Lincoln Memorial: 1922

lincolnThe Abraham Lincoln Memorial is on the National Mall in Washington, DC; it is located south of the White House, west of the Washington Monument, and close to the banks of the Potomac River. It honors Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), the sixteenth President of the United States and one of the most famous leaders in our Nation’s history. Lincoln was President during the Nation’s Civil War (1861-1865), and he issued the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, which proclaimed that slaves within rebel states would be free. He is also known for the Gettysburg Address, delivered in 1863, which commemorated the fallen soldiers in the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

The memorial was built between 1914 and 1922, and the theme of the building represents the Union. The 36 columns on the outside walls stand for the 36 states in the Union at the time of Lincoln’s death. The names of the 48 states in the Union when the memorial was completed are carved along the outside of the memorial; a plaque honoring Alaska and Hawaii is in the approach plaza.

The chamber inside the memorial contains the famous statue of Lincoln that was sculpted by Daniel Chester French; Lincoln is seated and facing in the direction of the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol. On the inside walls of the memorial are engraved the words of the Gettysburg Address and Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address of 1865. Behind the statue of Lincoln are these words, engraved on the wall:

IN THIS TEMPLE
AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE
FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION
THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN
IS ENSHRINED FOREVER

Located between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument is the Reflecting Pool. It was constructed in 1922, just after the Lincoln Memorial was completed. From the Lincoln Memorial, it reflects the tall obelisk of the Washington Monument on the surface of the water.

Abraham Lincoln Memorial facts and figures:

  • The Lincoln Memorial is 190 feet by 118 feet and is 99 feet high.
  • The statue of Lincoln is 19 feet high and weighs 175 tons.
  • The Reflecting Pool is 2,029 feet long and 167 feet wide; it holds about 6,750,000 gallons of water.
  • If you look closely, you can see the statue of Lincoln inside the Lincoln Memorial on the back of a penny.

To learn more, including an interactive tour, see the Lincoln Memorial site.

To see a handwritten draft of the Emancipation Proclamation, visit the National Archives site.