Continuing the tour, walk towards the FDR memorial;

[Courtesy wiki]
Running water is an important physical and metaphoric component of the memorial. Each of the four “rooms” representing Roosevelt’s respective terms in office contains a waterfall. As one moves from room to room, the waterfalls become larger and more complex, reflecting the increasing complexity of a presidency marked by the vast upheavals of economic depression and world war.

Symbolism of the five main water areas as:

• A single large drop - The crash of the economy that led to the Great Depression
• Multiple stair step drops - The Tennessee Valley Authority dam-building project
• Chaotic falls at varying angles - World War II
• A still pool - Roosevelt’s death
• A wide array combining the earlier waterfalls - A retrospective of Roosevelt’s Presidency
• Smaller waterfalls and a reflecting pool located between the “rooms” lend continuity to the water theme.

Walk towards the Lincoln memorial. It’s a huge structure that you can’t missing admiring, the huge pillars & design makes the memorial almost like a Greek temple. The monument has Lincoln sitting along in a giant chair, staring @ the Washington Monument & the US Capitol. The walls are inscribed with various lines from his documents

The Gettysburg Address is inscribed on its south wall

Lincoln’s second inaugural address is inscribed on its north wall.

Above the text of these speeches are a series of murals by [/tag]Jules Guerin[/tag] that show an angel, representing truth; freeing a slave (on the south wall, above the Gettysburg Address); and that depict the unity of the American North and South (above the Second Inaugural Address)

Up the steps, one can see the names of every state.

Lincoln memorial has been a place where many famous speeches have been made, including the “I have a dream” by Martin Luther King Jr.

If you have seen the movie “Forest Gump”, it’s the place where they have a Vietnam War protest and Forest Gump who is visiting DC ends up giving a speech which no one hears as the sound systems are sabotaged and ends up meeting his girl-friend Jenny (both run and hug in the reflection pool)

Tour time: 1 to 1.5 hrs

Other things to see around the memorial: Korean War memorial & Vietnam War memorial

Technorati Tags: FDR memorial, Running water, Roosevelt, A single large drop, Great Depression, Multiple stair step drops, Tennessee Valley Authority dam-building project, Chaotic falls, World War II, A still pool, Roosevelt’s death, Roosevelt’s Presidency, Smaller waterfalls, reflecting pool, Lincoln memorial, Greek temple, Lincoln, Washington Monument, US Capitol, Gettysburg Address, Lincoln’s second inaugural address, murals, I have a dream, Martin Luther King Jr, Forest Gump, Vietnam War protest, Korean War memorial, Vietnam War memorial