The Jefferson Memorial is one of my favorite monuments in the Washington DC area. Since the 265th anniversary of Thomas Jefferson’s birth is on April 13th – we thought we’d share some of our favorite photos of the memorial.

Located at the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC, the Jefferson Memorial was built during the first half of the twentieth century. Congress authorized the memorial in 1934. Designed by John Russell Pope, construction on the memorial began in 1939 and was completed by 1943. The memorial was dedicated on April 13, 1943 – the 200th anniversary of Jefferson’s birth.

Here is the Jefferson Memorial at sunrise – photographed from near the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.

Jefferson Memorial at Sunrise (c) 2004 William Lawrence

The interior of the memorial is dominated by Rudulph Evans statue of Thomas Jefferson.

Interior of Jefferson Memorial (c) 2008 Patty Hankins

Some of Thomas Jefferson most famous quotations are engraved into the walls and the frieze of the memorial.

On the frieze above and behind the statue is a quotation from one of Jefferson’s letters to Dr. Benjamin Rush – “I have sworn upon the alter of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.”

Two of the other quotations are from the Declaration of Independence and a letter to Samuel Kerchevel.

Jefferson Quotation from the Declaration of Independence (c) 2008 Patty Hankins

Jefferson Quotation from a letter to Samuel Kerchevel (c) 2008 Patty Hankins

Our final photo of the Jefferson Memorial was taken a few years ago. On an October afternoon, we were driving around Washington DC, looking for trees with colorful leaves. We were absolutely amazed when we drove past the Tidal Basin – who knew that the leaves on the cherry trees turn bright orange in the fall!

Jefferson Memorial with Fall Color (c) 2005 Patty Hankins

The Jefferson Memorial is administered by the National Park Service as part of the National Mall and Memorial Parks. The Jefferson Memorial is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Park rangers are on duty from 9:30 AM until 11:30 PM.

If you are planning a visit to the photograph the interior of the Jefferson Memorial, plan on hand holding your camera. Even at 5:45 AM on New Year’s Day (when as you can see from the photos, there was no one else at the memorial) you can’t use a tripod to photograph inside the rotunda. We haven’t had any problems using a tripod around the tidal basin while talking photos of the Jefferson Memorial.