Lincoln Memorial National Monument

Lincoln Memorial National Monument

Six years ago today, my son and I left home and began our Washington DC road trip.

We spent day 7 of the road trip walking the National Mall.  Our third stop of the day was the Lincoln Memorial.  I had visited on my business trip as well.  That trip, I got to see all of the monuments at night which was really cool.

When my son and I visited, it was shortly after breakfast, a crowd had already started forming to visit as well.

We spent a couple of minutes at the Reflection Pool before climbing the steps to visit former President Abraham Lincoln.  We walked around the statue, reading the inscriptions on the walls and talking about what they mean.

My son was fascinated by this memorial.  For me, I think the best part was when we stepped out at the top of the steps and could see the Reflecting Pool, the Washington Monument, and the Capital building in the distance.  What a sight!

It was a great visit and a check off of my son’s bucket list for sure.  I don’t know that it was his favorite stop on this trip, but I think it certainly ranked pretty high up there.

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About Lincoln Memorial National Monument

Two years after Lincoln’s assassination, in 1867, Congress formed the Lincoln Monument Association.  The monument’s site was selected due west of the Washington Monument in 1901.

The $2 million required to build was provided in 1911 when then President Taft signed the Lincoln Memorial bill. The architect, Henry Bacon, was chosen in 1914 and then construction began.  Bacon designed the monument like a Greek temple to symbolize Lincoln’s god-like status to the American people.

Lincoln’s statue was designed by Daniel Chester French, originally to be just bigger than life size at 10 feet tall.  But the design ended up being altered and now the Lincoln statue stands 19 feet tall.

Lincoln’s statue is surrounded by 36 Doric columns which represents each of the states at the time of his death.  But 12 more states had joined the Union by the time Lincoln was assassinated.  So, the names of all 48 states were carved around the top of the structure which stands 99 feet tall.  Alaska and Hawaii are represented by plaques which were added later on.

Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address adorns the Southern interior wall of the memorial while his 2nd Inaugural Address is inscribed on the Northern interior wall.  Construction of the memorial was completed in May of 1922.  The Lincoln Memorial was dedicated on Memorial Day, May 30, 1922.

Located at in the National Mall at 2 Lincoln Memorial Circle NW and is free to visit and open 24/7/365.  Phone: (202) 426-6841.

Summary

After visiting Lincoln’s statue and reading over the inscriptions on the interior walls, my son and I visited the small museum/gift shop, at the bottom of the memorial.  I purchased a book for Grandpa and I’m sure a figurine for my son.

The only regret I have about this visit is that we completely forgot that there’s a letterbox hidden there.  We had planned to find it and leave our mark on it.  We’ll have to search it out next time.

Have you been there?  I’d love to hear what you thought of it.  Have you found the letterbox?

Please drop a few lines in the comments box below and let me know how your visit went.

In the meantime, safe travels!

~Kris M.

P.S.  If you happen to use travel journals, be sure to check out the travel journal I created for my future Washington DC Road Trips.

Written by Kris M.