Be advised that the NPS has issued alerts for this park.
Lincoln Memorial elevator out of order (Dec. 29)
The elevator from the ground level to the chamber at the Lincoln Memorial is out of order due to electrical issues. We apologize for any inconvenience.
"...as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the Union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever." Beneath these words, the 16th president of the United States sits immortalized in marble as an enduring symbol of unity, strength...
An iconic building in Washington, DC, the Lincoln Memorial honors the memory of the 16th president, Abraham Lincoln.
(436 words)The Lincoln Memorial is located on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, DC, east of the Potomac River and west of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. From the intersection of Lincoln Memorial Circle, NW and Henry Bacon Drive, proceed three hundred sixty-five feet south through an open plaza area to the base of the Lincoln Memorial steps.The memorial resembles a classic Greek temple, roughly 67 yards wide, 44 yards deep, and 26 yards tall. Among bas reliefs of wreaths and garlands, the names of the states in the union at the time of Lincoln's death are inscribed above the colonnade, and the names of the states in the union at the time of the memorial's dedication are inscribed above them. The years that the dates entered the union are inscribed in Roman numerals below their names.<br />Travel west up granite steps past twelve forty-four-foot-tall columns that line the front of the memorial. The Memorial's interior is divided into three chambers by two rows of four columns, each fifty feet tall.<br />Set along the back, west interior wall is the sixty foot-wide, seventy-four foot-deep, and sixty-foot-high white marble Lincoln statue. He faces east, looking across the Reflecting Pool and out at the Washington Monument. On the south interior wall, to the right of where Lincoln is seated, is inscribed the Gettysburg Address, and on the north wall, Lincoln's second inaugural speech. Inscribed on the wall behind the statue is:<br />IN THIS TEMPLE<br />AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE<br />FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION<br />THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN<br />IS ENSHRINED FOREVER.<br />The bearded Lincoln wears a long coat and vest. His hands rest on the arms of the chair on which he sits. Fasces are etched along the front faces of the chair arms.<br />The sides and back of the memorial feature a twenty-foot wide platform among the columns of the structure, providing views of tree-lined Lincoln Memorial Circle to the north and south, and Arlington Memorial Bridge to the west as it carries over the Potomac River.<br />Set on the highest platform of the memorial steps is an inscription commemorating Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. The inscription faces away from the memorial directing the reader to look out over the steps and plaza below, the tree-lined Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument all in a straight line to the east.<br />A small bookshop area is in the northeast corner of the interior chamber. Restrooms and a Lincoln exhibit space are located at the left side of the memorial at the bottom of the steps.<br />END OF DESCRIPTION<br />
Though not completed in time for the memorial's dedication in 1922, the reflecting pool has become one of the most recognizable and filmed sites in Washington, DC. The reflecting pool and the long promenade of Elm Trees on either side are key features of the Lincoln Memorial landscape.
(191 words)<br />The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is a long rectangular pool located on the west side of the National Mall, directly east of the Lincoln Memorial and west of the World War II Memorial.<br />It is approximately two thousand twenty-nine feet long, over one-third of a mile, and one hundred sixty-seven feet wide, with a depth of eighteen inches on the sides and thirty inches in its center.<br />The Reflecting Pool is lined by a cement walking path on all sides. Approximately one-hundred-foot wide grass lawns slope down towards the pool from the east and west sides. Beyond the grass lawns are shade trees that also span both sides. Outer pedestrian walkways are set beyond the trees which are lined with benches.<br />From the west end of the pool the Washington Monument reflects clearly in the water. Conversely from the east side the Lincoln Memorial reflection appears in the pool.<br />About one hundred feet west from the pool, steps begin to lead up to the Lincoln Memorial. At the far east end granite columns frame both sides of the World War II Memorial and the Washington Monument stands tall across 17th street.<br />END OF DESCRIPTION<br />
All states in the Union are represented on the upper level of the Lincoln Memorial, however Alaska and Hawaii entered the union after the memorial was completed. To recognize these states, this plaque was added to the Lincoln Memorial plaza.InscriptionsTHE FEDERAL UNION OF THE STATES AT THE HEART OF LINCOLN'S PURPOSE IS SYMBOLIZED IN HIS MEMORIAL BY 36 COLUMNS BENEATH THE NAMES OF THE 36 STATES COMPOSING THE UNION IN HIS LIFETIMEWHEN THE MEMORIAL WAS DESIGNED THE UNION INCLUD
