Thomas Jefferson Memorial

The Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. honors Thomas Jefferson—author of the Declaration of Independence, key figure in the American Revolution, founder of the Democratic-Republican Party, and third U.S. president. Serving as a focal point of the National Mall, the memorial embodies Jefferson’s commitment to individual rights, religious freedom, and American democratic values. McKissack provided design-build and program management services for physical security barriers, historic restoration, and preservation for the Jefferson Memorial. The work entailed the following: To address heavy tourist traffic around the memorial, McKissack built a security barrier on the site’s eastern and southern edges. McKissack used the forms and materials of the memorial to inspire the design of this barrier. Design consisted of bollards, low walls, fencing, gates, and retractable vehicle barrier systems as means of protecting vehicular access to the Jefferson lawn. These characteristics allowed the barrier to complement existing footpaths and enhanced pedestrian circulation and experience of the memorial without detracting from the pastoral landscape. To preserve the memorial’s North Portico wall, marble veneer panels and historic masonry were removed so that the existing steel lintels supporting the marble could be replaced. The marble veneer panels were cleaned and repaired using “Dutchman” repair techniques. Repairs and cleaning were also necessary to preserve the memorial’s colonnade floor, soffit, volutes, parapet and dome, and colonnade ceilings