>>> WE LOOK FORWARD TO A WORLD FOUNDED UPON FOUR ESSENTIAL HUMAN FREEDOMS.

>> A PARK AND A MEMORIAL INSPIRED BY ONE OF THE MOST STIRRING SPEECHES -- >> FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND EXPRESSION.

>> THERE'S A FORCE TO IT AND A STRENGTH TO IT.

>> -- FROM ONE OF OUR GREATEST PRESIDENTS.

>> FREEDOM OF EVERY PERSON WHO WORSHIPS GOD IN HIS OWN WAY.

>> FDR SAW AMERICA'S ROLE AS LARGER THAN IT HAD BEEN.

>> FREEDOM FROM WANT, FREEDOM FROM FEAR.

>> AN ARCHITECTURAL WONDER THAT ALMOST DIDN'T HAPPEN.

>> THEY WERE GOING TO DO IT.

>> FOR THE DREAMERS WHO DREAMED IT AND THE ACTIVISTS WHO WORKED UNDER TRYING CONDITIONS TO MAKE IT REAL.

THE ISLAND THAT BEARS PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT'S NAME.

THIS PROGRAM IS MADE POSSIBLE BY CORRINA ENDOWMENT FUND, AND VINCENT MAY AND BERNARD AND IRENE SWARTZ.

>> SURELY IT IS FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT.

HE WAS A NATIVE NEW YORKER WHO SERVES AS GOVERNOR HERE.

HIS NEW DEAL PROGRAMS FINANCED BUILDINGS, PARKS AND HIGHWAYS IN AND AROUND THE CITY.

AND HE FOUGHT TIRELESSLY FOR THE CREATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS RIGHT ALONG THE EAST RIVER.

TODAY AN EXTRAORDINARY MONUMENT TO HIS LEGACY EXISTS FITTINGLY HERE ON ROOSEVELT ISLAND.

FOUR FREEDOMS PARK IS NAMED FOR FDR'S SOBERING 1941 SPEECH THAT RESHAPED OUR VIEW OF AMERICA'S ROLE IN THE WORLD.

BUT THIS PLACE IS NOT AUSTERE, IT'S A VIBRANT PARK AND A BREATHTAKING STRUCTURE DESIGNED BY ONE OF THE 20th CENTURY'S GREATEST ARCHITECTS.

THE STORY OF HOW THIS SITE WENT FROM LAND FILL TO LANDMARK COULD FILL A HISTORY BOOK OF ITS OWN.

A SERIES OF OBSTACLES WERE OVERCOME THROUGH INNOVATE TIFF DESIGN AND THE FEAR BELIEF OF MEMORIALIZING FDR IN THE RIGHT WAY AND IN THE RIGHT PLACE WAS WORTH THE EFFORT.

>> PEOPLE WHO HAVE COME TO IT WHO ARE ARCHITECTS OR STUDENTS OF ANY BACKGROUND TALK OF IT IN SPIRITUAL TERMS.

>> FOUR FREEDOMS PARK IS A PROUD MEMORIAL TO FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT, THE NEW YORK GOVERNOR AND FOUR-TERM U.S. PRESIDENT WHO SKILLFULLY GUIDED NEW YORK AND THE NATION THROUGH THE WORST DOMESTIC CRISIS AND THE WORST FOREIGN CRISIS OF THE 20th CENTURY.

A NEW YORK MONUMENT TO HONOR AN ICONIC LEADER WHO LAUNCHED HIS CAREER HERE MIGHT SEEM LIKE A NATURAL IDEA, BUT MAKING THIS PARK A REALITY WAS ITSELF A MONUMENTAL TASK, REQUIRING DECADES OF RELENTLESS ADVOCACY.

WE'LL SHOW YOU A PROJECT THAT WAS DAUNTING EVEN TO THE CITY'S BEST BUILDERS.

>> YOU'RE WORKING HERE ON A VERY NARROW ISLAND.

>> YOU HAD A VERY BIG CHALLENGE.

>> THE FORCE BEHIND FOUR FREEDOMS PARK IS A FORMER AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS, BILL VANDEN HEUVEL.

