There's More To Washington Than Politicians!

Welcome to Washington, which is not just home to Presidents and other politicians, but regular people too. Even if you aren't planning a trip to DC any time soon, I would like to share a little of my hometown. Maybe you will come to Washington some time - and I hope you look me up! It's a great city and I love to tell people a little of its history and some of its quirks. It's like any hometown, but more famous!

You probably saw the concert on Sunday afternoon of the Inaugural weekend in front of the Lincoln memorial. Did you know that there have been other famous concerts and performances there? Here is a little history of the Lincoln Memorial, and maybe some things you don't know.
Of course, the Lincoln memorial is a monument honoring the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Construction was begun in 1914, and its design by the New York architect Henry Bacon is based on a Greek temple with 36 doric columns. Each column represents one state of the Union at the time of Lincoln's death. Inside the 99ft tall marble temple is a large sculpture of Abraham Lincoln seated in a chair. The northern wall contains an inscription of Lincoln's second inaugural speech, the southern wall has the Gettysburg address inscribed. Above the inscription is a mural depicting the angel of truth freeing a slave. The memorial has been used many times as a gathering place for protests and political rallies. The most famous was the March of Washington in 1963, when Martin Luther King delivered his famous speech 'I have a dream' A marked tile on the memorial's steps shows where Dr. King stood. On August 28, 1983, crowds gathered again to mark the 20th Anniversary Mobilization for Jobs, Peace and Freedom, to reflect on progress in gaining civil rights for African Americans and to commit to correcting continuing injustices.
In 1939, the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to allow the African-American Marian Anderson to perform before an integrated audience at the organization's Constitution Hall. At the suggestion of Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of President Roosevelt, Harold L.Ickes, the Secretary of the Interior, arranged for a performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday of that year, to a live audience of 70,000, and a nationwide radio audience.
As a girl growing up in DC in the '60s I remember that on summer evenings the National Symphony used to perform on a barge on the Potomac in front of the Lincoln Memorial and crowds would sit on the steps leading down to the river from the traffic circle around the Memorial. Eventually the city could no longer tolerate having one of its major commuter roads, Rock Creek Park, closed to traffic several nights a week, and the concerts stopped.
The memorial is located at the west end of the National Mall. From the top of the stairs in front of the temple, you have a great view of the Washington Monument and the US Capitol. You might remember the view of all the people in the reflecting pool during one of the protest scenes in the movie, "Forest Gump."

There are some great legends about the Lincoln Memorial, but they aren't true!
For instance, people claim that Robert E. Lee's face is carved onto the back of Lincoln's statue, looking back across the Potomac at the Custis Lee Mansion in Arlington Cemetary.
Another popular legend is that Lincoln is shown using sign language to represent his initials, with his left hand shaped to form an "A" and his right hand to form an "L". The National Park Service denies both stories, calling them urban legends.
But, there really are stalactites growing under the Memorial in the "basement." 20 years ago I took a n evening tour of the Lincoln memorial and its stalactites. The tour was fun, but they have cancelled it for secuirty reasons!
So the next time you see a picture of Washington, I hope you will put the city on your to do list, and plan a trip with your family. I would love to show you around!

Posted by Lise Howe on 01/27/2009 10:20 PM