoor rooms along the Tidal Basin. Each room represents one of the president's four terms and contains sculptures, waterfalls, and engraved texts that illustrate his political challenges and achievements.

Congress established a commission to plan the monument in 1955, but construction did not begin until the 1990s. The site opened to the public in 1997 and was expanded in 1998 with a bronze statue showing Roosevelt in his wheelchair.

Twenty-one quotations from Roosevelt's speeches are carved into red granite walls, documenting his responses to the Great Depression and World War II. The words appear along the pathways and give insight into the language and thinking of a generation shaped by economic hardship and global conflict.

The site lies between the Jefferson Memorial and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and can be reached via the Federal Triangle or Smithsonian Metro stations. The open layout allows visitors to walk through the rooms at their own pace and pause at the sculptures and waterfalls.

A bronze statue at the entrance shows Roosevelt in his wheelchair and was added in 1998 at the request of activists who called for representation of his physical condition. During his time in office, Roosevelt largely concealed his paralysis from the public, making the statue a later acknowledgment of his disability.

Location: Washington, D.C.

Inception: 1997

Architects: Lawrence Halprin

Creator: Lawrence Halprin

Address: West Basin Drive Southwest

Website: https://nps.gov/frde

GPS coordinates: 38.88389,-77.04444

Latest update: December 12, 2025 18:09