VANDEN HEUVEL HAS BEEN PUSHING FOR -- BUT HIS EMOTION POND TO PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT GOES BACK MUCH FURTHER.

>> MY FATHER ON HIS SHOULDERS TOOK ME TO THE RAILWAY STATION TO SEE FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT ARRIVE IN ONE OF THE TORCHLIGHT PARADES.

>> VANDEN HEUVEL'S -- >> I IDEALIZED I'M SURE AS A YOUNG BOY WOULD.

I BEGAN CAMPAIGNING FOR THE ROOSEVELT TRADITION AND THE ROOSEVELT LEGACY WHEN I WAS 10 YEARS OLD.

>> AS A BOY IN ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, HE WAS INSPIRED BY ROOSEVELT, A MAN WHO HAD SURVIVED A DEVASTATING BOUT OF POLIO AND BECOME A POPULAR TAKE CHARGE GOVERNOR.

>> THE DEPRESSION HIT IN THE MIDDLE OF FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT'S GOVERNOR SHIP AND HE ALONE DECIDED THAT THE STATE GOVERNMENT COULD HELP PEOPLE.

>> WITH FOOD LINES ACROSS THE STATE AND HOOVERVILLE SPRINGING UP EVEN IN CENTRAL PARK, NEW YORKERS NEEDED HELP.

ROOSEVELT LOWERED UTILITY RATES, REDUCED TAXES AND CREATED A STATE AGENCY TO AID THE UNEMPLOYED.

WHEN HE WAS ELECTED PRESIDENT IN 1932, FDR ENACTED AN EVEN MORE AMBITIOUS PLAN FOR THE NATION'S ECONOMIC RECOVERY.

THE NEW DEAL PROVIDED UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION AND ASSISTANCE TO THE POOR, ELDERLY AND DISABLED.

NEW DEAL PROGRAMS LIKE THE WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION CREATED MORE THAN 12 MILLION JOBS.

>> HE DIDN'T THINK THERE WERE ANY PROBLEMS THAT COULDN'T BE SOLVED, ESPECIALLY IF HE WAS IN CHARGE.

>> THE PROBLEMS CONFRONTING ROOSEVELT WOULD ONLY GET MORE DAUNTING.

HITLER, ROOSEVELT'S MOST VITRIOLIC POSSIBILITIES PREACHED ISOLATIONISM.

>> THE WARMONGERS ARE NOT INTERESTED IN THE WELFARE OF THE COMMON PEOPLE.

AS MUCH AS THEY ARE INTERESTED IN MAINTAINING THEIR INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CONTROL.

>> THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO HATED THEM, LUNATICS WHO THOUGHT HE WAS THE MOUTHPIECE FOR THE JEWS.

PEOPLE WHO RESENTED HIS HAVING WON A THIRD TERM, THEY THOUGHT HE WAS LYING ABOUT EUROPE.

>> FOR THE STATE OF THE UNION IN 1941, ROOSEVELT PREPARED A BOLD RESPONSE, HIS FAMOUS FOUR FREEDOM SPEECH.

>> THERE IS NO PREVIOUS TIME AS AMERICAN SECURITY IS AS SERIOUSLY THREATENED FROM WITHOUT AS IT IS TODAY.

FREEDOM MEANS THE SUPREMACY OF HUMAN RIGHTS EVERYWHERE.

THOSE WHO STRUGGLE TO GAIN THOSE RIGHTS AND KEEP THEM.

>> LESS THAN A YEAR LATER, WHEN JAPAN ATTACKED PEARL HARBOR AND THE U.S.

ENTERED THE WAR, THE FOUR FREEDOM SPEECH BECAME A RALLYING CRY.

ROOSEVELT NEVER GOT TO SEE THE VICTORY HIS WARTIME LEADERSHIP MADE POSSIBLE.

IN APRIL 1945, NOT LONG BEFORE THE WAR'S END, THE PRESIDENT DIED AT HIS RETREAT IN WARM SPRINGS, GEORGIA.

>> ABOARD A SPECIAL TRAIN BEGINNING THE 24-HOUR TRIP BACK TO WASHINGTON, THE 31st PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES LEAVES WARM SPRINGS FOREVER.

