A FITTING TRIBUTE : FDR MEMORIAL SET FOR MAY 2 DEDICATION IN D.C.Byline: James R. Carroll Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire On April 13, 1943, amid the global struggle to the death that was World War II, Franklin Delano Roosevelt took a respite to dedicate the new, classically styled Thomas Jefferson Memorial Thomas Jefferson Memorial, monument, 18 acres (7 hectares), in East Potomac Park, on the Tidal Basin, Washington, D.C.; authorized by Congress 1934, built 1938–43, dedicated 1943. . ``To Thomas Jefferson, apostle of freedom,'' Roosevelt said in ceremonies that lasted just 15 minutes, ``we are paying a debt long overdue.'' Fifty-four years later, on a stretch of filled land along the Tidal Basin only a few minutes' stroll from the Jefferson Memorial Jefferson Memorial: see Thomas Jefferson Memorial. , Roosevelt himself is being paid a debt his admirers believe is long overdue. On May 2, President Clinton and a crowd expected to number around 10,000 will dedicate the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial: see National Parks and Monuments (table). , a 7-1/2-acre expanse of four outdoor ``rooms'' of gray-pink carnelian carnelian (kärnēl`yən) or cornelian (kôr–, kər–), variety of red chalcedony, used as a gem. granite, highlighted with statues, sculptures, flowers, trees and waterfalls. The $48 million memorial is intended to be a place to reflect on how FDR and the nation overcame the two great crises of this century - the Depression and World War II. But like FDR during his lifetime, his memorial is not without controversy, and historians still debate his legacy. ``FDR was not only the best-loved, but also the most hated American president
Arthur Meier Schlesinger Jr., Arthur Schlesinger Jr., Schlesinger 2. Jr. So it is with his memorial. The designer, San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden landscape architect Lawrence Halprin Lawrence Halprin (born July 1, 1916 in New York City) is a prolific and accomplished American landscape architect and educator. Biography Halprin grew up in New York and spent three of his teenage years in Palestine on a kibbutz. , says he hopes the memorial will make Roosevelt ``an icon of strength and social conscience.'' ``In a democratic way,'' Halprin said, ``he changed our whole attitude from a disregard for the social problems of people into a real caring.'' Schlesinger, who will be at the dedication for his first view of the memorial, said he disliked what he saw on paper. ``It's a theme park,'' he said. ``FDR deserves something more than a theme park.'' But he added that he may change his mind after seeing the memorial. Disability issue By far the greater controversy is over how much the memorial should deal with Roosevelt's paralysis after being stricken by poliomyelitis poliomyelitis (pō'lēōmī'əlī`tĭs), polio, or infantile paralysis, acute viral infection, mainly of children but also affecting older persons. in 1921. Organizations representing disabled Americans contend that the memorial all but ignores FDR's disability. Clinton, who will not see the memorial until it is dedicated, has asked Congress to direct that a statue showing FDR sitting in a wheelchair be included. The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial Commission has insisted the memorial already addresses Roosevelt's disability adequately. In fact, the addition of a replica of a wheelchair used by Roosevelt at Hyde Park Hyde Park, park, London, England Hyde Park, 615 acres (249 hectares) in Westminster borough, London, England. Once the manor of Hyde, a part of the old Westminster Abbey property, it became a deer park under Henry VIII. , N.Y., has been added to the visitors center in response to earlier protests by the disabled. The memorial's lone statue of FDR shows him enveloped en·vel·op tr.v. en·vel·oped, en·vel·op·ing, en·vel·ops 1. To enclose or encase completely with or as if with a covering: "Accompanying the darkness, a stillness envelops the city" in his trademark Navy cape, seated in a chair with four visible casters. FDR used such a dining-room chair at his Hyde Park home to be wheeled around to greet visitors. The memorial's visitors center also is to have one of only two known photos of FDR sitting in a wheelchair. The president's disability also is mentioned on a time line of his life engraved en·grave tr.v. en·graved, en·grav·ing, en·graves 1. To carve, cut, or etch into a material: engraved the champion's name on the trophy. 2. into granite steps, and in written and audio guides to the memorial. The disability issue even has split the Roosevelt family The Roosevelt family is a prominent American political family, having produced two Presidents, Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt, and a First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. , which will be well-represented at the dedication. Some Roosevelts want a more direct depiction of a wheelchair-using FDR. Right balance But FDR grandson Hall Delano Roosevelt says he thinks the memorial has struck the right balance. ``FDR believed a disability was no excuse for anyone not to achieve their goals in life,'' said the younger Roosevelt, a member of the Long Beach City Council. ``He said he wanted to be remembered as the greatest president, not as the greatest president who was disabled.'' FDR took great pains to play down his disability. Press photographers complied with his request not to show him in a wheelchair or being carried - of 40,000 known images of the president, only two taken by family members show Roosevelt in a wheelchair. He publicly mentioned the ``10 pounds of steel'' around his legs only once, while uncharacteristically seated in his final appearance before Congress after an exhausting trip to Yalta to meet with Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin. Roosevelt once told Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter Felix Frankfurter (November 15, 1882 – February 22, 1965) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Early life Frankfurter was born in Vienna, Austria. that he wanted a memorial no larger than his desk. (There is one, just about that size, near the National Archives National Archives, official depository for records of the U.S. federal government, established in 1934 by an act of Congress. Although displeasure concerning the method of keeping national records was voiced in Congress as early as 1810, the United States continued building on Pennsylvania Avenue Pennsylvania Avenue is a street in Washington, D.C. joining the White House and the United States Capitol. Called "America's Main Street," it is the location of official parades and processions, as well as protest marches and civilian protests. .) Whether the president was expressing true humility or false modesty is difficult to know. But 10 years after Roosevelt's death on April 12, 1945, a federal commission began looking into a more substantive tribute to the man who was elected to the presidency an unprecedented four times and held the office for 12 of the most eventful years in U.S. history. Three design competitions were held before Halprin was selected in 1974 as designer of the FDR Memorial. True to the evolving charge of the commission, the design purposely was not a large, imposing structure like the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials and the Washington Monument Washington Monument, obelisk-shaped tower, 555 ft 5 1-9 in. (169.3 m) high, located on a 106-acre (43-hectare) site at the west end of the Mall, Washington, D.C.; dedicated 1885. . ``The other grand and beautiful presidential memorials look to Europe for their inspiration,'' Gunderson said. ``This one is 100 percent American in design.'' But despite the bipartisan composition of the memorial commission, work on the actual memorial was delayed by years of indifference by Congress, the absence of political support at crucial moments, and what Gunderson called an overall ``lack of focus.'' Ironically, it was during the administration of a Republican president, George Bush, that ground finally was broken for the memorial in 1991. The memorial has four outdoor ``rooms'' that represent Roosevelt's four terms in office. Each room is like a separate garden, and each is punctuated with a waterfall. ``This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny,'' FDR told the nation in what proved to be prophetic words. They are on the wall of the first room, the first of 22 inscriptions. And there are these words: ``The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.'' Vignettes stand out Two stark vignettes stand out in the second garden: a forlorn Appalachian couple in front of their farmhouse door, and five men standing in a bread line. Across from them, a man sits in a chair, hunched in concentration, listening to one of FDR's weekly ``Fireside Chats'' over the radio. Across from a waterfall meant to resemble a dam built by FDR's Tennessee Valley Authority Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), independent U.S. government corporate agency, created in 1933 by act of Congress; it is responsible for the integrated development of the Tennessee River basin. , bas-relief sculptures show people engaged in New Deal programs. In the third room, the granite walls appear broken and pieces are strewn strew tr.v. strewed, strewn or strewed, strew·ing, strews 1. To spread here and there; scatter: strewing flowers down the aisle. 2. onto the plaza - chaos representing the war. Dominating the room is the larger-than-life statue of FDR in his chair, with his faithful and ever-present Scottie, Fala, at his feet. The fourth room begins with FDR's death - a bas-relief of the president's funeral cortege - and his legacy. Here is included the only statue to a first lady in a presidential memorial. It shows Eleanor Roosevelt, smiling and businesslike, as the first U.S. delegate to the United Nations in 1948. This last room includes the largest public plaza in the memorial, and the largest waterfall, an inviting spot for contemplation. Facts about the FDR Memorial DESIGN: Four outdoor gallery ``rooms,'' one for each of FDR's terms in office. Sculptures, engraved quotations depict social, economic, cultural upheavals of FDR's presidency. Waterfalls and reflection pools throughout. SIZE: 7-1/2 acres along the cherry-tree walk at the Tidal Basin. COST: $48 million, of which $42.5 million came from the federal government. DESIGNER: Lawrence Halprin. SCULPTORS: Leonard Baskin, Neil Estern, Robert Graham Robert Graham is the name of several persons:
MATERIAL: More than 6,000 tons of granite, quarried in South Dakota and fabricated in Minnesota, used in 75,000 square feet of granite pavers and 31,000 pieces of stone. The stone was chosen for its similarity to that at the Roosevelt estate in Hyde Park, N.Y. TIME LINE: Memorial commission established 1955; site approved by Congress 1959; designer selected 1974; design approved 1978; groundbreaking 1991; construction begins 1994. MEMORIAL COIN: FDR $5 gold coin to be issued May 15. Prerelease pre·re·lease n. Something released before an official or scheduled date. adj. Of or relating to an interval preceding an official or scheduled release: sales of coin available through U.S. Mint. Source: FDR Memorial Commission. CAPTION(S): 3 Photos, Box Photo: (1) Harry Burrell sweeps around the statue of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his beloved dog Fala at the memorial in Washington, D.C. Knight-Ridder Tribune Photo Service (2) President Roosevelt broadcasts a weekly ``Fireside Chat'' to the nation from his White House desk June 28, 1944. Associated Press (3) This section of the FDR memorial shows five men standing in a Depression-era bread line. The site will be dedicated May 2. Knight-Ridder Tribune Photo Service Box: Facts about the FDR Memorial |
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