SeeHistoric siteNational Mall

Jefferson Memorial

Thomas Jefferson played an outsized role as one of the republic's founding fathers, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and the third president. Accordingly, he has an enormous statue in a circular, neoclassical, open-air building, based largely on the design of the Roman Pantheon (and Jefferson's Monticello and University of Virginia), and standing prominently on the bank of the Tidal Basin. Quotes from Jefferson's writings, including the Declaration of Independence, are reproduced on the walls.

Wheelchair accessible
Built 1943

Address: 16 West Basin Drive Southwest
Hours: Open now · open 24 hours
Weekly hours
Sun Open 24 hours
Mon Open 24 hours
Tue Open 24 hours
Wed Open 24 hours
Thu Open 24 hours
Fri Open 24 hours
Sat Open 24 hours
Website: nps.gov (opens in a new tab)

Sun	Open 24 hours
Mon	Open 24 hours
Tue	Open 24 hours
Wed	Open 24 hours
Thu	Open 24 hours
Fri	Open 24 hours
Sat	Open 24 hours

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Listing from Wikivoyage: Washington, D.C./National Mall, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Updated 28 Sept 2026. Something wrong? Tell us.

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SeePublic art
Thomas Jefferson
16 E Basin Dr SW
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Thomas Jefferson Memorial bookstore
16 E Basin Dr SW
Open now · closes 6 pm
SeePublic artNational Mall
George Mason Memorial
Possibly the hardest memorial to find on the Mall—perhaps fitting for the least known founding father memorialized here. George Mason is best known in the D.C. area for the nearby university named in his honor. Ideally, though, he would be better known as the drafter of the 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights, which served as the basis and inspiration for the American Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights, as well as the French Declaration of the Rights of Man, and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It's a beautiful memorial, and can be empty even in the height of tourist season.
SeeMemorial
Cuban American Friendship Urn
The Cuban Friendship Urn, also known as the Cuban–American Friendship Urn or USS Maine Memorial, is a marble statue in Washington, D.C., listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The monument originally stood in Cuba to honor the American deaths aboard the USS Maine preceding the Spanish–American War in 1898.