AND ALL ALONG THE 700 MILE ROUTE, PEOPLE GATHERED TO HONOR PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AND HIS IDEALS.

>> A WHOLE GENERATION OF PEOPLE HAD NEVER HAD ANOTHER PRESIDENT, THE WORD PRESIDENT MEANT ROOSEVELT.

IT WAS AS IF A FATHER HAD DIED IN A FAMILY.

>> THE GRIEF THAT WAS SUFFERING THE NATION COULD CERTAINLY BE EXPRESSED BY THE TERRIBLE GRIEF WHEN ROOSEVELT DIED.

>> THEY TOOK UP A COLLECTION FOR BUS FARE SO HE COULD TRAVEL TO FDR'S FUNERAL AT THE PRESIDENT'S SECOND HOME IN HYDE PARK, NEW YORK.

BUT WHEN THE TEENAGER ARRIVED THERE, THERE WAS NO SPACE LEFT FOR STUDENTS.

>> MRS. ROOSEVELT WAS COMING FROM THE HOUSE.

I SAID MS. ROOSEVELT, I HAVE COME 400 MILES TO BE HERE TODAY, PLEASE LET ME STAY.

>> THE FIRST LADY AGREED TO THE YOUNG MAN'S REQUEST.

AND BILL VANDENHEUVEL GREW TO BE A MAN, GRADUATING FROM CORNELL LAW SCHOOL, FDR'S EXAMPLE CONTINUED TO INSPIRE HIM.

IN THE 1950s AND 60s, HE BECAME INVOLVED IN DEMOCRATIC POLITICS AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.

SERVING AS AN ASSISTANT TO U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL ROBERT KENNEDY.

IN THE 1970s, JIMMY CARTER NAMED HIM AS AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS, THE ORGANIZATION FDR DREAMED OF AND HIS WIDOW HELPED REALIZE.

>> THE OBJECT IS TO MAKE PEOPLE EVERYWHERE CONSCIOUS OF THE IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOM.

>> THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER, VANDENHEUVEL MADE HE ATTENDED A CEREMONY ON WHAT WAS THEN WELFARE ISLAND.

WHERE NEW YORK GOVERNOR NELSON ROCKEFELLER AND NEW YORK CITY MAYOR JOHN LINDSEY RENAMED THE SPACE ROOSEVELT ISLAND AND ANNOUNCED PLANS TO BUILD A MONUMENT.

>> AN ARCHITECT WAS CHOSEN TO DESIGN THE PROJECT, LOUIS KAHN.

>> HE GOT THE AIA GOLD MEDAL, THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS HIGHEST LEVEL OF ACHIEVEMENT.

>> MY FATHER LOVED FDR FOR SO MANY REASONS.

MY FATHER WAS AN IMMIGRANT COMING TO THIS LAND OF OPPORTUNITY BUT HE LIVED IN PRETTY SERIOUS POVERTY IN PHILADELPHIA.

>> CANNES'S CONNECTION TO FDR WAS DEEPENED BY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.

HE GOT HIS START IN THE DEPRESSION ERA, IN AN ARCHITECTURE PROGRAM CREATED BY FDR'S WORK PROGRESS.

>> SUDDENLY ROOSEVELT'S IDEA THAT THERE WAS ALWAYS THIS GREAT UNTAPPED POTENTIAL IN AMERICA.

THERE IS GREATNESS WITHIN ALL OF US, WE JUST NEED A CHANCE TO BRING IT OUT.

>> KAHN WENT ON TO DESIGN MASTERPIECES THAT WERE BOLD AND IMPOSING, DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM ANCIENT RUINS.

HIS BEST WORK INCLUDES THE SALT INSTITUTE IN CALIFORNIA.

THE YALE CENTER FOR BRITISH ART AND THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY BUILDING IN BANGLADESH.

HIS SON STILL REMEMBERS KAHN'S EXCITEMENT.

>> TO BUILD A MEMORIAL TO BELOVED PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT IN NEW YORK CITY, ON AN ISLAND RECENTLY RENAMED FOR ROOSEVELT, IN THE STATE WHICH GAVE BIRTH TO ROOSEVELT AS A POLITICAL FIGURE.

IT WAS THE COMMISSION OF A LIFETIME AND HE TOOK IT VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY.

