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Abraham Lincoln Memorial
Though many people have thought of creating a memorial to honor President Lincoln, two congress members who had known President Lincoln were the ones to push through a bill that was signed by President Taft on Feb. 11, 1911. As a result of the determination of Shelby M. Cullom and Joseph G. Cannon, the bill created the Lincoln Memorial Commission to oversee the project and set aside $2 million in funds. Construction began in 1914 and was opened to the public in 1922. Standing on the west end of the National Mall, the memorial faces east toward the reflecting pool.
The structure of the memorial resembles a Greek Temple and was designed by Henry Bacon. It has 36 Doric columns, one for each state at the time of Lincoln’s death. The building is 204 feet long, 134 feet wide, 99 feet tall, and each of the columns is 44 feet tall. Basically it is enormous! The sculpture of Lincoln was designed by Daniel Chester French and is in the center of the memorial chamber. The sculpture is 19 feet tall and is carved from 28 block of white Georgia marble, weighing 175 tons.
On the south wall is a mural, painted by Jules Guerin, of the angel of truth freeing a slave. Bellow the mural is an inscription of the Gettysburg Address. On the north wall, Guerin painted a mural of the Unity of the north and south. Bellow that is an etching of Lincoln’s second inaugural speech. Overall cost of the Abraham Lincoln Memorial totaled $3 million.
Since the dedication ceremony on Memorial Day, May 30, 1922, American citizens can congregate to express their feelings and views about issues that continue to divide the country as well as to celebrate our unity as a nation. Many famous speeches have been delivered there, including Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous “I have a dream” speech.
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