Lincoln Memorial: free audio guide
The story of Lincoln Memorial in Washington, as the Votura app tells it on location. Read it here, or hear it on the spot with turn-by-turn walking directions.
Before you go
- Address
- 2 Lincoln Memorial Circle NW (btwn Constitution & Independence Ave SW), Washington, D.C. 20024
- Opening hours
- Mon–Sun: 24 Hours
The story
Lincoln Memorial stands at the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., as one of the most recognizable monuments in the United States. It is dedicated to Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, whose portrait bust by Daniel Chester French is the centerpiece inside the shrine. The memorial is built in the style of a classical Greek Doric temple, with 36 massive columns encircling the exterior, one for each state in the Union at the time of Lincoln’s death in 1865. Those columns rise to a height of about 44 feet, and the building’s marble and limestone form gives it the dignity of an ancient monument while firmly belonging to the American capital.
The commission for the memorial is created by Congress in 1910, and construction begins in 1914 under architect Henry Bacon. It opens to the public in 1922, after nearly eight years of work, and President Warren G. Harding dedicates it on May 30, 1922. Daniel Chester French designs the seated statue of Lincoln, which stands 19 feet tall and was carved by the Piccirilli Brothers from Georgia marble. The statue sits in a chamber that is about 60 feet high, and Lincoln’s hands and posture convey both restraint and resolve, a fitting tribute to the president who preserves the Union during the Civil War.
Inside the memorial, the north wall carries Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, delivered in 1865, with its unforgettable closing appeal “with malice toward none, with charity for all.” The south wall displays the Gettysburg Address of 1863, one of the most famous speeches in American history. The words are set in huge carved panels, and visitors can read them almost as if they were carved for permanence from the start. Above the statue, mural painter Jules Guerin creates ceiling decorations featuring Union and emancipation themes, tying the interior to Lincoln’s role in ending slavery and restoring the nation.
This monument also becomes a stage for American history after it opens. On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, an event that draws an estimated 250,000 people. In 1939, singer Marian Anderson performs a historic Easter concert at the memorial after being denied the use of Constitution Hall, turning the site into a symbol of both exclusion and triumph. The memorial appears on the reverse of the U.S. penny and the U.S. five-dollar bill, and its image is fixed in the national imagination just as firmly as its marble form is fixed on the Mall.
Today the Lincoln Memorial remains open 24 hours a day and is administered by the National Park Service as part of the National Mall and Memorial Parks. Its long reflecting pool frontage and broad steps create a direct axis toward the Washington Monument, making the building a dramatic anchor in the city’s monumental landscape. The site continues to host ceremonies, protests, and remembrances because it speaks not only to Lincoln’s legacy but also to the nation’s ongoing arguments about freedom, equality, and citizenship. Standing here, you are looking at a 1922 memorial that honors a president of 1861 to 1865, houses two of America’s greatest speeches, and still serves as one of the country’s most powerful civic stages.
Written for the Votura audio tour and read aloud in the app. Opening hours change, so check with the venue before you go.
Self-guided tours that stop at Lincoln Memorial
- Independence Walk: Washington, DC's National Day Monuments & Revolution Trail
- Capitol to Memorials: Washington, D.C. Independence Day Walking Tour
- Liberty on Foot: A 2-Day Independence Day Walk Through Washington, DC
- Liberty Walk: A 2-Day Independence Trail Through Washington, DC
- Capitol to Capitol: Independence Day Walk Through Washington, DC
- Freedom in Washington: A 2-Day Independence Day Walking Tour
Hear it on the spot
Votura plays this guide when you reach Lincoln Memorial, then walks you to the next stop. Works offline.