>> KAHN'S DESIGN WAS BOTH A GRAND MONUMENT AND A TRANQUIL PARK.

A SET OF GRANITE STEPS LEADS TO A POINT SHAPED LAWN WITH ROWS OF TREES ON EITHER SIDE.

ON THE TIP OF THE POINT, STANDS A BRONZE BURST OF ROOSEVELT AND BEYOND THAT, WHAT KAHN CALLED THE ROOM, IMPOSING STONE WALLS UNDER AN OPEN SKY.

>> I REMEMBER MY FATHER WORKING OVER THESE DIMENSIONS OF THE BLOCKS.

HE WAS CONSTANTLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW FAR APART THOSE STONES SHOULD BE.

SHOULD THEY BE AN INCH, SHOULD THEY BE A FOOT?

WHAT WAS THAT DIMENSION.

I THINK HE WAS LOOKING FOR THAT POINT WHERE THEY WOULD JUST VIBRATE WITH ENERGY.

>> BUT EXCITEMENT AROUND THE PROJECT SOON TURNED TO DISAPPOINTMENT.

IN 1974, NELSON ROCKEFELLER, A KEY SUPPORTER OF THE MEMORIAL AS GOVERNOR, MOVED TO WASHINGTON TO BECOME VICE PRESIDENT IN THE MIDST OF THE WATERGATE SCANDAL.

LOUIS KAHN DIED SUDDENLY OF A HEART ATTACK IN PENN STATION.

THE FINANCIAL CRISIS THAT SOCKED THE CITY SOON AFTER PUT DISCRETIONARY PROJECTS LIKE THE FDR MEMORIAL ON THE BACK BURNER.

>> IT LAY ON THE TABLE UNTOUCHED FOR A LONG NUMBER OF YEARS.

>> THERE WAS TALK OF REVIVING THE PLAN IN THE 1980s AND AGAIN IN THE '90s, BUT IT WENT NOWHERE.

STILL VANDENHEUVEL WOULD LET I DIE.

>> HE CAME ACROSS THE ROOM, PUT HIS HAND OUT AND HE SAID, HELLO, I'M FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT JR. AND IT WAS JUST INSTANT SOMETHING HAPPENED BETWEEN US.

>> THE COUPLE MARRIED AND STEVENSON BECAME MRS. FDR JR. BY THEN, HER HUSBAND WAS IN HIS 70s AND BEGINNING TO THINK MORE SERIOUSLY ABOUT HIS FATHER'S LEGACY.

>> HE REVERED HIS FATHER SO MUCH AND HE WAS VERY CLOSE TO HIM AND HE THOUGHT FOUR FREEDOMS WAS VERY IMPORTANT FOR EVERYONE TO NOTICE AND PASS ON SO TO SPEAK TO OTHER GENERATIONS.

>> EACH YEAR, THE ROOSEVELTS ATTENDED AN INTERNATIONAL CEREMONY MARKING THE FOUR FREEDOMS.

WHEN THEY TRAVELLED TO HOLLAND TO SPEAK AT THE 1988 EVENT, ROOSEVELT WAS STILL SUFFERING THE IMPACT OF A SERIOUS ACCIDENT.

>> HE STOOD UP IN FRONT OF THE QUEEN AND SAID, THIS WILL BE MY LAST TRIP TO THE NETHERLANDS.

AND I'M REMOVING MY MANTLE AND PLACING IT ON MY WIFE'S SHOULDERS.

WELL, OF COURSE, THAT WAS QUITE A WEIGHT PUT ON ME.

>> FDR JR. DIED A FEW MONTHS LATER.

>> I'M IN A POSITION TO CARRY ON FOR HIM AND I TRY TO DO THE PROJECTS THAT WOULD BE HIS INTERESTS.

AND THIS PARK WAS SOMETHING HE VERY MUCH WAS HOPING WOULD BE BUILT.

>> LOUIS KAHN'S YOUNGEST SON SHARED THE HOPE THAT THE NEW YORK ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL, HIS FATHER'S FINAL ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN COULD BECOME A REALITY.

NATHANIEL KAHN BEGAN WORKING ON A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT HIS FATHER'S LIFE AND WORK.

