The
Oscar S. Straus Memorial in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
commemorates the accomplishments of the first
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
to serve in the cabinet of a
U.S. presidentThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
.
Oscar Solomon StrausOscar Solomon Straus was United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor under President Theodore Roosevelt from 1906 to 1909. Straus was the first Jewish United States Cabinet Secretary....
served as Secretary of Commerce and Labor under President
Theodore RooseveltTheodore Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States. He is well remembered for his energetic persona, his range of interests and achievements, his model of masculinity, and his "cowboy" image. He was a leader of the Republican Party and founder of the short-lived Bull Moose Party...
from 1906 to 1909. The memorial is a marble
fountainA fountain is a piece of architecture which pours water into a basin or jets it into the air either to supply drinking water or for decorative or dramatic effect....
located in the
Federal TriangleThe Federal Triangle is the triangular area in Washington, D.C. formed by 15th Street, Constitution Avenue, and Pennsylvania Avenue. It is the site of many U.S. federal government buildings, including:...
on
14th StreetFourteenth Street is a street in Northwest and Southwest Washington, D.C., located 1¼ mi. west of the U.S. Capitol. It runs from the 14th Street Bridge north to Eastern Avenue....
between
PennsylvaniaPennsylvania Avenue is a street in Washington, D.C. joining the White House and the United States Capitol. Called "America's Main Street", it is the location of official parades and processions, as well as protest marches and civilian protests...
and
Constitution AvenueIn Washington, D.C., Constitution Avenue is a major east-west street running just north of the United States Capitol in the city's Northwest and Northeast quadrants...
s, Northwest. It is located in front of the
Ronald Reagan BuildingThe Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, named after former United States President Ronald Reagan, is the first federal building in Washington, D.C. designed for both governmental and private sector purposes. Each of the organizations located in the Pennsylvania Avenue building...
and International Trade Center.
The fountain was designed by German-American artist
Adolph Alexander WeinmanAdolph Alexander Weinman was an American sculptor, born in Karlsruhe, Germany.- Biography :He arrived in the United States at age 10 after which he studied at Cooper Union and Art Students League and with sculptors Augustus St. Gaudens and Philip Martiny. He later served as an assistant to...
and erected in 1947.
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The
Oscar S. Straus Memorial in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
commemorates the accomplishments of the first
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
to serve in the cabinet of a
U.S. presidentThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
.
Oscar Solomon StrausOscar Solomon Straus was United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor under President Theodore Roosevelt from 1906 to 1909. Straus was the first Jewish United States Cabinet Secretary....
served as Secretary of Commerce and Labor under President
Theodore RooseveltTheodore Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States. He is well remembered for his energetic persona, his range of interests and achievements, his model of masculinity, and his "cowboy" image. He was a leader of the Republican Party and founder of the short-lived Bull Moose Party...
from 1906 to 1909. The memorial is a marble
fountainA fountain is a piece of architecture which pours water into a basin or jets it into the air either to supply drinking water or for decorative or dramatic effect....
located in the
Federal TriangleThe Federal Triangle is the triangular area in Washington, D.C. formed by 15th Street, Constitution Avenue, and Pennsylvania Avenue. It is the site of many U.S. federal government buildings, including:...
on
14th StreetFourteenth Street is a street in Northwest and Southwest Washington, D.C., located 1¼ mi. west of the U.S. Capitol. It runs from the 14th Street Bridge north to Eastern Avenue....
between
PennsylvaniaPennsylvania Avenue is a street in Washington, D.C. joining the White House and the United States Capitol. Called "America's Main Street", it is the location of official parades and processions, as well as protest marches and civilian protests...
and
Constitution AvenueIn Washington, D.C., Constitution Avenue is a major east-west street running just north of the United States Capitol in the city's Northwest and Northeast quadrants...
s, Northwest. It is located in front of the
Ronald Reagan BuildingThe Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, named after former United States President Ronald Reagan, is the first federal building in Washington, D.C. designed for both governmental and private sector purposes. Each of the organizations located in the Pennsylvania Avenue building...
and International Trade Center.
The fountain was designed by German-American artist
Adolph Alexander WeinmanAdolph Alexander Weinman was an American sculptor, born in Karlsruhe, Germany.- Biography :He arrived in the United States at age 10 after which he studied at Cooper Union and Art Students League and with sculptors Augustus St. Gaudens and Philip Martiny. He later served as an assistant to...
and erected in 1947. In the center of the memorial is the massive fountain with the inscription "" 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
capitalismCapitalism is an economic and social system in which the means of production are privately controlled; labor, goods and capital are traded in a market; profits are distributed to owners or invested in technologies and industries; and wages are paid to labor...
and labor efforts put forth by Straus).
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