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Lincoln Memorial

Honoring Our 26th President, Abaraham Lincoln

Lincoln Memorial Washington, Washington DC (Historic Monuments) image This Greek-temple-style marble structure by Henry Bacon, stands just before the approach to Arlington Memorial Bridge. Above the temple's 38 columns are the names of the 36 states that were in the Union at the time of Lincoln's death in 1865. Murals sculpted by Jules Guerin adorn the temple's inner walls. Emancipation is on the south wall over the inscription of the Gettysburg Address. Unification is on the north wall, above Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address. Dominating the interior is the impressive 19-ft seated statue of Lincoln by Daniel Chester French.

In 1922, during the dedication of the Memorial by Supreme Court Chief Justice William Howard Taft, African Americans sat in segregated sections. The Memorial would later become the backdrop for civil rights milestones, such as Martin Luther King, Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech, and a concert by singer Marian Anderson, who was denied the right to perform at Constitution Hall.

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