The Thomas Jefferson Memorial, modeled after the Pantheon of Rome, is America's foremost memorial to our third president. Architect John Russell Pope used Jefferson's own architectural tastes in the design of the Memorial. The present-day location at the Tidal Basin was selected in 1937 which caused considerable public criticism because it resulted in the removal of Japanese flowering cherry trees from the Tidal Basin. The Commission of Fine Arts objected to the pantheon design because it would compete with the Lincoln Memorial. The Thomas Jefferson Commission took the design controversy to President Franklin D. Roosevelt who preferred the pantheon design and gave his permission to proceed. On November 15, 1939, a ceremony was held in which President Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the Memorial.

The Thomas Jefferson Memorial, modeled after the Pantheon of Rome, is America's foremost memorial to our third president. Architect John Russell Pope used Jefferson's own architectural tastes in the design of the Memorial. The present-day location at the Tidal Basin was selected in 1937 which caused considerable public criticism because it resulted in the removal of Japanese flowering cherry trees from the Tidal Basin. The Commission of Fine Arts objected to the pantheon design because it would compete with the Lincoln Memorial. The Thomas Jefferson Commission took the design controversy to President Franklin D. Roosevelt who preferred the pantheon design and gave his permission to proceed. On November 15, 1939, a ceremony was held in which President Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the Memorial.