>> THROUGH MAKING THE FILM, I FOUND OUT A LOT ABOUT HIM BOTH AS AN ARCHITECT AND AS A PERSON.

>> THE FILM CALLED "MY ARCHITECT" WAS RELEASED IN 2003.

>> FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, HE WAS AFTER SYMMETRY, ORDER AND GEOMETRIC CLARITY, ENORMOUS WEIGHT.

>> IN RESEARCHING HISS FATHER'S BLUEPRINTS, KAHN CAME ACROSS A TREASURE TROVE OF DESIGNS.

>> THE U.S. CONSULATE IN ANGOLA, THE CITY TOWER PROJECT.

>> SO MANY GREAT PROJECTS.

THESE WERE THINGS HE LOVED AND THINGS HE WORKED ON FOR SOMETIMES YEARS THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN.

>> ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL OF THE UNBUILT MASTER WORKS, THE ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL IN NEW YORK CITY.

>> NATHANIEL KAHN'S WORK DREW RAVE REVIEWS.

>> WE SAW MANY MORE PEOPLE VISITING THE COLLECTION HERE, WANTING TO VISIT KAHN'S BUILDINGS, ARRANGED FOR TOURS.

>> YOUNG KAHN'S FILMS GAVE THE MEMORIAL PROJECT MOMENTUM IT HAD NEVER HAD BEFORE.

A YOUNG NEW YORK ARCHITECT WAS COMMISSIONED TO CO-CREATE -- ABOUT THE ARCHITECT SHE GREATLY ADMIRED.

>> LOUIS KAHN WAS ALWAYS CONSIDERED AN ARCHITECT'S ARCHITECT.

>> THE EXHIBIT PROMPTED MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARD THE MEMORIAL.

ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE SALLY MENARD CAME ON BOARD AS PRESIDENT OF THE PROJECT.

>> THE WHOLE IDEA OF A KAHN DESIGN OF A MEMORIAL OF FDR OF SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE OF NEW YORK CITY, IT WAS SO EXCITING.

SO WE HAD TO RAISE $50 MILLION IN THE GREATEST RECESSION SINCE THE DEPRESSION, SO THAT WAS A CHALLENGE.

WE JUST KEPT APPROACHING THE HURDLES AND CLEARING THE HURDLES AND FACING THE NEXT HURDLE.

>> PLANS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF THE PROJECT NOW CALLED FOUR FREEDOMS PARK BEGAN IN ERNEST.

>> IT WAS THRILLING, BUT IT ALSO SUDDENLY GETS VERY SCARY.

BECAUSE YOU THINK HOW IS IT GOING TO TURN OUT?

>> I REMEMBER HAVING A PANIC.

>> ON SITE THINGS WERE NOT EXACTLY AS THEY LOOKED ON PAPER AND GINA SAYS PARTS OF KAHN'S DESIGN PUZZLED HER.

>> I REMEMBER SPEAKING TO A FORMER CLASSMATE OF MINE FROM COOPER SAYING, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW, WHAT IS THIS?

SHE JUST SAID, TRUST KAHN.

YOU HAVE TO TRUST KAHN.

>> IN EARLY 2010, WORKERS BROKE GROUND ON FOUR FREEDOMS PARK.

>> A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME WAS DEVOTED TO LOGISTICS PLAN, GIVEN THAT YOU'RE ON AN ISLAND, GIVEN THAT YOU'RE FACING SOME OF THE STRONGEST CURRENTS ON THE EASTERN SEABOARD.

>> THE FIRST STEP, LAYING A FOUNDATION, PROVED TO BE ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT.

>> THE FOUNDATION AT THE TIP OF THE ISLAND HAD TO BE BUILT BELOW WATER.

SO WE ACTUALLY HAD TO USE A SORT OF STEEL SHEATHING TO HOLD BACK THE WATER, A TEMPORARY DAM.

>> AT TIMES WE WERE LIKE EIGHT TO TEN FOOT BELOW THE RIVER WHEN THERE WERE EXTREME HIGH TIDES, YOU KNOW THE WATER WOULD COME RIGHT OVER THE TOP OF THE DAM.

