Statue of FDR and Fala

FDR and Fala

Photo: NPS / Kelsey Graczyk

Quick Facts

Amenities

4 listed

Audio Description, Braille, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Tactile Exhibit

Just beyond the two jumbles of stones and the fountain, is an alcove. There sits a larger than life statue of FDR wearing a cloak, portrayed in one of his favorite chairs at Hyde Park, New York. Hidden from view are the wheels on the chair located on the back. The wheels are there, if one looks. Just as FDR hid his disability due to polio, Halprin wanted to make sure the disability was hidden from visitors to the memorial. Accessibility advocates had lobbied during the design process for the statue of FDR statue to be shown in a wheelchair. Halprin, however, was a big fan of FDR and thus wanted to hold true to what FDR did during his presidency, hiding his disability. Accessibility groups continued to lobby even after the memorial was dedicated and won approval for a second statue of FDR, which is located in the Prologue Room. Next to the statue of FDR in Room Three is a statue of his dog, Fala, a Scottish terrier. Both bronze statues were sculpted by Neil Estern.

Wartime President

FDR said the US must be a "great aresal for democracy." His administration sent military supplies to allies like Great Britain. After entering World War II, FDR and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill formed a close alliance. America, Great Britain, Canada, France, Australiam and other democracies often fought side by side. Join by the Soviet Union during the war, the Allies defeated the Axis powers.

FDR joined British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (left) and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin (right) at the second "Big Three" conference in Yalta. The Allied leaders planned the post-war occupation of Germany, political borders of Eastern Europe, and the United Nations. 

Memorial Quotes in Room Three

“They (Who) Seek To Establish Systems Of Government Based On The Regimentation Of All Human Beings By A Handful Of Individual Rulers … Call This A New Order. It Is Not New And It Is Not Order.” Address at the Annual Dinner of WHCA, March 15, 1941

“We Have Faith That Future Generations Will Know Here, In The Middle Of The Twentieth Century, There Cam A Time When Men Of Good Will Found A Way To Unite, And Produce, And Fight To Destroy The Forces Of Ignorance, And Intolerance, And Slavery, And War.” Radio Address, February 12, 1943