56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence Memorial

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 secluded. When it opened in nineteen eighty-two, landscape architect Michael McClelland intended for the names to seem like they were emerging from the ground. John Adams once claimed the signers were a collection of lawyers and doctors, but several were farmers and merchants.