Charlie Karp

               As I have been working on my paper, I have begun to question the importance of axis to access to memorials. With the Jefferson memorial there is a request that no performance create its own center of attention and distract from the atmosphere of formal commemoration. Also, because the memorial is located on the Tidal Basin, there is not space for large crowds to gather. In this way the memorial differs from the Lincoln memorial and the Washington monument, the other major memorials to great men in DC. The combination of restricted access and the request to not distract from the memorial, give the Jefferson memorial a more solemn atmosphere. I would like to believe that this preserves the original intent of the memorial but it also limits the memorial by not allowing it to be multifunctional or layered in meaning. I am not sure if the Jefferson or the Lincoln memorial is better serving as a memorial.