Monuments and Memorials Represent Personalities
The monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C. are designed and placed in a specific manner to remind the tourists and visitors of the accomplishments and achievements that those specific individuals did for the United States of America. Our nation wishes to remember certain people and events in our history in a way that we will think and reflect upon the past and really begin to understand what that person or event represented. One might think that the architects and designers of these monuments and memorials designed them arbitrarily but when we look deeper and closer at how they are designed in combination to their surroundings and people’s feelings then we appreciate that these were designed with a definite purpose and reason.
My trip to Washington, D.C. led me to visit the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial. I chose to visit these three because I wanted to analyze and study how these three structures were built and designed to commemorate three of our nation’s presidents. I found it very interesting to realize that the design layouts of these three structures along with the natural surroundings really represented the accomplishments that these three men left behind on our nation. Also I noticed that it could be possible that these monuments and memorials were designed to represent something of the men’s personalities and traits.
The Washington Monument was built to commemorate and honor the United States’ founding father and first President, George Washington. The monument is a very tall and white obelisk. I think the way this monument is designed and positioned has a lot to do with how the nation should remember Washington. The immense size and soaring stature of the monument represent the qualities of leadership Washington displayed in the struggle for American independence. The way the monument rises above everything in its presence really gives Washington’s title “Father of the Country” its true meaning. Since the monument is rising above all else and nothing else is allowed to ascend above it is a symbolic way of saying how Washington was the father and the leader of the United States. He raised and took care of the nation in its early life just as a father would to his young child. Also the US flags that surround the bottom of the monument seem to me to represent the rest of the people throughout history who stood up for and believed in Washington’s ideas. The natural surroundings also give the monument a very nice frame. The way the beautiful blue sky drops behind brings the monument to life. And the reflecting pool at the bottom gives off a feeling of serenity and peace when viewing the reflection of the huge monument. I believe the monument really embodies how the citizens of this nation want to show their gratitude and respect for the great achievements George Washington made for the United States.
Abraham Lincoln is the President for whom the Lincoln Memorial was built. This memorial was designed and constructed in a way to resemble a Greek Doric temple. Inside the memorial is an enormous seated statue of Abraham Lincoln. The sculpture of the statue, Daniel French, studied many photographs of President Lincoln before he created his sculpture. His conclusion for the design of the statue was to make represent Lincoln in a state of deep thought, thinking hard and somewhat meditative. His end result was the current seated statue of Lincoln staring out of the temple-like memorial towards the Washington Monument. Lincoln was known by people to be a very honest and a man of integrity, I think the memorial also gives the viewers a feeling of admiration and respect for Lincoln because of his outstanding characteristics. The huge columns around the memorial represent that they are upholding the top of a memorial of such an extraordinary person in the nation’s history, it shows that it takes such large pillars to support his personality. And then once inside the chamber of the memorial we get a feeling of wonder being in the presence of the sculpture of “Honest Abe”. Again the natural surroundings seem to me to be a very nice fit for the memorial. The reflecting pool makes a nice addition to the frontend of the structure because it completes the overall look.
The Jefferson Memorial is dedicated to one of the founding fathers and third President, Thomas Jefferson. The memorial is a combination of circular steps, columns going around the memorial and a dome covering the top. The interior design of the ceiling is similar to that of the Roman Pantheon. The idea for the memorial was initiated by President Franklin Roosevelt, an idea which was no doubt proper. The design of the memorial reflects attributes of structures designed by Jefferson himself, for example Monticello and The Rotunda at UVA. Jefferson had an attraction and interest with Roman architecture which can be seen in his design elements. The memorial resembles the Pantheon of Rome in its design. Once we know this fact we can easily understand that Jefferson was fond of architecture of the Romans and this is present in his own memorial. Once inside the memorial the large statue of Jefferson is visible, the statue gives off the feeling that Jefferson was man of great caliber and talent. Indeed he was a person who had much talent since he was architect, author, inventor, etc. Being inside the memorial really makes one feel at peace and a feeling of serenity is felt. This I would say is due to the fact that the memorial is not visited by a large number of people at once. Being at the shore of the Potomac River Tidal Basin and then in addition to that being surrounded by the breathtaking Japanese cherry blossom trees, the memorial site produces a feeling of tranquility, harmony and peacefulness.
Overall the three monuments and memorials that I visited really gave me an idea and feeling of how they were designed, positioned and built to instill love and adoration in the visitors for these three presidents whom they commemorate.