The Lincoln Memorial: What You Actually See When You Get There

The Lincoln Memorial opened in 1922 and is free to visit, open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Ranger staff are present from 09:30 to 22:00. It sits at the western end of the National Mall, 3.2 km from the Capitol Building, on axis with the Washington Monument and the Capitol dome in a straight east-west line that was planned from the start.

The building is modelled on a Greek temple: 36 Doric columns representing the 36 states that existed at Lincoln’s death in 1865. Each column is inscribed with the state name. The names are visible walking around the exterior.

What Is Inside

The central chamber holds Daniel Chester French’s seated Lincoln: 5.8 metres tall in white Georgia marble, carved and assembled from 28 separate blocks. The face is remarkable. French reportedly studied Lincoln’s life mask and hand casts to get the proportions right. The hands show the left hand open and the right forming a loose fist, which some scholars believe represents the manual alphabet signs for A and L (Abraham Lincoln), though French never confirmed this.

On the north wall: the text of Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address (1865), in which Lincoln, with the Civil War nearly over, addressed the causes and potential reconciliation. “With malice toward none, with charity for all” is carved here in full context.

On the south wall: the Gettysburg Address (1863), in full, inscribed above a mural depicting Lincoln’s liberation of the enslaved. These are not decorative - they are the substance of why this particular president receives this scale of memorial.

On the steps (outside, not inside): Martin Luther King Jr. delivered “I Have a Dream” from the steps in August 1963. A circular marker is now set into the granite on the 18th step from the top, indicating the spot. It reads: “I Have a Dream, Martin Luther King Jr., The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, August 28, 1963.”

The Reflecting Pool and the Mall

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool runs 618 metres east to the World War II Memorial. The pool and the full view of the Washington Monument reflected in the water is one of the genuine visual experiences of the National Mall - the photograph exists in millions of iterations but the reality is still effective.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial: 250 metres north of the Lincoln Memorial, designed by Maya Lin (then a 21-year-old architecture student), opened 1982. Polished black granite panels inscribed with 58,320 names of US service members killed or missing in Vietnam. The wall descends to its deepest point (3 metres) at 1968, the deadliest year of the war. Visitors leave flowers, photographs, and notes at the base. Rangers are present to help locate specific names. There is nothing else quite like it.

Korean War Veterans Memorial: across the Mall from the Vietnam memorial, completed 1995. Nineteen stainless steel figures of soldiers in field gear, full-size, arranged in a triangular formation across rough ground intended to suggest the Korean landscape. Less visited than the Vietnam Memorial but visually striking.

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial: 400 metres south-west of the Lincoln Memorial, at the Tidal Basin. The Stone of Hope, a 9-metre carved image of King emerging from granite, faces the Jefferson Memorial across the water. Fourteen quotes are inscribed on the curved inscription wall flanking the main figure.

Timing and Crowds

The Mall is open and free at all hours. Evening visits are the most atmospheric: the marble is lit from below, the pool reflects the Monument, and the crowds are smaller than midday. Late spring and early summer see the largest crowds but also the cherry blossom season around the Tidal Basin (late March to mid-April), which is separately worth timing a visit around.

Summer (July-August) is hot and extremely humid in Washington. The Mall has minimal shade.

Getting There

Metro to Foggy Bottom-GWU station (Blue, Orange, Silver lines), then a 20-minute walk south along 23rd Street. The walk through the area is level and straightforward.

Alternatively: DC Circulator bus (National Mall line) runs between Union Station and Lincoln Memorial, $1 per ride.

Eating Near the Mall

Ben’s Chili Bowl (1213 U Street NW): has been serving half-smokes (spicy pork and beef sausage) since 1958 and is a Washington institution. About 30 minutes on foot or Metro from the Lincoln Memorial. Bill Cosby and Barack Obama have both eaten there; the photographs are on the wall.

Old Ebbitt Grill (675 15th Street NW): the oldest saloon in DC, opened 1856, near the White House. Good oysters, reliable American food, lively atmosphere. Around $35-60 per person.

For quick food on the Mall itself: the Smithsonian museums all have cafeterias that are open to the public without museum admission. The National Museum of Natural History cafeteria is the most convenient and perfectly adequate.

Free Smithsonian Museums

The National Mall has nine Smithsonian museums, all free, all within walking distance of the Lincoln Memorial. The National Museum of American History (closed for renovation; check status) and National Museum of Natural History (dinosaur hall, Hope Diamond) are closest. The National Air and Space Museum is the most visited museum in the United States.