The Completion of the Memorial

The Completion of the Memorial

After a long campaign led by people with disabilities, with leadership from the National Organization on Disability, the statue of FDR in a wheelchair by famed sculptor Robert Graham and a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt referring to the inner strength her husband acquired as a result of polio were installed at the Memorial in what is called the Prologue Room at the entrance of the Memorial. Graham, listening to the advocacy of the disability community, created the statue to be life-sized, and several feet from a wall on the ground level to allow for full access to the entire statue. The Prologue Room was dedicated on January 10, 2001, by President Bill Clinton.

View the History of the FDR Memorial