Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial Competition Collection

In the late 1950s the United States Congress established the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial Commission, which organized an open design competition for a site in West Potomac Park, Washington, DC. The 1959 design competition was won by the firm of Pederson and Tilney; however, the design did not meet approval from the Federal Commission of Fine Arts. After several decades of official indecision, the memorial commission was given to Lawrence Halprin and the completed memorial was dedicated in 1997. This collection summarizes the 1959 competition’s purpose, registration procedures, conditions of participation, and the official program. View finding aid. Collection access:Collections may be accessed in the Franke Reading Room of the Research Center at The Art Institute of Chicago, by appointment only. For further information, consult the FAQ. Finding aids by subjectBrowse all finding aidsBrowse images and mediaOral histories Contact the Ryerson and Burnham Art and Architecture Archives:archives@artic.edu