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 then the ingame 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's 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.

It also appears that one of the rooms in the basement section may be where your character is born. This room is the infirmary and there can be found three Holotapes left by James, in one of them he states he lost his wife, Catherine, but now has a daughter/son (changes per player choice). Additionally, on the ceiling, the Gene Projector can be seen. Go deeper into the basement until you come into a room which contains a single bed, desk and coffee table. A Holotape, Better Days, can be found on the coffee table. Across from the coffee table is a desk which features more Holotapes.

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.

Glitches

 * 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 one can go straight through the barrier and others one 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 that it can see. (Confirmed on the 360 and PS3)


 * If the player enters the memorial before Doctor Li tells them, it will contain only two Enclave soldiers rather than super mutants.


 * Sometimes, a random caravan will be stuck inside the force fields. It is unknown if it keeps on going or is stuck there forever (360)


 * If items are dropped on the surrounding structure they may fall through the floor by fast travel and become unreachable but visible on return.(360) In PC versions the TCL console code will allow the player to get to the items as long as he doesn't bump into them and cause them to fall.(PC)


 * 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.(360)


 * In the western part of the sub-basement there is a grill in the corner and cans continuously fall through the floor directly beside it. (PS3)


 * While in the pump control area there is a small ruined book that continuously falls through the floor.(PS3)


 * Just past the book there is a spatula and a fork that also fall through the floor.(PS3)


 * In the Rotunda room, in the little area with the pipes/pilars, there is a wall that you can walk through. (PC)


 * If you exploit the glitch where you could glitch into the Citadel, and start the quest "Picking up the Trail", you can entirely skip "The Waters of Life" quest. The only problem is that the quest is never finished, causing the map marker for Jefferson Memorial to remain until near the end of the game. (Upon returning after escaping from Raven Rock, Enclave forces have still captured Project Purity, and Autumn is still in the Rotunda, but in the locked control area) (Needs Confirmation)


 * After waking up from activating the Purifier and visiting Jefferson Memorial there was an Enclave Soldier and a Sentry Bot attacking the Brotherhood of Steel and Rivet City Security after the Sentry Bot fired two rockets in the sky they left two burning balls of smoke in the sky which have stayed there since.


 * It has been confirmed that Liberty Prime can sometimes walk off the bridge and end up standing in the water. (PS3)


 * Before Picking up The Trail has been completed it is possible to get past the force fields at the Jefferson memorial via the Western Bridge, you can go inside and 2 Enclave Soldiers will be hostile in there, however if you walk onto the scaffolding there are 3 non-hostile enclave soldiers and an officer, Dialog can be had but the only option is see ya later.
 * During The Waters of Life, Once you reach the point where your father and Janice Kaplinski are being interrogated by Augustus Autumn, if you are to relaod a saved game (from the start menu) and re-enter the scene in the Rotunda, the automatic containment door takes roughly 2 second to close, allowing the PC to get inside, and speak with Autumn and the Enclave soldiers. While Autumn will (litterally) have nothing to say, the Soldiers only spoken words are "Hey" and "Yeah?", and the only speech option available will be "I have to go now". WARNING: Do not save while in the reloded file, as you will be stuck in the Rotunda control center and will have to wait for radiation to kill you. there is no way out. (Confirmed 360)
 * And on the Take It Back! quest sometimes Liberty Prime will walk on the side of the bridge and get stuck, almost falling off.
 * After Take It Back! if Fawkes was fired he may become stuck over the entrance and he will be unable to move or talk to the player (PS3)

Related quests

 * Birth (opening prologue)
 * 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)

External Link

 * Thomas Jefferson Memorial