Lincoln Memorial
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The site has had its share of unusual events; President Bush's 2001 inauguration ceremony included dance troupe The Rockettes kicking their legs in the air, while marching down the monument's steps.
On November 27, 2006, the Memorial was partially closed when a suspicious liquid was found in a bathroom. Also found was an “anthrax threat letter”, according to authorities at the Memorial.
Images of the memorial
The Lincoln Memorial is shown on the reverse of the United States penny. In his treatise Theory and Practise of Numismatic Design, Steve Crooks states that because the Lincoln Memorial is shown in sufficient detail to discern the statue of Lincoln on the reverse of the penny, Abraham Lincoln is the only person to be depicted on both the obverse and reverse of the same United States coin. This held true until 1999 when the New Jersey state quarter was released depicting George Washington crossing the Delaware River on its reverse. Another incident occurred in 2006 when South Dakota's quarter was released, depicting Mount Rushmore.
The Lincoln Memorial is on the back of the U.S. five dollar bill, which bears Lincoln's portrait on the front.
Other Lincoln memorials in Washington, D.C.
The Lincoln Memorial was preceded by three earlier remarkable memorials to Lincoln in the capital.
The first Lincoln statue in the US, in front of what was the first City Hall (D street) was unveiled on April 15, 1868, the third anniversary of Lincoln's death, by his successor, Andrew Johnson. It was paid for by the citizens of Washington, D.C. Lot Flannery, the Irish sculptor, claimed he knew Lincoln and was present at the theatre when Lincoln was assassinated. The memorial was meant not only to commemorate Lincoln but remind the public of his authorization of up to $1 million to pay loyal D.C. slaveholders for their human property. This initiative reflected Lincoln's need to balance the drive towards the end of slavery with his dependency on the loyalty of the citizens of D.C. to the Union. The statue was taken down in 1919, but was restored to its original location after considerable controversy in 1923.)
A Lincoln statue was dedicated inside the Rotunda of the United States Capitol on January 25, 1871, in the presence of Ulysses S. Grant. While still a teenager, sculptress Vinnie Ream began preliminary sketches of Lincoln during the last five months of his life. She became the first woman to receive a commission from Congress to create a statue for the Rotunda. To accurately render the statue's garments, she borrowed the clothes Lincoln wore the night of his assassination.
The Emancipation Memorial (also known as “Freedom's Memorial”) (1876) in Lincoln Park on Capitol Hill portrays a kneeling man representing the last man captured under the Fugitive Slave Law, who snaps slavery's chains as Lincoln proffers the Emancipation Proclamation. Freed black slaves raised all the funds to erect it. The initiative came from Charlotte Scott , of Virginia, who donated the first $5 she earned as a free American. Archer Alexander, himself a former slave, posed as the model for the slave in the statue.
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