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The Lincoln Memorial is a tribute to the 16th U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. The building is in the form of a Greek temple standing 190 feet long, 119 feet wide, and almost 100 feet high with a total of 36 Doric columns. Each column represents a state in the Union at the time of President Lincoln's death, plus two more at the entrance. The names of those states are carved into the frieze above the columns. They are topped by another list of the 48 states in the Union at the time the memorial was constructed.
The Lincoln Memorial contains a seated statue of Abraham Lincoln facing the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol Building. The statue is 19 feet high and weighs 175 tons. Inscribed on the south wall of the memorial is Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. There is a mural depicting the Angel of Truth freeing a slave above the Gettysburg Address. The mural was painted by Jules Guerin. He also painted the Unity of North and South mural on the north wall. Etched into the north wall below the mural is Lincolns second Inaugural Speech.
The Lincoln Memorial has been the site of many historical civil rights demonstrations, including the moment when Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech on August 28, 1963 during the rally at the end of the "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom'.
The Lincoln Memorial chamber is wheelchair accessible via an elevator in the lower lobby. Wheelchairs are available for loan on a first-come first-serve basis at the Korean War Veterans memorial and Vietnam Veterans Memorial Kiosks. Restrooms are available at the Lincoln Memorial.
