Category: Landmarks

The Jefferson Memorial

It was not until 1937 that ground was broken on the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC. At the urging of Franklin Roosevelt, Congress had authorized the construction three years earlier, but the memorial was not dedicated until 1943. The bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson inside was erected four years later in 1947, when Roscoe Bartlett was a student at the University of Maryland. The final cost of construction was a little over $3 Million. Today, over 2 Million people visit the memorial every year.

Assateague Island

When Roscoe Bartlet was born, Assateague was not an island, but a peninsula, connected to the mainland south of Ocean City. The Great Hurricane of 1933 (they didn't have names in those days) swept 20-foot high waves over the sands of Assateague, cutting through the peninsula to form the Ocean City Inlet. The Army Corps of Engineers now maintains a jetty of boulders to protect the inlet.

There was an attempt to develop the island in the 1950's, but the Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 leveled any remaining buildings on the island. Since 1965, the island has been protected by the Assateague Island National Seashore. Now it is home to more wild horses than people.

Mount Rushmore

When Roscoe Bartlett was born, Mount Rushmore was just another mountain in South Dakota. It wasn't until 1927 that Gutzon Borglum (no, really, that's his name) and his 400 workers began using dynamite to blast away at the granite mountain. By then, Calvin Coolidge had already insisted that in addition to George Washington, there should be at least two Republicans and only one Democrat. No, partisan politics is not a relatively new development. Anyway, that's how it came to pass that the Presidents chosen for the sculpture would include Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt. Someone in Congress introduced a bill to include Susan B. Anthony, but it never passed. The sculpture was finished in 1941 for less than $1 Million. Remarkably, no one was killed working on the sculpture.

Pluto

Once thought to be the ninth planet in the solar system, Pluto was not discovered until 1930 by 23-year-old Clyde Tombaugh. The planet was named by an 11-year old schoolgirl, Venetia Burney.

Tombaugh went on to earn degrees in astronomy from the University of Kansas and Northern Arizona University. He was on the faculy of New Mexico State University until his retirement in 1973. He died in 1997, and a portion of his ashes are aboard the New Horizons spaceecraft now traveling to Pluto.

The Empire State Building

The tallest building in New York was the tallest building in the world from the time it was built in 1931 until the World Trade Center passed it by in 1972. It now ranks as the 10th tallest building in the world, and 2nd in the United States, behind only the Sears Tower in Chicago.

The Empire State Building was not a rousing success initially. The Great Depression kept renters away, and it was not until 1950 that the owners of the building turned a profit. In contrast, today the building houses over 1,000 businesses employing over 21,000 people. The building even has its own zip code, 10118.

It became a favorite place for suicide swan dives even before it was completed when a laid off worker took the plunge. Last year, some lawyer jumped from the 68th floor.