When you go to the luxurious city of Washington D.C. you can witness the entire official functionality of the United States but in the same city there are a lot of things to get amused by, Thomas Jefferson Memorial is one such, for its architecture and the purpose it serves even today.
When John Russel pope one of the famous American architecture was asked to design a memorial building for the founding father of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt he had no other option but to go for neo-classical architecture, for two reasons the neo-classical architecture resembled luxury and simplicity both in a single form.
Two- one of the greatest presidents who ever ruled and the man who wrote the Declaration of Independence for the United States, Thomas Jefferson loved neo-classical architecture style, he admired the neo-classical architecture for both the Monticello home and the design of the University of Virginia.
The mighty Thomas Jefferson Memorial Building is located on the riverbank of the Potomac River, Washington D.C, ancient Greece’s architecture is notable for its decorations and architectural style, with deep circular domes to the ionic ordered columns it is painted in white marble.
Architectural Philosophy
Neoclassical architecture is notable for its style rooted in ancient Rome and ancient Greece architecture, many famous architects around the world choose it as a core architecture for its simplicity and yet displaying royal luxury in its own way.
The geometry and the shapes along with the beaux decorations within made neoclassical architecture one of the most superficial architectural styles in the world.
The Thomas Jefferson building is one of the finely constructed buildings for many reasons but the orderly circular dome and the usual wonder exterior design made it glow in the Potomac River shore, with 26 ionic columns and four facing the openings it is a highly decorated marble piece but with magnificent within.
Architectural material and design
The entire memorial is made of marble and limestones imported from various parts of the country, the core material is white Danby marble used mostly which is imported from Vermont and the rest of the building is constructed using granites and terraces with marble.
The interior of the memorial is made mostly of Georgia marble which is famous in the United States and most of the iconic buildings use the same marble for its quality, the floor with the usual American neoclassical style constructed using pink Tennessee marble.
With various Greek statues and decorated sculptures, it is one of the most iconic buildings in the United States and in Washington D.C.
About the Architect
The American-born architect John Russell Pope is well known for their public building architecture, from being studied at Columbia University and received the first recipient of the Rome Prize he’s a professional architect, as John Russell admired the neo-classical ancient Greece architecture and studied Romanesque, gothic and renaissance structures he finally decided to go in the neoclassical style for the rest of his life and he actually did it.
Some of his famous works include the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C, the Jefferson Memorial, the House of the Temple, and the Constitution Hall, Washington D.C.
In life, we go through a lot of things like technology, music, and arts but only a few things remain as the memory of human evolution, to travel back and to remember the historic architecture is a vehicle to try on.
