BobRingReflections

I first visited Washington D.C. 70 years ago as a youngster, and have returned several times since on business or as a tourist.   Three monuments to past U.S. presidents have always stood out (pun not intended) to me:  the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial.  My brother Al recently pointed out to me some little-known facts about these monuments, so I decided to investigate and write about the monuments’ history.   This aerial view of part of Washington D.C. shows the Washington Monument at top left center, the Lincoln Memorial in center foreground, and the Jefferson Memorial at the top right. I’ll discuss each of these monuments in the order they were completed:  Washington Monument (1884), Lincoln Memorial (1922), and the Jefferson Memorial (1943).  For each presidential monument, I will start with a very short snapshot of the namesake’s presidential biography and an introduction to the monument.  Then I’ll discuss the history of each monument, i