(175 words)<br />The Lincoln Memorial sits at the western end of the National Mall in Washington, DC. The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool lies three hundred fifty feet to the east and the Potomac River is six hundred seventy-five-feet to the west.<br />From the intersection of Lincoln Memorial Circle, NW and Henry Bacon Drive, proceed three hundred sixty-five feet south through an open plaza area to the base of the Lincoln Memorial steps.<br />Ninety feet west, set in the plaza above the first set of stairs leading up to the Lincoln Memorial is a four by four-foot black granite plaque. An inscription on its face reads:<br />THE FEDERAL UNION OF THE STATES AT THE HEART OF LINCOLN'S PURPOSE IS SYMBOLIZED IN HIS MEMORIAL BY 36 COLUMNS BENEATH THE NAMES OF THE 36 STATES COMPOSING THE UNION IN HIS LIFETIME<br />WHEN THE MEMORIAL WAS DESIGNED THE UNION INCLUDED THE 48 STATES NAMED ON THE ATTIC FRIEZE A GENERATION LATER - IN 1959<br />ALASKA AND HAWAII<br />ATTAINED STATEHOOD - FULLY JOINING THEIR DESTINIES WITH THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA<br />E PLURIBIS UNUM<br />END OF DESCRIPTION<br />
Speaking at the dedication of the cemetery at Gettysburg, the final resting place of thousands of Americans who died on that field, Abraham Lincoln offered this brief but consequential speech. The speech was a turning point in his war strategy in that, for the first time, he began to openly speak of the abolition of slavery as a desired outcome of the war, a "new birth of freedom." The mural above depicts an allegory of emancipation in the center.InscriptionsFour score and se
(247 words)<br />The Lincoln Memorial is located on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, DC, east of the Potomac River and west of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.<br />From the intersection of Lincoln Memorial Circle, NW and Henry Bacon Drive, proceed three hundred sixty-five feet south through an open plaza area to the base of the Lincoln Memorial steps.<br />Travel west up granite steps past twelve forty-four-foot-tall columns that line the front of the memorial. Set along the west interior wall and facing east is the sixty foot-wide, seventy-four foot-deep, and sixty foot-high, seated Lincoln statue.<br />The Memorial's interior is divided into three chambers by two rows of four columns, each fifty feet tall. Inscribed on three panels along the south wall of the south chamber is the text of the Gettysburg Address.<br />The inscription is flanked by eagle sculptures in both lower corners and wreaths set below them.<br />Above the inscription is a sixty by twelve-foot mural depicting a robed and bare-chested angel with her hands held above her head and wings spread wide across a group of dark-skinned people at either side of her. On the right a bare-chested woman with a wreath around her head sits among two standing men with flaming staffs and two women seated at her feet. To the left, a bare-chested woman with wreath around her head sits holding a sword rested on the ground. Two men stand at her side with flaming staffs and two women sit at her feet.<br />END OF DESCRIPTION<br />
On this location in 1963, Martin Luther King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. In the speech, he evoked the memory of Abraham Lincoln, the emancipation of the slaves, and the "shameful condition" of segregation in America 100 years after the American Civil War. The march was a watershed moment for the Civil Rights movement, helping pressure lawmakers to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.InscriptionsI HAVE A DREAMMARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.THE MAR
(159 words)<br />The Lincoln Memorial sits at the western end of the National Mall in Washington, DC. The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool lies three hundred fifty feet to the east and the Potomac River is six hundred seventy-five-feet to the west.<br />From the intersection of Lincoln Memorial Circle, NW and Henry Bacon Drive, proceed three hundred sixty-five feet south through an open plaza area to the base of the Lincoln Memorial steps.<br />Travel west up the Lincoln Memorial steps about fifty feet to the platform before the last set of stairs to the top of the memorial. An inscription carved into the center of the landing reads:<br />I HAVE A DREAM<br />MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.<br />THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON<br />FOR JOBS AND FREEDOM<br />AUGUST 28, 1963<br />The inscription faces away from the memorial directing the reader to look out over the steps and plaza below, the tree-lined Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument all in a straight line to the east.<br />END OF DESCRIPTION<br />
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) is depicted by renowned American sculptor Daniel Chester French. Lincoln is seated with the American flag draped behind him, and of bundles of rods under each arm representing the union of the states. This Georgia white marble statue is 19 feet tall and is made of 28 blocks of stone.<br />Inscriptions<br />IN THIS TEMPLE<br />AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE<br />FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION<br />THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN<br />IS ENSHRINED FOREVER.<br />
