15 fun facts about the Lincoln Memorial
Posted by staff / August 19, 2015
Ask someone who their favorite president is and, chances are pretty good Abraham Lincoln will make the top five if not number one.
Oddly enough, though, it took fifty years to bring the Lincoln Memorial to fruition, and the well-known monument of today was not necessarily the original plan.
Find out more about this beloved landmark thanks to this article from Michael Arbeiter at Mental_Floss.
IT TOOK MORE THAN 50 YEARS TO GET A MEMORIAL FOR LINCOLN BUILT AND OPENED TO THE PUBLIC.
Efforts to create a fitting tribute to Abraham Lincoln began immediately after the leader’s assassination in 1865. Within two years, Congress had officially formed the Lincoln Monument Association and began seeking out craftsmen to bring the project to life. However, squabbling about the details of the project delayed construction until 1914. According to the National Parks Service, most of the memorial’s “architectural elements” were completed in April 1917; construction was slowed by World War I, and the memorial wouldn’t open until 1922.
ABOUT 40 PERCENT OF THE MONUMENT IS UNDERGROUND.
When viewers bask in the 99-foot-tall, 202-foot-wide Lincoln Memorial, they’re really only seeing a little more than half of the construction. Rooted beneath the ground is the piece’s foundation, which extends 66 feet into the earth at its deepest point to support the weight of the marble structure.
Full story at Mental_Floss.
Graphics credit: Canva
Another slow news day at the peanut farm?
Trivia is just so fascinating. That’s a big chunk of marble, eh? (says some Canadian dude)