Lighting Up the Jefferson Memorial
Monument Gets a New Look Inside and Out

Aug. 23, 2001 -- Washington, D.C., is a city full of white marble monuments, grand architectural statements to America's glory and temples to past statesmen.

A worker installs new state-of-the-art lights to light up the statue inside the rotunda. Photo: George Stewart, National Park Service

And beginning next month, one of those monuments, in its quiet spot across the Tidal Basin, may seem to shine just a bit brighter than the others along the Mall.

The Thomas Jefferson Memorial is getting a bright new look, thanks to a new state-of-the-art lighting system. The new lighting is the biggest change to the memorial since the grounds were redesigned two decades ago to match the original plans laid out by Frederic Law Olmsted, who designed New York's Central Park.

The memorial to America's third president, who penned the Declaration of Independence and founded the University of Virginia, was originally designed without outdoor lighting.

Powerful incandescent lights were mounted on poles in the '60s and '70s to light the memorial at night, and under the rotunda the bronze statue was lit by high-pressure sodium lamps -- giving the Founding Father an unflattering yellow hue.

Facts about the Jefferson Memorial The monument, directly opposite the Washington Monument and visible from the White House, was designed by John Russell Pope, one of America's greatest architects. It is modeled after the Pantheon in Rome, and is an example of the Neoclassical style. Jefferson, who was also an accomplished designer, is credited with introducing the classical style to America. Pope died in 1937 and never got to see his vision completed. Architects Daniel P. Higgins and Otto R. Eggers took over the project after Pope's death. Construction began in 1939 and the monument was opened to the public in 1943. The 19-foot-tall bronze statue of Jefferson in the center of the memorial was sculpted by Rudolph Evans. However, a plaster version of the statue was on display until the end of World War II, when restrictions on the use of metals were lifted. Source: National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service

The new lighting scheme inside the rotunda relies on powerful LED lights that create a whiter shade of light -- and should make details on the statue of Jefferson stand out.

The steps leading up to the statue will be lit for the first time, thanks to metal halide lamps, and will make the memorial much more visible from the Mall.

All this brightness will actually save money, too: the National Park Service estimates the new lights will use about 80 percent less electricity.

Lighting manufacturer Osram Sylvania paired up with the National Park Foundation -- the non-profit partner of the National Park Service, which manages the memorial -- and donated more than $800,000 worth of equipment for the re-lighting project. The Mintz Lighting Group in New York City designed the lighting scheme.

A re-lighting ceremony is planned for September 12th at 7:30 PM EST to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Jefferson's inauguration -- and, coincidentally, the 100th anniversary of Osram Sylvania.

The event will also be broadcast live over the Internet -- surf to www.lightingthethomasjeffersonmemorial.com.

Other Resources:

National Park Service: Thomas Jefferson Memorial

National Park Foundation

Osram Sylvania corporate Web site

Mintz Lighting Group