(278 words)<br />The Lincoln Memorial is located on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, DC, east of the Potomac River and west of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.<br />From the intersection of Lincoln Memorial Circle, NW and Henry Bacon Drive, proceed three hundred sixty-five feet south through an open plaza area to the base of the Lincoln Memorial steps.<br />Travel west up granite steps past twelve forty-four-foot-tall columns that line the front of the memorial. The Memorial's interior is divided into three chambers by two rows of four columns, each fifty feet tall.<br />Set along the back, west interior wall is the sixty foot-wide, seventy-four foot-deep, and sixty-foot-high Lincoln statue. He faces east, looking across the Reflecting Pool and out at the Washington Monument.<br />Resting atop a ten-foot high, sixteen foot-wide, and seventeen-foot-deep pedestal, the seated statue of Lincoln is nineteen feet tall, and consists of twenty-eight separate pieces of white marble. Beneath the pedestal lies a thirty-five foot-wide, marble platform.<br />On the south interior wall, to the right of where Lincoln is seated, is inscribed the Gettysburg Address, and on the north wall, Lincoln's second inaugural speech. Inscribed on the wall behind the statue is:<br />IN THIS TEMPLE<br />AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE<br />FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION<br />THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN<br />IS ENSHRINED FOREVER.<br />The bearded Lincoln wears a long coat and vest. His hands rest on the arms of the chair on which he sits. Fasces are etched along the front faces of the chair arms.<br />Bronze girders on the ceiling are ornamented with laurel and oak leaves. Between these are panels of marble, saturated with paraffin to increase translucency.<br />END OF DESCRIPTION<br />
Inscribed into the north side of the Lincoln Memorial chamber is President Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, delivered in 1865. In the speech, Lincoln explores the causes and meanings of the American Civil War, which was nearing its end. Above the insciption is a mural by painter Jules Guerin depicting the concept of unity. In the mural, the Angel of Truth joins the hands of two figures representing the north and south. Her protective wings cradle figures represent
(235 words)<br />The Lincoln Memorial is located on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, DC, east of the Potomac River and west of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.<br />From the intersection of Lincoln Memorial Circle, NW and Henry Bacon Drive, proceed three hundred sixty-five feet south through an open plaza area to the base of the Lincoln Memorial steps.<br />Travel west up granite steps past twelve forty-four-foot-tall columns that line the front of the memorial. Set along the west interior wall and facing east is the sixty foot-wide, seventy-four foot-deep, and sixty foot-high, seated Lincoln statue.<br />The Memorial's interior is divided into three chambers by two rows of four columns, each fifty feet tall. Inscribed on three panels along the north wall of the north chamber is the text of the 2nd Inaugural Address.<br />The inscription is flanked by eagle sculptures in both lower corners and fasces that line both sides. Four wreaths are etched across the bottom of the panel.<br />Above the inscription is a sixty by twelve-foot mural depicting robed and bare-chested women and men. The central figure is a robed, bare-chested angel with a wreath around her head and wings spread wide across six people at either side. Her eyes are closed, and she joins the right and left hands of two figures at her side. Groups of five and six people are gathered at both far ends of the mural.<br />END OF DESCRIPTION<br />
Step off the Silver Line to take a walk on Theodore Roosevelt Island, or sight see from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Each of the parks listed here are 1 mile or less from each metro stop (about a 20 minute walk) or a 10 minute bus ride away.
Blue Line - DC Metro
From the National Mall and Memorial Parks to the Mount Vernon Trail, travel the Blue Line to see what the southern portion of Washington, DC has to offer. Each of the parks listed here are 1 mile or less from each metro stop (about a 20 minute walk) or a 10 minute bus ride away.
Reflect on Lincoln's Legacy
Few places in Washington, DC, are as well-known or as inspiring as the Lincoln Memorial. Here you can experience how a nation remembers one of its great leaders, and the enduring values of union, emancipation, justice, and healing.
Tours
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Lincoln Memorial Tour
Architect Henry Bacon modeled the Lincoln Memorial after the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. Bacon felt that a memorial dedicated to a man who defended democracy should echo the birthplace of democracy. See the points of interest at the Lincoln Memorial.
