George Washington Masonic National Memorial

Alexandria
VA

The Masonic Memorial to Washington

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The 333-foot memorial, dedicated in 1932, was built by Masons to honor their fellow Mason, George Washington; includes a museum of personal artifacts.
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John Adams was inaugurated as second president on March 4, 1797. Washington had preceded him to the hall and sat on the dais with Jefferson the Vice-President-elect, as Adams spoke. When the new President finished and left, Washington motioned to Jefferson to go next. The two Virginians had known each other since 1769, when Washington had been thirty-seven years old and Jefferson only twenty-six. From long habit and lingering respect, Jefferson now held back. But Washington gestured again, in a manner not to be ignored. The younger man was now Vice-President and must go first.

Richard Brookhiser
Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington (1996)