>> TO HANDLE CONSTRUCTION OF THE ROOM AT THE TIP OF THE ISLAND, THE TEAM HIRED PORT MORRIS TILES.

THE COMPANY HAD DONE THE STONE WORK ON HUGE PROJECTS, LIKE YANKEE STADIUM.

>> I WON'T FORGET THAT DAY.

I SAID TO MY BOSS, I SAID, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS FOR US.

HE TURNED TO ME AND HE SAID, IF IT'S NOT FOR PORT MORRIS, IT'S NOT GOING TO BE FOR ANYBODY.

>> THEY TRAVELLED TO A QUARRY IN NORTH CAROLINA TO SELECT THE FINEST GRANITE.

12 MILLION POUNDS WORTH.

>> THE 59th STREET BRIDGE CAN ONLY HANDLE 30 TONS AT A TIME.

AND PORT MORRIS NEEDED TO BRING IN COLUMNS WEIGHING UP TO 36 TONS.

SO THE GRANITE WAS TRUCKED TO NEW JERSEY THEN TAKEN TO THE SITE BY BARGE.

>> NOT UNLIKE SHIPPING THE HUGE STONES UP THE NILE TO BUILD THE PYRAMIDS, IT WAS REALLY THE SAME, BRICK BY BRICK, BLOCK BY BLOCK TECHNIQUE THAT WAS USED HERE TO BUILD THIS PROJECT.

>> MRS. FDR JR., ONE OF THE PROJECT'S BIGGEST SUPPORTERS FOR A QUARTER CENTURY VISITED THE CONSTRUCTION SITE AS OFTEN AS SHE COULD.

>> WHEN THE FIRST 36-TON BLOCK ARRIVED BY BARGE, AND THE MEN WERE HOISTING IT ON TO THE PARK AND SETTING IT IN PLACE, IT WAS JUST TOTAL EXCITEMENT.

>> IN AN EARLIER ERA, IT'S JUST THE SORT OF PROJECT THE WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION WOULD HAVE TAKEN ON.

ABOUT 100 TRAINED STONE SETTERS POSITIONED 70 MASSIVE STONES IN THE ROOM.

AND 260,000 SMALLER STONES THROUGHOUT THE SITE.

LANDSCAPERS PLANTED LINDEN TREES IN PERFECT ROWS.

A FOUNDRY CREATED A SIX-FOOT BUST OF ROOSEVELT.

STONE ARTIST NICK BENSON DESIGNED AND HAND CARVED AN INSCRIPTION FROM THE FOUR FREEDOMS SPEECH ON A COLUMN OF GRANITE.

BUT JUST BEFORE THE PARK WAS TO OPEN, A FINAL HURDLE.

A LEGAL DISPUTE ABOUT WHERE ON THE SITE TWO DONORS COULD HAVE THEIR NAMES ENGRAVED.

A NEW YORK STATE JUDGE QUICKLY RULED ON THE DISPUTE ALLOWING THE DEDICATION TO GO FORWARD.

>> IT'S BEEN A LONG AND SOMETIMES DIFFICULT STRUGGLE, BUT WHAT A MAGNIFICENT END.

>> ON OCTOBER 17, 2012, ALMOST THREE YEARS AFTER CONSTRUCTION BEGAN, BILL VANDENHEUVEL, MRS. FDR JR. CULT THE RIBBON ON FOUR FREEDOMS PARK.

>> I DID NOT VISUALIZE WHAT A MAGNIFICENT WORK OF ART THIS WAS GOING TO BE.

YOU COULD LOOK AT WHAT KAHN HAD DRAWN.

>> YOU GO UP THAT GRAND STAIRCASE AND YOU HAVE NOTHING BUT GRANITE IN FRONT OF YOU, AND YOU GET UP THE STAIRS AND YOU PICK UP YOUR HEAD AND YOU LOOK DOWN THAT ALLEY, THE LAWN AND THE TREES GOING DOWN TO THE BUST OF FDR.

>> THEN YOU STEP THROUGH A COURT AND THEN INTO THIS ROOM AND SUDDENLY YOU'VE BEEN PREPARED IN THIS AMAZING WAY FOR THE EXPERIENCE OF SPACE OPENING UP, POSSIBILITIES OPENING UP, YOUR OWN FREEDOMS OPENING UP.

