Where is abraham lincoln statue

The pedestal is flanked by eagles and surrounded by an open granite enclosure with bronze lamps at either side. The flagstones used in this setting and the interior courtyards of the Capitol are Colorado Red Sandstone and were originally used as sidewalks around the second Capitol. Though Lincoln never set foot in Nebraska, he twice came close while on speaking trips in Kansas and Iowa. On December 2, , President Lincoln designated Omaha the starting point for the continuation of the transcontinental railroad which would eventually join the coasts by rail.

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.

It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. Congress passed the first of many bills to create a memorial to Lincoln in , but nothing happened until , when Congress created a new Lincoln Memorial Commission. Plans proceeded rapidly, though not without controversy.

Although the Senate Park Commission usually called the McMillan Commission recommended the present site as the location for a major memorial, many people opposed the proposed location. The groundbreaking ceremony took place in The principal speaker that day was Dr. Robert Moton, president of the Tuskegee Institute, but he addressed a largely segregated audience. Constructed of granite, marble, and limestone, the memorial is an outstanding example of Neoclassical design, based on the Parthenon, in Athens, Greece.

It consists of a main level on a high raised basement with a recessed attic story above. The building stands in splendid isolation in a landscaped circle at the west end of the National Mall. Many symbols representing death and military triumph decorate the exterior, but the primary impression is of dignified, imposing simplicity.

The columns and all other exterior elements tilt slightly inward, to keep the enormous building from looking top-heavy. Visitors climb a long monumental staircase to reach the imposing main entrance. Rows of Ionic columns divide the interior into three sections.

The seated figure, apparently lost in thought, faces the Washington Monument across the length of the Reflecting Pool. A recessed lighting system ensures that the expressive features are visible in all light conditions. French originally planned a foot tall statue, but soon realized that it would be much too small for the enormous space. He finally decided on the present size, 19 feet, but feared that it might be too large.

He need not have worried.