National Mall West Memorials

The World War II Memorial features fifty-six granite pillars arranged in a wide semicircle, each inscribed with the name of a state or territory from the nineteen forties. At the center, two triumphal arches rise over a sunken pool. Roger…

The District of Columbia War Memorial stands as a circular, neoclassical temple of white Vermont marble, distinguished by its twelve massive Doric columns. Unlike the other major monuments on the National Mall, this structure honors only…

The Martin Luther King Junior Memorial features a massive thirty-foot sculpture of Doctor King emerging from a slab of white granite. It stands directly on the edge of the Tidal Basin, where the stone seems to split apart as if forced open…

The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial stretches across seven and a half acres, defined by four outdoor galleries of red South Dakota granite. Each room represents one of Roosevelt's terms in office. Visitors walk past cascading waterfalls…

Nineteen stainless steel figures march through a field of polished granite, their ponchos whipped by a wind that seems to blow right off the page of history. This memorial honors the millions who served in the Korean War. Frank Gaylord…

Thirty-six massive Doric columns encircle the Lincoln Memorial, representing the thirty-six states in the Union at the time of Abraham Lincoln's death. The white marble structure sits at the western end of the National Mall, housing a…

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial consists of two polished black granite walls sunk into the earth, meeting at an angle to form a wide V. These walls carry the names of more than fifty-eight thousand Americans who died or remain missing from…

Fifty-six granite slabs rise from the earth in a shallow, open arc, each inscribed with a name, a home colony, and an occupation. This memorial occupies a quiet corner of Constitution Gardens, far enough from the marble monuments to feel…