My experience
One of my favourite things to do in Washington, DC is walk around the monuments at night. They are so peaceful. The crowds are usually gone, and you can stand there and reflect on the meaning of each statue and the story of this amazing country.
It was on one of those nights that I first wandered through the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. I was struck by the simplicity of him sitting there in his wheelchair with his dog beside him.
A few weeks ago, many years after that first visit, I went back. At a time when the news and my social feed only highlight what is wrong in Washington, I was on a quest to find the beauty. My first stop was the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.
I arrived early on a Saturday morning, long before the crowds, long before the park staff. But the memorial already had a sprinkling of early visitors and local joggers.
This time I was struck by the symbolism. Maybe it was my age and my growing interest in history. Maybe it was the times, and the messages that were being shared.
You are welcomed by the newest addition to the memorial, a statue of the president sitting in his wheelchair. Then, as you work your way through, you find inspiring quotes, more statues and artwork, and the water.
What the water is doing
A ranger was walking to her post at the World War II Memorial and stopped to ask if we had questions. Of course I had a list. The most pressing one was the water.
She said the water features mimic what was going on in the country at the time. One is loud and chaotic. One is completely still, and that one is his death.
Once she said it, I could not unsee it. The memorial is laid out as four outdoor rooms, one for each of his four terms, and the water changes as you move through them. In the first room it is simple and direct, the way his messages were. In the second it is stepped, for the dams and flood control of the Tennessee Valley Authority. In the third it crashes and falls over scattered blocks, for the destruction of the war. And in the fourth it stops. A still pool, under the relief of his funeral procession.
That is the room where Eleanor stands, the only First Lady in a presidential memorial.
What I’d tell a friend
Go early or go late. The memorial never closes. Before the crowds and after them is when it does what it is meant to do, and it is the whole reason I keep coming back at night.
Walk it in order. The rooms are chronological, and the water is telling you the story. Cut through the middle and you lose the thread.
Ask the ranger. I would not have understood the water without her, and she volunteered it on her way to somewhere else. That conversation is the reason this post exists.
Bring the dog. This is one of the rare memorials where a leashed dog is genuinely welcome.
Elsewhere on the site
If FDR and Eleanor interest you, I have also written about the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site and the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, both in Hyde Park, New York.
Plan your visit
Entry: Free. There is no fee and no ticket.
Hours: Open 24 hours a day, every day. Rangers are on duty during the day and can answer questions — mine was the best part of the visit.
Where: On the southwest side of the Tidal Basin, between the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials. 7.5 acres, so allow more time than you would for a single statue.
Parking: Street parking nearby is limited to two hours, with meters along Ohio Drive SW. There is more parking in East Potomac Park, and garages north of the Mall.
Worth knowing: The memorial was designed by landscape architect Lawrence Halprin and dedicated in 1997. The wheelchair statue at the entrance came later, in 2001, after disability advocates campaigned for FDR to be shown as his family actually saw him. He had spent his presidency keeping it out of sight.
What to pack & wear
Pay attention to the weather. Washington, DC is hot and humid in the summer, crisp in the fall, and cool in the winter, and you will be outside the whole time.
Comfortable shoes if you are walking the monuments — this is a walking memorial rather than a viewing one, and if you string several together around the Tidal Basin you will cover more ground than you expect.
Take water. There are places to refill a bottle along the way.
Pets
Another good one. Leashed dogs are welcome throughout the memorial — the National Park Service lists this site specifically as pet friendly, and the whole thing is outdoors, so there is nowhere your dog has to wait for you.
Six-foot leash, clean up after them, and keep in mind the Tidal Basin paths nearby have their own restrictions during cherry blossom season.
Hours, parking and pet rules change. Check with the park before you go — details here were verified in September 2026.