Welcome back to National Parks and other public lands with T!
DC Trip 2024➤
Our congressman came through with tickets to visit the White House in October of 2024. So my husband and I took a long weekend to visit Washington, DC. He hadn’t been to many of the sites, so we spent a few days visiting the various National Park Service units. We toured several memorials, monuments and other sites, including the Jefferson Memorial.
The National Mall➤
The National Mall stretches from the Capitol to the Potomac River. It serves as “America’s Front Lawn” and its premiere civic and symbolic space. Originally in the L’Enfant plan for the city, the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit of the NPS protects iconic monuments and memorials and over 1,000 acres of greenspace.
Jefferson Memorial➤
After visiting the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, we continued our walk around the Tidal Basin to the Jefferson Memorial. The neoclassical structure stood bright against the blue sky, its white columns reflected in the calm water below. Completed in 1943, the memorial honors Thomas Jefferson—principal author of the Declaration of Independence, first Secretary of State, and third President of the United States. The bronze statue of Jefferson, added in 1947, stands tall inside the domed rotunda, surrounded by excerpts from his writings about liberty and democracy.
The last time I’d been this far around the Tidal Basin was in 2007, when my daughter and I took a hop-on, hop-off bus tour of Washington, D.C. We stopped briefly at the Jefferson Memorial, took a few photos from the outside, and then continued on to the FDR Memorial. Back then, we didn’t go inside or spend much time at the site, though even from a distance the building’s grandeur stood out.
This visit felt different. My husband and I took our time, walking all the way around the memorial to appreciate its design and location. Inside, we visited the small museum that tells the story of Jefferson’s life and the memorial’s construction. When we finished, we grabbed a hot dog from a food truck outside and enjoyed it on a nearby bench with a view of the Tidal Basin. It was a simple, relaxing break before we continued exploring more of Washington, D.C.
2024 DC Trip Posts➤
- WWI Memorial
- The White House
- White House Tour Pt 1
- White House Tour Pt 2
- Lockkeeper’s House
- Martin Luther King Memorial
- FDR Memorial
- Jefferson Memorial
- Korean War Memorial
- Lincoln Memorial
- Constitution Gardens
- Washington Monument
- Mary McLeod Bethune Council House
- Rock Creek Park
- Supreme Court
- Capitol
- Library of Congress
- Theodore Roosevelt Island
- George Washington Parkway
- LBJ Memorial Grove
- Ford Theater
- Belmont-Paul
- Frederick Douglas
Location: 701 West Basin Dr SW, Washington, DC
Designation: National Memorial
Date designated/established: April 13, 1943
Date of my visit: October 24, 2024
