The three-ton granite lantern sits near the shore of the Tidal Basin, rough-hewn and weathered by nearly seventy years of storms. Japan gave this sculpture to the United States in nineteen fifty-four to celebrate the centennial of the…
Tidal Basin Memorial Walk
This scenic loop around the Tidal Basin connects Washington's most poetic memorials, showcasing the enduring ideals of freedom and equality set against beautiful waterfront views.
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1. Japanese Lantern
2. D.C. World War I Memorial
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…
3. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
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…
4. Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
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…
5. George Mason Memorial
A bronze statue of George Mason sits tucked into a walled garden, holding a quill and looking toward a collection of his favorite books. While his contemporaries shaped the new nation through grand speeches, Mason spent his life writing…
6. Thomas Jefferson Memorial
The Thomas Jefferson Memorial sits on a circular stone foundation with a shallow dome rising above a ring of Ionic columns. It holds a nineteen-foot bronze statue of Jefferson, who stares toward the White House. When the project began in…