M.A. Kleen

The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., is a neoclassical monument honoring the 16th U.S. president, Abraham Lincoln. Architect Henry Bacon designed the temple-like structure between 1914 and 1922, selecting a Greek Doric style with 36 columns symbolizing the states in the Union at Lincoln’s death. Inside, sculptor Daniel Chester French created a monumental 19‑foot sitting statue of Lincoln between 1914 and 1920; carved by the Piccirilli Brothers, it was unveiled at the memorial’s dedication on May 30, 1922—a ceremony attended by Lincoln’s son and presided over by William Howard Taft.

Inscribed within the “temple” are passages of the Gettysburg Address and Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, with an inscription above the statue reading, “In this temple… the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.” Over time, the Lincoln Memorial has become a powerful backdrop for key moments in civil rights history, welcoming Marian Anderson’s impromptu 1939 concert and Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963.