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Top 10 interesting Facts about the Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial is a US national monument in Washington, D.C., honoring Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, and 鈥渢he virtues of tolerance, honesty, and constancy in the human spirit.鈥�

It is on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., across from the Washington Monument, and is in the form of a neoclassical temple.

On October 15, 1966, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was ranked seventh on the American Institute of Architects’ 2007 list of America’s Favorite Architecture.

Below are the top 10 interesting facts about the Lincoln Memorial;

1. The memorial took more than 50 years to be built and opened to the public

Lincoln Memorial – Flickr

In 1867, Congress passed the first of many bills incorporating a commission to erect a monument for Abraham Lincoln.

However, squabbling about the details of the project delayed construction until 1914. Furthermore, construction was slowed by the World War I.

On May 30, 1922, commission president William H. Taft, who was then Chief Justice of the United States, dedicated the Memorial and President Warren G. Harding accepted it on behalf of the American people.

2. The location of the monument faced a lot of opposition

West Potomac Park, 1912 – Wikipedia

The recently reclaimed land in West Potomac Park was viewed by many to be either too swampy or too inaccessible.

Washington, D.C.鈥檚 Union Station was suggested as a superior venue for a tribute to Abraham Lincoln than the Potomac River could ever be.

President Theodore Roosevelt originally approved the relocation of the project to the railway stop, but got a lot of resistance from the American Institute of Architects, which wanted to maintain plans for developing the Potomac site.

This is because the Potomac Park site had already been designated in the McMillan Plan of 1901 to be the location of a future monument comparable to that of the Washington Monument.

3. Lincoln鈥檚 hands carry symbolic meanings

Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln Memorial – Flickr

Daniel Chester French, who sculpted the 19-foot-high statue of Lincoln for the memorial, said, 鈥淚t has always seemed to me that the hands in portraiture were only secondary to the face in expression, and I depend quite as much upon them in showing character in force,鈥�

French depicted Lincoln with his left hand clenched to symbolize his determination to see the Civil War through to its conclusion, and his right-hand open to represent a desire to welcome the vanquished Confederacy back into the Union without vengeance.

4. About 40 percent of the monument is underground

Lincoln Memorial – Flickr

Rooted beneath the memorial鈥檚 pink Tennessee marble floor is a three-story basement with 122 enormous concede pillars, known as the undercroft.

The undercroft was built to anchor the massive monument to bedrock, as the monument was built on the land reclaimed from the Potomac River鈥檚 tidal flats.

The cellar doesn鈥檛 contain any secrets, but stalactites hang from the ceiling of the cave-like area and cartoons scrawled by the memorial鈥檚 builders cover its pillars.

It was closed to the public in 1989 after a visitor noticed asbestos and notified the Service. Plans to open the area to visitors are underway following a rehabilitation project.

5. There is a typo on the wall

Typo error on the Lincoln Memorial – Flickr

On the north wall of the monument building, the word 鈥淔UTURE鈥� is misspelled as 鈥淓UTURE,鈥� inscriptions of Abraham Lincoln鈥檚 second inaugural address in March 1865 at the tail end of the Civil War.

Though the bottom line of the 鈥淓鈥� was filled in to correct the flub before the memorial鈥檚 dedication, you can still see the carved 鈥淓鈥� instead of 鈥淔鈥� at the beginning of the word 鈥淔uture鈥� on the north wall.

6. A former Confederate officer broke ground on the Lincoln Memorial

Joseph Blackburn – Wikimedia Commons

On February 12, 1914, at the monument鈥檚 groundbreaking, Joseph Blackburn 鈥渢urned the first spadeful of sod,鈥� according to The New York Times.

Blackburn served as a lieutenant colonel in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He would then go to represent the State of Kentucky in the U.S. Congress for nearly 30 years.

鈥淭his memorial will show that Lincoln is now regarded as the greatest of all Americans,鈥� Blackburn said at the simple groundbreaking ceremony, 鈥渁nd that he is so held by the South as well as the North.鈥�

7. There are 36 columns

Lincoln Memorial columns – Wikimedia Commons

The monument is surrounded by a peristyle of 36 fluted 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 columns stand 44 feet (13 m) tall with a base diameter of 7.5 feet (2.3 m). Each column is built from 12 drums, including the capital.

8. The memorial has become synonymous with the Civil Rights Movement

Martin Luther King Jr. delivering “I have a dream,” speech at the Lincoln Memorial – Wikipedia

Abraham Lincoln was a known abolitionist, and the memorial has been the venue of some historic moments in the Civil Rights Movement.

In 1939, the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to allow the African-American contralto Marian Anderson to perform at the organization’s Constitution Hall. At the suggestion of Eleanor Roosevelt, Harold L. Ickes, the Secretary of the Interior, arranged for a performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to a live audience of 75,000 and a nationwide radio audience.

On June 29, 1947, at the Lincoln Memorial, Harry Truman became the first president to address the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

On August 28, 1963, the memorial grounds were the site of Joseph Blackburn. his historic “I Have a Dream” speech.

9. Lincoln鈥檚 son lived to see the unveiling of the monument

Robert Todd Lincoln – Wikipedia

Although calls to erect a national monument in Lincoln鈥檚 honor started almost immediately after his assassination, the project dragged on for decades.

The memorial opened nearly 60 years after Lincoln鈥檚 assassination and Lincoln’s only surviving son, 78-year-old Robert Todd Lincoln, was in attendance.

Robert was the only surviving son of the former president, who had visited the site during construction.

10. The site is opened 24 hours a day

Lincoln Memorial at night – Flickr

Guest to the park may visit the Lincoln Memorial 24 hours a day 7 days a week, including holidays. Rangers are on duty to answer questions from 9:30 am to 10 pm daily to provide interpretive programs, excluding December 25th. The early evening and morning hours are beautiful and tranquil times to visit.

On Wednesday mornings at 5:25 am and 6:20 am, guests can join the November Project for a free workout on the stairs鈥攁ll 145 of them.