Jefferson Memorial

Washington and Lincoln are all very well, but my man is Thomas Jefferson, and here is his memorial, across the Tidal Basin from the other two.

It's very much in the style of the Lincoln Memorial, though not as large.  Lincoln's is supposed to be a Greek temple, but this is more like the Pantheon in Rome.  It's more open on the inside, too, where we find the man himself.

My, he's even bigger than Lincoln - what did they eat back then?  But he was a larger than life character.  He founded the University of Virginia, wrote the Declaration of Independence and served as the third President of the United States.  During his presidency he made the Louisiana Purchase, buying pretty much all the land between the Mississippi and the Rockies from Napolean.  Napolean.  It would have been impressive if he had bought a bag of peanuts or a used button from Napolean - let alone over two million square kilometres of land.

Once he'd bought the land he sent Lewis and Clark to explore it.  He hoped they would find some living mammoths (that's how little was known about the interior).

He was a great man, though he hasn't always been recognised as such, and I'm glad he has a great building to remember him.