Founding father,
revolutionary, thinker

Why locals love it

Thomas Jefferson, America's 3rd president, was one of the most influential figures in inventing America as we know it today. Main writer of the Declaration of Independence, Founding Father, first US Secretary of State, and Vice President are just a handful of his other credentials. The Jefferson Memorial is a key construct of the Tidal Basin.

Why you should visit it

The iconic structure that houses the statue is made of circular steps, a portico, and a dome held up by large columns. The interior houses Jefferson's statue as well as a frieze below the dome with some of the most important American rhetoric by Jefferson on it: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal..."