Installing the Abraham Lincoln Statue in the Lincoln Memorial
1920
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This photograph shows workers assembling President Abraham Lincoln’s statue at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, in 1920. Originally designed to be 10 feet tall, the likeness was 19 feet high when completed, so that the cavernous chamber would not dwarf the statue.
Construction began on the memorial to Lincoln in 1915, fifty years after his assassination. American sculptor Daniel Chester French designed the statue to honor the 16th President. French had gained a national reputation with his earlier portrayal of "The Minute Man," a statue to honor those colonials who died at Lexington and Concord in 1775.
In describing his tribute to Lincoln, French said: "The memorial tells you just what manner of man you are come to pay homage to; his simplicity, his grandeur, and his power." President Warren G. Harding dedicated the building and the sculpture on May 30, 1922.
The Lincoln Memorial has been the backdrop for many important public protests and events since its completion. It was on the memorial's steps that singer Marian Anderson gave her Easter Sunday concert in 1939 after being turned away from Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution, and where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech in August 1963.
Construction began on the memorial to Lincoln in 1915, fifty years after his assassination. American sculptor Daniel Chester French designed the statue to honor the 16th President. French had gained a national reputation with his earlier portrayal of "The Minute Man," a statue to honor those colonials who died at Lexington and Concord in 1775.
In describing his tribute to Lincoln, French said: "The memorial tells you just what manner of man you are come to pay homage to; his simplicity, his grandeur, and his power." President Warren G. Harding dedicated the building and the sculpture on May 30, 1922.
The Lincoln Memorial has been the backdrop for many important public protests and events since its completion. It was on the memorial's steps that singer Marian Anderson gave her Easter Sunday concert in 1939 after being turned away from Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution, and where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech in August 1963.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital.
National Archives Identifier: 596194
Full Citation: Photograph 42-M-J-1; The Abraham Lincoln Statue Installation in the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.; 1920; Miscellaneous Oversized, 1875 - 1932; Records of the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital, Record Group 42; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/lincoln-memorial-installation, June 14, 2025]Activities that use this document
- Monumentos Nacionales Expresan Valores Nacionales
Created by the National Archives Education Team - National Monuments Express National Values
Created by the National Archives Education Team
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