"The path was worn and slippery. My foot slipped from under me, knocking the other out of the way, but I recovered and said to myself, 'It's a slip and not a fall.'" ~ Abraham Lincoln
Beautifully etched on the landscape, at the west end of the Washington D.C. Mall, the Lincoln Memorial is a celebration of the man who held the Union together during the Civil War and put an end to slavery in the United States.
"A house divided against itself cannot stand," Abraham Lincoln said.
The cornerstone was laid in 1915 then formally dedicated on Memorial Day 1922. The temple-like white marble building was designed by New York architect Henry Bacon to model the Parthenon with 36 Doric columns, representing the number of states in the Union at Lincoln's death.
"Commitment," said Lincoln, "is what transforms a promise into reality."
The heart of the memorial is the 19-foot statue of Lincoln, sculpted by Daniel Chester French from 28 blocks of White Georgia marble and assembled for the first time inside the memorial. Inscribed on the walls are the 16th President's Gettysburg Address and second inaugural speech.
"I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down inside of me," Lincoln said.
More LINCOLN Quotations
A slip is not a fall.