Washington DC Monuments in DC

Washington DC monuments honor great presidents, war heroes, and even some average Americans. In seemingly every corner of America's capital city, you'll find memorials and monuments—some familiar and some unexpected. Along with the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument, you'll find statues and art exhibits dedicated to as diverse a group as George Mason, the Iwo Jima flag bearers, Albert Einstein, and Naval hero John Paul Jones. As you're exploring the city, you'll have the chance to learn the story of America, one monument at a time.

The list of Washington DC Memorials is long, including the best-known memorials on the National Mall. In one scenic and easily accessible locale, you'll find some of the most visited sites in the entire city and the entire nation. In one exhilarating visit, you can wander from one monument to the next, reflecting on the sacrifice made by twentieth-century war veterans, honoring Vietnam War vets to the Korean War and WWII. Several of these national monuments in DC, wrapped around the Reflecting Pool, honor America's greatest presidents, including Thomas Jefferson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and of course Lincoln and Washington. Reservations and admission fees are not required to visit these iconic memorials. The Washington Monument is free too, but tickets are needed if you wish to go inside, which can be picked up for the same day at the nearby Washington Monument Lodge.

The National Park Service watches over many other Washington DC memorials, in addition to the ones along the National Mall. The George Mason Memorial, dedicated in 2002, can be found near the Jefferson Memorial in the West Potomac Park. The Founding Father wrote the influential Virginia Declaration of Rights and was part of the Constitutional Convention. Other NPS Washington DC monuments include the John Ericsson Memorial, just across Independence Avenue from the National Mall. The Swedish native and engineer led the way in Naval designed and helped the Union secure a Civil War victory. The park is also home to the District of Columbia War Memorial, honoring the citizens of the District of Columbia who served in World War I.

Moving away from the National Mall, you'll find Washington DC Memorials in the city's distinctive neighborhoods. The Albert Einstein Memorial can be found in downtown DC near the National Academy of Sciences. The twelve-foot-tall bronze statue, holding a plaque with famous equations, is often climbed on my children. Another one of the Washington DC monuments is located at the center of Logan Circle. This traditional solider-on-a-horse monument was dedicated to the longtime resident who served as a senator and Civil War commander. The U.S. Navy Memorial is one of the anchors of the Penn Quarter neighborhood.

With so many memorials and national monuments in DC, it makes sense to sign up for one of the guided tours. On some, you can sit back on a trolley or bus, rest your tired feet, and enjoy the scenery. Other tours allow you the chance to step off and spend time seeing the memorials up close. If you're really interested in seeing the monuments up close, consider taking one of the guided walking tours. Sometimes you can join in impromptu tour led by one of the park rangers or you could sign up for one of the formal tours.

After dark, many of the national monuments in DC are illuminated. A bevy of night tours can take you through the quiet streets of DC where the monuments look simply stunning.