On the 2nd of May 1997, the FDR memorial or the Franklin Delano Roosevelt memorial was inaugurated and opened to the public. It was a memorial built to honour the late President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his era of rule. President Roosevelt was the 32nd President of the United States of America whose memorial lays half way between that of President Lincoln and President Thomas Jefferson. The memorial has a room that has four air openings, representing his four terms of office for which he had been elected alongside a meandering pathway by waterfalls and bronze sculptures. There also exists a life-size sculpture of the late President on wheelchairs and granite walls that have his words carved on them. The sculpture is an inspirational example of how a man did not let his paralysis caused out of of Polio come in the way of success.

Some of the interesting facts about the FDR Memorial are:

President Roosevelt had served his term spanning over 12 years which included the years of the Great Depression and the Second World War.
The memorial that consists of 4 open air rooms contains different sculptures, quotations and bas-relief along with numerous period photographs. The red South Dakota granite walls serve as the backdrop for the artwork along with waterfalls, shrubs and other forms of beautification.

In 1969, the site where the memorial stands today was named as the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial Park as per the 3891 Presidential Proclamation. The memorial received Congress authorization in July 1982.

The FDR memorial is not the first one to be built in the President’s honour. The first one to be built in Washington DC was according to the wishes of President Roosevelt who simply wanted a block of marble no larger than his desk. It is to be found facing the U.S. Navy Memorial on the northwest grounds of the National Archives Building.

For the memorial to be built, work began on September 16th, 1991 when the ground was broken and an earth beam constructed for a strong base that would be capable of supporting the future structures of the memorial.

A national fund raising campaign was launched in October of 1994 which helped raise $10 million for the building of the FDR memorial.
The park earlier had been constructed using Federal funds that amounted to $42 million.

The park construction itself cost $52 million.

Landscape architect Lawrence Halprin was chosen for the building and designing of the memorial in 1974. His designs have resulted in a memorial that looks very unconventional with its elements of waterfalls, trees, quiet alcoves etc. that reflects a park-like feeling and is very beautiful in itself.

The granite walls were carved by John Benson; the carvings add a reflective mood to the surroundings of the memorial.

For those interested in paying a visit to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt memorial, this be done quite easily as the memorial is open 24 hours a day. It remains closed for Christmas Day only. Enquiries can be made from 9.30 am to 11.30 pm daily. Its location is between the Tidal Basin and the Potomac River, at West Potomac Park. It also happens to be a unit of the National Park system.