The presidential memorials in the United States honor the various Presidents of the United States and seek to perpetuate their legacies.
Living and physical elements
A presidential memorial may have a physical element which consists of a monument or a statue within a monument. Its entire presence consists of a physical structure that is a permanent remembrance of the president it represents. Most well known presidential memorials such as the Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson memorials have a physical element.
There are also official presidential memorials that have a living element with only a minor physical presence. An example of a presidential living memorial is the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Located in a wing of the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C., the Wilson Center has a small exhibit concerning President Wilson's life and work, but it is best known for its work to unite the world of ideas with the world of policy by supporting scholarship linked to issues of contemporary importance. In this way the living memorial perpetuates President Wilson’s legacy of scholarship linked closely to international relations.
Similarly, the Harry S. Truman Scholarship honors U.S. college students dedicated to public service and policy leadership, and thus may be considered a memorial with solely a living element. The Truman Scholarship is the sole federal memorial allowed to honor President Truman.
This can also be accomplished through the establishment of a policy institute, like the Eisenhower Institute whose mandate is to advance Eisenhower's intellectual and leadership legacies through research, public education, and public policy recommendations.
The James Madison Memorial Building, the third and newest building of the Library of Congress, is an example of a memorial with both living and physical elements. The building houses a memorial hall to President James Madison, but is also dedicated in memory of his 1783 proposal that the Continental Congress form an official library.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts also has both a physical element, a striking building in Washington, DC, and a living element, an ongoing series of live theatrical performances, presented in the name of a fallen president.
Multiple statues of other physical memorials to some presidents exist, larger installations include:
Washington MonumentWashington Monument (Baltimore)Washington Monument (Washington County)George Washington Masonic National MemorialGeorge Washington's Mount VernonAdams National Historical ParkJefferson MemorialThomas Jefferson's MonticelloJames Madison's MontpelierJames Madison Memorial BuildingAndrew Jackson Statue in Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C.Andrew Jackson Memorial at the Museum of the Waxhaws, Waxhaw, NCAndrew Jackson's The HermitageMartin Van Buren National Historic SiteFranklin Pierce HomesteadJames Buchanan Memorial in Meridian Hill Park in Washington, DCPresident James Buchanan's WheatlandLincoln MemorialLincoln HighwayAbraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical ParkLincoln Boyhood National MemorialLincoln's New Salem State Historic SiteLincoln Home National Historic SiteFord's Theatre National Historic SiteLincoln Tomb and War Memorials State Historic SiteAbraham Lincoln Presidential Library and MuseumUlysses S. Grant MemorialGrant National MemorialJames A. Garfield MemorialJames A. Garfield MonumentJames A. Garfield National Historic SiteBenjamin Harrison memorial statueMcKinley National MemorialNational McKinley Birthplace MemorialTheodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic SiteSagamore Hill National Historic SiteTheodore Roosevelt IslandWoodrow Wilson International Center for ScholarsWarren G. Harding Memorial (Marion Cemetery)Hoover TowerHerbert Hoover Presidential Library and MuseumHome of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic SiteFranklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and MuseumFranklin Delano Roosevelt MemorialFranklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park on New York City's Roosevelt IslandHarry S. Truman National Historic SiteHarry S. Truman Presidential Library and MuseumTruman ScholarshipEisenhower National Historic SiteDwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood HomeJohn F. Kennedy National Historic SiteJohn F. Kennedy Center for the Performing ArtsJohn F. Kennedy Eternal FlameJohn F. Kennedy Memorial (Dallas)John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and MuseumLyndon B. Johnson National Historical ParkLyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic SiteLyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove on the PotomacLyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and MuseumRichard Nixon Presidential Library and MuseumGerald R. Ford Presidential LibraryGerald R. Ford Presidential MuseumJimmy Carter National Historic SiteJimmy Carter Presidential Library and MuseumRonald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Washington, D.C.Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and MuseumGeorge H. W. Bush Memorial in Houston, Texas's Sesquicentennial ParkGeorge Bush Center for Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency, Langley, VAGeorge Bush Presidential Library and MuseumPresident William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic SiteWilliam J. Clinton Presidential Center and ParkGeorge W. Bush Presidential Library and MuseumMount Rushmore National MemorialThe Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial is currently being planned for Washington, D.C.The Adams Memorial is currently being planned for Washington, D.C.