Lincoln Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial was built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Architect Henry Bacon modeled the structure after a Greek Doric temple, symbolizing the birth of democracy. Construction began on Lincoln's birthday in 1914 and was completed in 1922, despite delays caused by World War I. The exterior features 36 massive columns, representing the 36 states in the Union at the time of Lincoln's death. Inside the memorial sits the iconic seated statue of Lincoln, carved by the Piccirilli Brothers under the direction of sculptor Daniel Chester French. Originally intended to be only 10 feet tall, the scale was increased to 19 feet to ensure it wasn't dwarfed by the massive chamber. On the interior walls, Lincoln’s greatest speeches—the Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural Address—are permanently etched into the stone, reminding visitors of his vision for a unified nation. Beyond its architectural beauty, the memorial has served as a powerful stage for the American Civil Rights Movement. In 1939, after being denied performance space elsewhere due to her race, singer Marian Anderson performed a historic concert on the steps. Most famously, in 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his 'I Have a Dream' speech from these very steps to a crowd of 250,000 people, cementing the site as a global symbol of freedom and equality.