The Jefferson Memorial Through Time
The Thomas Jefferson Memorial is America's foremost memorial to the nation's third president. As an original adaptation of neoclassical architecture, modeled after Rome's Pantheon, it is a key landmark in the monumental core of Washington, D.C., according to the National Park Service, which administers and maintains the memorial. The circular, colonnaded structure in the classic style was introduced to this country by Thomas Jefferson.
Architect John Russell Pope used Jefferson's own architectural tastes in the design of the memorial. Pope's intention was to blend Jefferson's contribution as a statesman, architect, president of the United States, drafter of the Declaration of Independence, adviser of the Constitution and founder of the University of Virginia. Few major changes have been made to the Memorial since its dedication in 1943. The most important change, of note, was the replacement of the plaster model statue of Thomas Jefferson with a bronze version of the same after World War II restrictions on the use of metals were lifted. Each year the Jefferson Memorial plays host to various ceremonies, including annual memorial exercises, Easter sunrise services and the ever-popular Cherry Blossom Festival.
About Amy Waters Yarsinske (Virginia Beach, Virginia Author)
Amy Waters Yarsinske is the author of several best-selling, award-winning nonfiction books, notably An American in the Basement: The Betrayal of Captain Scott Speicher and the Cover-up of His Death, which won the Next Generation Indie Book Award for General Non-fiction in 2014.
To those who know this prolific author and Renaissance woman, it’s no surprise that that she became a writer. Amy’s drive to document and investigate history-shaping stories and people has already led to publication of over 75 nonfiction books, most of them spotlighting current affairs, the military, history and the environment. Amy graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg, Virginia, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in English and Economics, and the University of Virginia School of Architecture, where she earned her Master of Planning and was a DuPont Fellow and Lawn/Range resident. She also holds numerous graduate certificates, including those earned from the CIVIC Leadership Institute and the Joint Forces Staff College, both headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia.
Amy serves on the national board of directors of Honor-Release-Return, Inc. and the National Vietnam and Gulf War Veterans Coalition, where she is also the chairman of the Gulf War Illness Committee. She is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE), Authors Guild and the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association (NCLHA), among her many professional and civic memberships and activities.
