Lincoln Memorial

Photo from the Library of Congress - The Lincoln Memorial and reflecting pool, photographed one year after its dedication, on May 2, 1923

This week I received an email from the Littleton Coin Company with the below history on the Lincoln Memorial and I thought it was worth sharing.

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Ninety-four years ago this week, on May 30, 1922, the Lincoln Memorial at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. was dedicated. Seated on a colossal chair inside the memorial, the 19-foot statue of Lincoln captures the 16th president's strength and resolve used to preserve our nation. Perhaps this is why the Lincoln Memorial is situated near the Potomac River, which served as a boundary between North and South during the Civil War and runs adjacent to the National Mall.

As early as 1867, Congress established an association to create a national memorial that would honor our 16th president, but bickering slowed the progress down. It was not until 1902, when the Senate Park Commission decided Lincoln's memorial should be at the end of the National Mall near the river, that planning got underway. Senators Cullom and Cannon, who knew Lincoln in Illinois, sponsored the Lincoln Memorial bill and President Taft signed it.

Construction on the building began in 1914. The memorial resembled a Greek temple and was designed by Henry Bacon. The 36 Doric columns represented the number of states in the Union at the time of Lincoln's death. When the memorial was completed, 12 more states had joined the Union and their names are carved about the columns on the outside.

Photo from the Library of Congress

Prominent American artist Daniel Chester French sculpted the large figure of Lincoln that dominates the inside. French studied photos of the president, read accounts that described him and looked at a life mask of his face to create his masterpiece. Twenty-eight pieces of marble were used for the 19-foot statue that is the centerpiece of the memorial.

Fifty-seven years after Lincoln's death, the nation's memorial to our 16th president was dedicated. His son, Robert Todd Lincoln attended the ceremony, along with other famous dignitaries and the U.S. president at the time, Warren G. Harding, who gave the dedication speech. Eye-catching and bold, the Lincoln Memorial is one of America's most iconic buildings and can be found on the reverse of Lincoln Memorial cents from 1959 to 2008.