The Original FDR Memorial

You've probably passed it before and didn't even know it

The FDR Memorial at the Tidal Basin gets millions of visitors, while the original memorial to the late President is overlooked--hidden in plain sight. 

That's right, the FDR Memorial that we all know actually isn't the first, or the even the only one, in DC!

On the lawn of the National Archives Building (on the Penn Ave side) is a large, rectangular piece of marble with the inscription: In Memory of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. 1882 - 1945. This quietly elegant tribute is the first memorial to FDR and is the one he requested for himself.

The story goes that Roosevelt told Supreme Court Justice Frankfurter, that if he were to have a monument in Washington, it should be in front of National Archives and be no larger than his desk. Which it is; his desk was 3 feet tall, 7 feet long, 4 feet wide and so is the marble memorial. It was funded through an anonymous group of friends -- although their names are sealed into the base of the stone -- and dedicated on the 20th anniversary of FDR's death, April 12, 1965.

It just goes to show that there is *always* more than meets the eye.

Curious? There's more!

• Hidden In Plain Sight: Little House on the National Mall