Jefferson Memorial

The  was a memorial in Washington, D.C. dedicated to the 18th century politician Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was the author of the Declaration of Independence and the third President of the United States of America. This 20th century monument was built on the bank of the Tidal Basin of the River Potomac. Unlike many other monuments in the city which were severely damaged or destroyed in the Great War of 2077, the Jefferson Memorial survived relatively intact into the 23rd century. It is located on the Potomac River Tidal Basin in Fallout 3, as it is in reality, though the real life version is much closer to the Mall than the in-game version.

In the 2250s, the Memorial was selected by project lead James for Project Purity primarily for its location. The project's stated aim was for converting the Memorial into a water purifier where the river's water could be cleansed of radiation for use by residents of the Capital Wasteland. Project Purity was abandoned after James' wife Catherine died giving birth to their child.

The statue of Thomas Jefferson can be seen in pristine condition submerged within Project Purity as it is activated.

In the add-on Broken Steel, the Purifier is activated. Brotherhood of Steel Knights will patrol the catwalks and shore for dying Mirelurks, which apparently are being poisoned by the clean water. This may be due to the fact that mirelurks evolved after much of the Wasteland's water was irradiated, and can thus only survive in radioactive water.

Nearby there is a pier where Pirate Pely's Boats and Bait can be found, and to the east, a super mutant camp containing a captive and a copy of Lying, Congressional Style.

Related quests

 * Scientific Pursuits
 * The Waters of Life
 * Take it Back!
 * Holy Water (Broken Steel)
 * Protecting the Water Way (Broken Steel)
 * The Amazing Aqua Cura (Broken Steel)

Bugs

 * During Picking Up The Trail, one can overhear Brotherhood members talking about the "serious firepower" the Enclave has supposedly stationed at Project Purity. However, when going back there at this time all there is are an incomplete fence and two soldiers.
 * It can be possible to enter the building later in the game, after The American Dream, or before Liberty Prime has reached it in Take it Back!. This is achieved by going to the western bridge to the memorial and then jumping around against the ledge. Sometimes you can go straight through the barrier and other times you must walk on the ledge all the way around the complex. This will treat the game as though you are in the final mission without any support. When you go into the Rotunda, the other characters will appear like in the final quest, however they do not do anything.
 * Sometimes upon entry, the turret in the center of the room goes berserk without being provoked and fires upon all centaurs, mutants, and even Enclave soldiers within range.
 * Sometimes, a caravan will be stuck inside the force fields.
 * If items are dropped on the surrounding structure they may fall through the floor and become unreachable but visible on return.
 * Crouching in third person with a hunting rifle and pushing the L trigger near the door (outside) may cause one of your legs to fold up at an odd angle.
 * In the western part of the sub-basement, and pump control area, various items such as cans, a ruined book, spatula and fork continuously fall through the floor.
 * The Rotunda room is backwards.
 * In the Rotunda room, in the little area with the pipes/pillars, there is a wall that you can walk through.
 * After the Take It Back! quest, if Fawkes was fired he may become stuck over the entrance and he will be unable to move or talk to the player.
 * If Broken Steel is installed you can go back to the Jefferson Memorial after the game ends. When you go into the main room you can see two terminals, one non-working and one that is, but there is no way to interact with this terminal.
 * After the Waters of Life quest, part of the fence is missing and so you can walk inside, also the Enclave troops within are non-hostile.

External Link

 * Thomas Jefferson Memorial