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[[File:Jefferson-memorial-twilight.jpg|right|250px]]

[[File:Jefferson-memorial-twilight.jpg|right|300px]]

The '''Jefferson Memorial''', modeled after the [[Pantheon]] of Rome, is America's foremost memorial to our third president. As an original adaptation of Neoclassical architecture, it is a key landmark in the monumental core of Washington, DC The circular, colonnaded structure in the classic style was introduced to this country by [[Thomas Jefferson]]. Architect John Russell Pope used Jefferson's own architectural tastes in the design of the Memorial. His intention was to synthesize Jefferson's contribution as a statesman, architect, President, drafter of the [[Declaration of Independence]], adviser of the [[Constitution]] and founder of the [[University of Virginia]]. Architects Daniel P. Higgins and Otto R. Eggers took over construction upon the untimely death of Pope in August 1937. The Thomas Jefferson Memorial Commission was created to direct the erection of a memorial to Thomas Jefferson by an Act of [[Congress]] approved in June 1934. The present-day location at the Tidal Basin was selected in 1937. The site caused considerable public criticism because it resulted in the removal of Japanese flowering cherry trees from the Tidal Basin. Further controversy surrounded the selection of the design of the Memorial. The Commission of Fine Arts objected to the pantheon design because it would compete with the Lincoln Memorial. The Thomas Jefferson Commission took the design controversy to President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] who preferred the pantheon design and gave his permission to proceed. On November 15, 1939, a ceremony was held in which President Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the Memorial.

The '''Jefferson Memorial''', modeled after the [[Pantheon]] of Rome, is America's foremost memorial to our third president. As an original adaptation of Neoclassical architecture, it is a key landmark in the monumental core of Washington, DC The circular, colonnaded structure in the classic style was introduced to this country by [[Thomas Jefferson]]. Architect John Russell Pope used Jefferson's own architectural tastes in the design of the Memorial. His intention was to synthesize Jefferson's contribution as a statesman, architect, President, drafter of the [[Declaration of Independence]], adviser of the [[Constitution]] and founder of the [[University of Virginia]]. Architects Daniel P. Higgins and Otto R. Eggers took over construction upon the untimely death of Pope in August 1937. The Thomas Jefferson Memorial Commission was created to direct the erection of a memorial to Thomas Jefferson by an Act of [[Congress]] approved in June 1934. The present-day location at the Tidal Basin was selected in 1937. The site caused considerable public criticism because it resulted in the removal of Japanese flowering cherry trees from the Tidal Basin. Further controversy surrounded the selection of the design of the Memorial. The Commission of Fine Arts objected to the pantheon design because it would compete with the Lincoln Memorial. The Thomas Jefferson Commission took the design controversy to President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] who preferred the pantheon design and gave his permission to proceed. On November 15, 1939, a ceremony was held in which President Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the Memorial.