National Mall – Lincoln Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial is dedicated to President Abraham Lincoln and his legacy, including his efforts to ending slavery and reunify the states during the Civil War. The Lincoln Memorial has also become symbolic for race relations and the Civil Rights Movement in America.

Trivial on the Architecture

Before we take a look at the Lincoln Memorial, let’s take a look at the architectural style of the Greeks.

Ancient builders developed several Orders, or rules, for the design and proportion of buildings, including the columns. Doric is one of the earliest and most simple of the Classical Orders set down in ancient Greece. An Order includes the vertical column and the horizontal entablature.

Today this simple column can be found supporting many front porches across America.

The Lincoln Memorial

Architect Henry Bacon modeled the Lincoln Memorial after the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. Bacon felt that a memorial dedicated to a man who defended democracy should echo the birthplace of democracy. The towering memorial is 190 feet long, 120 feet wide, 99 feet tall and constructed with Colorado Yule marble.

Located in the Lincoln Memorial, on the National Mall, Washington, D.C., United States, is a colossal seated figure of the 16th President (1891-1865) of the United States Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) sculpted by Daniel Chester French and carved by the Piccirilli Brothers. The statue was unveiled in 1922.

The Lincoln Steps and Plaza

They climb the monument’s “four score and seven” (87) marble steps to snap a photo of themselves dwarfed by the statue’s massive size. For almost a century, the Lincoln Memorial steps witnessed history-making moments such as the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, the Marian Anderson concert and the daily secular pilgrimage of thousands.

The steps begin at the edge of the Reflecting Pool, and rise up to the former roadbed of the circular roadway that surrounded the memorial – now a plaza. The steps then continue upward toward the memorial entrance, pausing on its ascent in a series of platforms. Flanking the steps are two buttresses each crowned with an 11-foot-tall tripod carved from pink Tennessee marble.

36 Doric Columns

The memorial is surrounded by 36 fluted Doric columns, one for each of the 36 states in the Union at the time of Lincoln’s death. When you walk up the steps, two additional columns are located at the entrance behind the colonnade.

These columns are 44 feet tall with a base diameter of seven feet and five inches. Each column is composed of 12 individual drums. The columns, like the exterior walls and facades, are inclined slightly inward. This is to compensate for perspective distortions which would otherwise make the memorial appear asymmetrical.

Frieze and Cornice

Above the colonnade inscribed on the frieze are the names of 36 states and the dates in which they entered the Union. Their names are separated by double wreath medallions in bas-relief.

The cornice is composed of a carved scroll with lions’ heads in between them and ornamented with palmetto. The next step up on the memorial above the colonnade is called the attic frieze. Here, at the top of the memorial, the names of the 48 states present at the time of the dedication are inscribed (Alaska and Hawaii are acknowledged with a plaque on the plaza). A bit higher is a garland joined by ribbons and palm leaves, supported by the wings of eagles. All ornamentation on the friezes and cornices was done by Ernest C. Bairstow.

The Interior

The interior of the Lincoln Memorial is divided into three chambers. The central chamber contains the statue of the president, while the two flanking chambers commemorate the two Lincoln speeches that reflected Lincoln’s character as well as celebrate his accomplishments during his presidency. The two speeches selected were the Gettysburg Address and the Second Inaugural Address.

The Statue

Sculptor Daniel Chester French devoted several years to researching Abraham Lincoln and studying photographs of him. French decided that the special qualities found in the 16th president were his strong resolve combined with his compassionate nature.

French depicted the president as a worn but strong individual who had endured many hardships. He positioned Lincoln’s hands in a manner that displayed his two leading qualities. One of the president’s hands is clenched, representing his strength and determination to see the war through to a successful conclusion. The other hand is a more open, slightly more relaxed hand representing his compassionate, warm nature. No, it’s not sign language for A and L, as what many tour guides wanted the tourists to believe.

The Gettysburg Address (South Chamber)

Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863 during the dedication ceremony for the Soldiers’ National Cemetery.

Second Inaugural Address (North Chamber)

Selected for the north chamber of the memorial was Lincoln’s March 4, 1865 Second Inaugural Address. That speech, delivered just one month before the conclusion of the Civil War, created the policy for reuniting the divided states.

The reelected president firmly believed that the northern states should welcome their southern brothers and sisters back into the Union with open arms. But the feeling among many northerners at the end of the Civil War was anger toward the South for having left the Union. Lincoln’s willingness to show compassion to the southern people, “with malice towards none; charity for all;” helped quell the hostility among northerners.

The Murals

The north mural is entitled Unity and located above the Second Inaugural Address, features the Angel of Truth joining the hands of two figures representing the north and south.

Reflecting Pool

Though not completed in time for the memorial’s dedication in 1922, the Reflecting Pool has become one of the most recognisable and filmed sites in Washington, DC.

The Reflecting Pool and the long promenade of elm trees on either side are key features of the Lincoln Memorial landscape. Also it is aligned with Washington Monument and Capitol Building, as symbolism of the Union that Washington founded, Lincoln fought to preserve and the managed by the Congress.

Death of Lincoln

Lincoln managed his own successful re-election campaign. He sought to heal the war-torn nation through reconciliation. On April 14, 1865, just five days after the war’s end at Appomattox, he was attending a play at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Mary, when he was fatally shot by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth.

Lincoln is remembered as a martyr and a national hero for his wartime leadership and for his efforts to preserve the Union and abolish slavery. Lincoln is often ranked in both popular and scholarly polls as the greatest president in American history.