Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove
"We hope that the world will not narrow into a neighborhood before it has broadened into a brotherhood." - L.B.J.
The Making of a Memorial
"This strip of land will always be a special place for me...It appears at the moment when you come over a rise and look down into the Potomac Valley and see the capital spread out with its great monuments - the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, the towering Washington Monument, and sweeping on to the gleaming dome of the Capitol. The years never diminished the feeling of pride and elation we felt in those beautiful buildings that belong to all of us. " Lady Bird Johnson, shared these sentiments on April 6,1976 at the dedication of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove.
The idea for a Memorial had its beginnings in 1973, following the death of Lyndon B. Johnson. His friends and colleagues wanted a fitting memorial to the man--a tribute that would recall his love of the land, and recognize his achievements in preserving the Nation's environment. Built with private funds, this project gained support from people all across the country. In Oregon, school children raised cash with a bake sale, and in New Jersey a third grade class gave money earned through yard work.
The Memorial is located in Lady Bird Johnson Park, a Potomac River island in Washington, D.C. In 1968, the island was renamed in Mrs. Johnson's honor for her role in beautifying the Nation's Capital. Later, 17 acres from this park were set aside for the LBJ Memorial Grove. The Grove committee, with Mrs. Johnson as Honorary Chair and more than 70 other men and women, planned this memorial as a different sort of tribute. It would be a living place where people could enjoy the pleasures and beauties of nature, not a great stone building or a bronze or marble statue.
Meade Palmer, a talented Virginia landscape architect, designed a serpentine pattern of walks and trails leading to a granite monolith. The trails are shaded by hundreds of white pine and dogwood trees, and framed by azalea and rhododendron bushes. Thousands of yellow daffodils bloom in season; and rustic picnic tables and benches are scattered through the grove.
The focal point of the grove is a tall, rugged block of sunset red granite, selected to symbolize the energy and personality of a dynamic man. The monolith stands 19 feet high and weighs 43 tons. It was quarried in Texas just 35 miles from the LBJ Ranch. It can be seen clearly from the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Spaced along the walkway surrounding the stone, four granite markers bear quotations from speeches of Lyndon B. Johnson. These quotations express his philosophy on the quality of the environment, education, civil rights, and the Presidency.
Granite markers, surrounding the monolith, preserve Lyndon B. Johnson's philosophy for future generations of visitors.
Environment: "All my life I have drawn sustenance from the rivers and from the hills of my native state. .... I want no less for all the children of America than what I was privileged to have as a boy."
Education: "I believe that every boy and girl in this great land has a right to all the education he or she can use... I intend to work to make this right a reality."
Civil Rights: "The promise of America is a simple promise: Every person shall share in the blessings of this land."
The Presidency: "I hope it may be said a hundred years from now, that by working together we helped to make our country more just for all its people . . . I believe at least it will be said that we tried.
The Johnson Administration added 3.6 million acres of land to the National Park System. Including Redwood National Park, Arches National Monument and many others.
April 11, 1965, President Johnson signed the Primary and Secondary Education Bill into law while sitting beside his first grade teacher. This bill greatly increased federal aid to public education.
1964 Civil Rights Bill, many people consider his contributions to equal rights in the United States his greatest accomplishment.
November 1963 - January 1969, President of the United States Vice President Johnson became President following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Elected in 1964, He did not seek reelection in 1968.
Lyndon Baines Johnson
Born: Stonewall, Texas, August 27, 1908
Educated: Graduated from Southwest Texas State Teachers College 1930
Married: Claudia (Lady Bird) Taylor 1934
Died: January 22, 1973
Career: School teacher in Texas 1930 - 31
Congressional secretary 1931 - 37
Member of Congress 1937 - 48
Officer in U.S. Navy 1941 - 42
U.S. Senator 1949 - 54
The Majority Leader 1955 - 60
Vice President 1961 - 63
President 1963 - 68
Memorial Statistics
Dedicated: April 6, 1976
Landscape Architect: Meade Palmer
Sculptor: Harold C. Vogel
Total acres: 17
Plantings: white pine, azalea, rhododendron bushes, and daffodils
Monolith: Material: granite, quarried in Texas
Height: 19 feet
Weight: 43 tons
Age: The Dept. of Geological Sciences at the University of Texas estimates that the granite is more than a billion years old.
Revised 12/21/97