Lincoln Memorial

One of the most recognizable monuments in Washington, is the Lincoln Memorial. It is also the most recognizable and since 2010, has been visited by approximately 6 million people each year. On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. made his "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. When you climb the steps to reach the monument, you will have be able to see the reflecting pool, the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, The United States Capitol Building and some of the Smithsonian Museums among other sights. I have been here many times and am never disappointed. While this is a beautiful memorial, it is not my favorite.

According to the National Park Service, it is 190 feet long, 119 feet wide and almost 100 feet high. The building is constructed of marble from Colorado, the columns are limestone from Indiana, and the statue is constructed of marble from Georgia. It is surrounded by a peristyle (a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or courtyard) of 36 Doric columns, one for each of the 36 states in the Union at the time of Lincoln's death, and two columns in-antis at the entrance behind the colonnade. The 48 festoons above the columns represent the 48 states in 1922. The statue of Lincoln is 19 feet high and weighs 175 tons. There are 87 steps leading up to the statue of Lincoln that represent the four score and 7 from his Gettysburg Address. The original plan was for the statue to be only ten feet high, this was changed so that the figure of Lincoln would not be dwarfed by the size of the chamber. The current design was not approved until 1910 and construction began in 1914. (https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/dc71.htm) 

Over Lincoln's head is an inscription that reads:
"IN THIS TEMPLE
AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE
FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION
THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN
IS ENSHRINED FOREVER."
The memorial was opened to the public on May 30, 1922 in a ceremony lead by former President William Howard Taft, who at the time was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and president of the Lincoln Memorial commission. Taft presented it to President Warren Harding who accepted it on behalf of the American people. the ceremony was attended by Lincoln's only surviving child, Robert Todd Lincoln. 

I was not able to find the answers to some of the questions asked of me, including how much marble was used and how many people were injured in the building of this monument. I was asked to research this and the Washington Monument and let my readers know which I like better. I don't like either more than the other and in all actuality, prefer the Jefferson Memorial.