Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

Introduction

The President Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial is located in the US capital of Washington D. C., on one side of the National Mall (just next to the Jefferson Memorial), which is a large area of land right in the heart of the city that houses its most important monuments and memorials.

A little bit of history

For those of you who don't know about Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the most important thing that you take away from this is that he was the 32nd President of the United States, serving from 1933 until 1945, and the last few years of both his mandate and his life took place during the development of the Second World War.

The President lived through the Great Depression, but also the Second World War, which made him a very brave president, one who was loved by the majority of North Americans. However, that's not to say that he wasn't ever criticised. He ruled the country during one of the worst periods in the history of the United States, and he died without ever seeing the conclusion of the Second World War in 1945.

Still to this day, he is the only president to have been elected for four consecutive terms in the United States. Although, it has to be said that you cannot typically be elected for more than two candidacies nowadays. However, due to his death in 1945, he never officially finished his fourth term in the position.

The memorial

The memorial is dedicated especially to President Roosevelt, but also to the period that it represented, which was very important for the successes that took place. The memorial was inaugurated in 1997, and it is governed by the National Park Service.

The memorial spreads over an area of 30, 000 square metres (3 hectares), and is divided into four parts, with each one representing a different mandate of Roosevelt's presidency.

The sculptures that this memorial houses are inspired by photographs. The ones that I could personally see during my visit were the following:

• President Roosevelt with his dog, Fala. It's one of my favourites, which I guess is because I loved the little dog.



• The president in his wheelchair. The President's disability was characteristic of him, and it was strongly protested before it was possible to have a sculpture that depicted him in a wheelchair.
• The sculpture of Eleanor Roosevelt, President Roosevelt's wife, who was extremely involved with the work of the United Nations. The latter is depicted by the United Nations emblem behind her sculpture, one that is made of bronze and is situated in the fourth section of the memorial.

One of the walls, you can read the Four Freedoms (the goals articulated by President Roosevelt), which are very famous in American culture and history:

• Freedom of speech
• Freedom of worship
• Freedom from want
• Freedom from fear

On the other side, there are little waterfalls on the memorial. Although, as it was snowing, I couldn't actually see any, but I am sure that they will return now that the weather is picking up. I imagine that they have to be something really special and beautiful to look at - the perfect "accessory" to this memorial.

In fact, it is said that the water represents the peace that President Roosevelt so desperately longed to achieve, and, as each mandate progressed, the cataracts became more irritated.

The spirit of friendship

I am going to talk to you about this little monument in this post too because it is situated just next to FDR's memorial and I think it is worth telling you about it.

This sculpture is a Japanese Pagoda, which was a gift given by Japan to the United States in 1957 in the spirit of friendship to commemorate a previously-signed peace treaty (although, World War II took place just a decade earlier, which saw the strong confrontation of these two countries). This is not the only gift in the area, as the Japanese cherry trees that sit along the banks of the Potomac River were also kindly gifted to the United States.

This kind of tower represents the following elements, from bottom to top: earth, water, fire, wind and sky (with the base being earth and the tip being the sky, which seems quite symbolic to me and very much characteristic of the Japanese).

Additional information

The cost of visiting this monument is absolutely nothing, which is really lucky, as it not only allows you to visit the memorial of one of the best-loved presidents, but also means that you spend a bit of time along the banks of the Potomac River, escaping the hustle and bustle of the rest of the city. However, it's not just this memorial that's free to visit, as the majority of museums, monuments and memorials have had their admission fees waived. So, if you are visiting Washington D. C., the best thing to do would be to make a solid plan of your route around the city, taking full advantage of these nuggets of history; aside from the fact that they are free, they are actually really interesting!

The memorial is open to visit 24 hours a day, every single day of the year. However, the National Mall park rangers, who are tasked with helping visitors and providing them with all the information that they need, are only available for assistance from 9:30am until 11:30pm (although, that seems like more than sufficient, if you ask me).

If you want to eat something, there is a refreshment stand next to both the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, where they sell all kinds of snacks: French fries, soft drinks, hot dogs, cookies, etc. But, in my opinion, for it being an outdoor place, the best thing to do would be to bring your own food with you and have a little picnic next to the river, enjoying this area of the city to the maximum.

How to get there

To get to this memorial, there are several options for you to choose from, with the "healthiest" of these including walking or riding your bike through the National Mall (the journey is a rather pleasant one). Anyway, in case you need to use it, the closest metro station would be "Smithsonian", which is served by the orange, silver and blue lines. However, it is important to note that it is a 20 minute walk away, so the best thing would be to plan your visit well and try not to delve into the park without having been to the bathroom first, and always bring a bottle of water with you in your bag.