>> AS FAMILIAR AS I WAS WITH CONSTRUCTION DRAWINGS AND THE DESIGN, THERE ARE ALL THESE AMAZING THINGS THAT WE DISCOVERED AS WE BUILT THE PROJECT.

>> DETAILS LOUIS KAHN HAD LABORED OVER, LIKE THE ONE-INCH SPACES BETWEEN THE COLUMNS IN THE ROOM THAT CREATES SLIVERS OF LIGHT AS THE SUN RISES.

IN ITS FIRST YEAR, 130,000 VIZ VISIT FORS CAME TO FOUR FREEDOMS.

THE PARK'S FOUNDERS ARE SURE THAT MORE WILL COME AND MANY WILL COME BACK.

>> WHAT BRINGS PEOPLE THERE IS THE BEAUTY OF THE SITE.

WHAT BRINGS THEM BACK AGAIN IS THE PROGRAMMING THAT WE WILL PLAN.

>> THE CONSERVANCY WHICH RUNS THE PARK OFFERED GUIDED TOURS AND ORGANIZES SPECIAL CULTURAL EVENTS.

NATHANIEL KAHN WHOSE FATHER DESIGNED THE MEMORIAL, HOPES THE NEXT PHASE WILL BE A VISTORS CENTER >> WE OWE IT TO THE WORLD OF ARCHITECTURE TO DO THIS NEXT STEP AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL.

>> FROM THE TIME FOUR FREEDOMS PARK WAS CONCEIVED, MANY NEW YORKERS COULD FORESEE ITS SIGNIFICANT.

THE "NEW YORK TIMES" EDITORIAL BOARD WROTE THAT A MEMORIAL TO ROOSEVELT ON THIS SITE WOULD FACE THE SEA HE LOVED, THE ATLANTIC HE BRIDGED, THE EUROPE HE HELPED SAVE AND THE UNITED NATIONS HE INSPIRED.

>> I THINK HE WOULD HAVE APPRECIATED IT'S BEAUTY AND THE FACT THAT THE UNITED NATIONS IS REALLY THE PRINCIPAL OBJECT OF OBSERVATION WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE ISLAND.

IT'S HIS ISLAND IN THAT SENSE.

>> FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND EXPRESSION, EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD.

FREEDOM OF EVERY PERSON TO WORSHIP GOD IN HIS OWN WAY, EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD.

FREEDOM FROM WANT MEANS ECONOMIC UNDERSTANDS WHICH WILL SECURE TO EVERY NATION A HEALTHY PEACETIME LIFE EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD.

FREEDOM FROM FEAR, MEANS A WORLDWIDE REDUCTION OF ARMAMENTS TO SUCH A POINT THAT NO NATION WILL BE IN A POSITION TO COMMIT AN ACT OF PHYSICAL AGGRESSION AGAINST ANY NEIGHBOR ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.

>> NEARLY 70 YEARS SINCE HIS DEATH, NEW YORK FINALLY HAS A MEMORIAL TO AN AMERICAN PRESIDENT WHOSE MEMORY INSPIRES THE CITY AND THE WORLD.

>> TO TAKE US OUT OF THE DEPRESSION, TO GIVE US HOPE, TO CRAFT THE ALLIANCE OF NATIONS THAT WAS ABLE TO DEFEAT THE WORST BARBARISM IN THE HISTORY OF MANAGE KIND, IT'S WORTH REMEMBERING.

>> STANDING IN THIS SPACE SURROUNDED BY THE NATURAL BEAUTY OF THE EAST RIVER, THE ELEGANT ARCHITECTURE OF LOUIS KAHN AND THE INSPIRATIONAL WORDS OF FDR, IT'S NOT HARD TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE ADVOCATES OF FOUR FREEDOMS PARK WORKED SO HARD TO ACHIEVE, OR TO FEEL THE VALUE OF BRINGING HISTORY TO LIFE.

I'M DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

>> THIS PROGRAM IS MADE POSSIBLE BY CORRINA ENDOWMENT FUND, DYSON FOUNDATION AND VINCENT MAY AND BERNARD AND IRENE SWARTZ.