President Franklin D. Roosevelt was honored in 1965 with a simple slab of Vermont marble outside the National Archives in Washington, D.C. - at a cost of $12,000, raised privately. That will change this summer when a new FDR memorial, including 11 statues depicting Roosevelt's life and times, will begin construction on 17 acres between the Potomac River and the Tidal Basin. The cost this time will be $48 million, much of it from public funds.
Few would begrudge Roosevelt the historical recognition he deserves for his unusual service during the severe crises of depression and world war.But the Roosevelt memorial elicits concern for a steady proliferation of monuments in the nation's capital, where room is running out, especially for those spread over multiple acres.
The National Park Service oversees and maintains 114 memorials commemorating 10 presidents, 42 military men, actions or units, and such diverse figures as Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko and labor leader Samuel Gompers.
In fact, another 45 proposed memorials are currently under consideration, including statues to honor American journalists killed in combat, Latino Vietnam veterans and Draza Mihailovic, the Yugoslav general who saved 500 American airmen in World War II.
There would undoubtedly be more memorials had not Congress passed a law in 1986 limiting those to be honored to people who have been dead for at least 25 years, and insisting the design pass at least three commissions - and except for presidential monuments - be completed with no cost to taxpayers.
Even though no one wants to be forgotten, it is physically impossible to memorialize every important figure or group. In fact, to do so would cheapen the honor itself. In the name of practicality, therefore, it is time to put on the brakes.