Which architect designed the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., in a neoclassical style?

John Russell Pope designed the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., in a neoclassical style. Although Pope died before construction began, his firm’s design established the monument’s Pantheon-like form and classical character.

The memorial was built between 1939 and 1943 on the south shore of the Tidal Basin. Pope’s design uses a domed rotunda, a circular colonnade, and a broad stepped platform, creating a visual language associated with ancient Rome and the ideals of the American republic. The project was completed after Pope’s death by his surviving partners, Daniel P. Higgins and Otto R. Eggers.

Pope drew inspiration from the Roman Pantheon and from Thomas Jefferson’s own rotunda design for the University of Virginia. The bronze statue of Jefferson was not installed until 1947, four years after the memorial opened. Henry Bacon is sometimes confused with Pope because Bacon designed the Lincoln Memorial, while Robert Mills designed the Washington Monument; neither designed the Jefferson Memorial.