Oscar Straus Memorial

The Justice portion of the memorial which celebrates the "inherent right" to worship.

The Oscar S. Straus Memorial in Washington, D.C., commemorates the accomplishments of the first Jew to serve in the cabinet of a U.S. president. Oscar Solomon Straus served as Secretary of Commerce and Labor under President Theodore Roosevelt from 1906 to 1909. The memorial is a marble fountain located in the Federal Triangle on 14th Street between Pennsylvania Avenue and Constitution Avenue, Northwest, Washington, D.C. It is located in front of the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.

Reason

The fountain was designed by German-American artist Adolph Alexander Weinman,^[1] funded with a public subscription beginning in 1929,^[2] and dedicated on October 26, 1947.^[3] In the center of the memorial is the massive fountain with the inscription "statesman, author, diplomat" and to each side are two groups of statues, one called Justice (to symbolize the religious freedom which allowed a Jew to serve in such a position of authority) and the other Reason (to symbolize the capitalism and labor efforts put forth by Straus).

It was rededicated on October 26, 1998.^[4]

References

1. ^ "Oscar Straus Memorial". Goethe Institute. http://www.goethe.de/ins/us/was/pro/vtour/dc1/A3/35/en_index.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-05. 
2. ^ "Oscar S. Straus: Fountain at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C.". www.DCmemorials.com. 2006. http://www.dcmemorials.com/index_indiv0000644.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-05. 
3. ^ "Come & Explore". www.itcdc.com. http://www.itcdc.com/explore.php?p=4. Retrieved 2011-04-05. 
4. ^ "Rededication Ceremony Oscar S. Straus Memorial October 26, 1998". wholedamfam (Straus Historical Society, Inc.). February 1999. http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1166571460nwsltr299.pdf. Retrieved 2011-04-05. 

External links

• Panorama

Coordinates: 38°53′38″N 77°01′54″W / 38.8938°N 77.0316°W / 38.8938; -77.0316