The Lincoln Memorial has always been special. Its siting is perfect, facing the Capitol, across the length of the Mall, as if speaking truth to power. The symmetry of its proportions adds to its moral grandeur. It feels balanced and open to all, like Lincoln’s vision of democracy.
That was consciously on the mind of the architect, Henry Bacon. It is not a towering monolith; instead, it invites the visitor in. There are some steps to climb, but not too many; 87 in all, chosen specifically because of the “four score and seven” in the Gettysburg Address, the number separating the year of Lincoln’s speech (1863) from 1776, the year of the Declaration of Independence.
