Lincoln Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial, on the extended axis of the National Mall in Washington, DC, is a memorial to United States President Abraham Lincoln. The building is in the form of a Greek Doric temple, and contains a large seated sculpture of Lincoln. The memorial has been the site of many speeches, including Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream", delivered on August 28, 1963, during the rally at the end of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

Interior

The focus of the memorial is Daniel Chester French's sculpture of Lincoln, seated. French studied many of Mathew Brady's photographs of Lincoln, and depicted the president as worn and pensive, gazing eastwards down the Reflecting Pool at the capital's starkest emblem of the Union, the Washington Monument. On the back of Lincoln's head is supposed to be the faint outline of the face of his enemy during the war: Robert E. Lee. One hand is clenched, the other open. It is said that French carved Lincoln's hands to sign the letters "A" and "L" in American Sign Language. Beneath his hands, the Roman fasces, symbols of the authority of the Republic, are sculpted in relief on the seat. The statue stands 19 feet tall and 19 feet wide, and was carved by the Piccirilli Brothers of New York from 28 blocks of white Georgia marble.

Related Topics:
Daniel Chester French - Mathew Brady - Reflecting Pool - Emblem - Washington Monument - Robert E. Lee - American Sign Language - Fasces - Symbol - New York

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The central cella is flanked by two others. In one, Gettysburg Address is inscribed on the south wall of the memorial, and in the other, Lincoln's second inaugural address is inscribed on the north wall. In the first column of Lincoln's second inaugural address, the word "future" is misspelled, reading "euture." Above the text of these speeches are a series of murals by Jules Guerin show an angel, representing truth, freeing a slave (on the north wall, above the Gettysburg Address), and the unity of the American North and South (above the Second Inaugural Address). On the wall behind the statue, visible over the statue's head, is this dedication:

Related Topics:
Gettysburg Address - Lincoln's second inaugural address - Jules Guerin

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