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Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial is a monument honoring the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Located on the extended axis of the National Mall, in Washington, D.C. The memorial is a tribute to Lincoln and the nation he fought to preserve during the Civil War (1861-1865). Lincoln Memorial is considered as one of the most profound symbols of American Democracy in the world. The memorial is administered by the National Park Service. The construction of the memorial started in 1914 and completed in May 1922. The monument was designed by the New York architect Henry Bacon and styled after a Greek Doric temple. The building has 36 Doric columns each representing one state of the Union at the time of Lincoln's death. When the memorial was completed, the Union had expanded with 12 more states and so the names of the 48 states were carved on the outside of the memorial's walls. After the admission of Alaska and Hawaii, a plaque was added with the names of the new states. The focus of the memorial is Daniel Chester French's sculpture of Abraham Lincoln seated in a chair. The heroic statue of Lincoln is about 19 feet high. The Gettysburg Address is inscribed on the south wall of the monument, and Lincoln's second inaugural address is inscribed on the north wall. Murals, painted by Jules Guerin depicting the principles evident in Lincoln's life, can be seen on the north and south walls of the memorial above the inscriptions of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural. Lincoln Memorial is often used as a gathering place for protests and political rallies. In front of the building numerous speeches were given, of which the most famous was Martin Luther King Jr.’s "I Have a Dream". From the top of the stairs in front of the Lincoln Memorial, one can have a great view of the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol Building.