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Lincoln
memorabilia
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| America knows how
to honour its heroes and Lincoln, who stands among
their most revered historic personalities, is remembered
in several areas of the capital city where he served
the nation. |
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Lincoln
Memorial
Mounting the steps to this
colonnaded white building is almost a religious
experience, a feeling confirmed by notices requesting
quiet and respect. Lincoln's seated image matches
his reputation… gigantic. Not that it attempts
to flatter the man. The sculptor has captured
a prominent facial wart as well as a magisterial
expression. The text of two Lincoln speeches
is displayed on the inner face of both side
walls, while the statue faces out to one of
the most famous images of Washington… the
long reflecting pool reaching towards the Washington
monument, which provided the arena for one of
the twentieth century's most memorable speeches
- Martin Luther King's "I have a dream".
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Fords
Theater
Unimposing from the outside, the interior décor
of Fords Theater has been periodised back to the
night in 1865 that guaranteed its place in history.
Here, on April 14th 1865, John Wilkes Booth slipped
into the presidential box, pointed his pistol at
the head of Abraham Lincoln and fired. The theatre,
which was bought by the government in 1866, was
remodelled in 1968 and now runs a modern programme
of plays and musicals. A museum in the basement
recounts the assassination story and its political
background and displays artefacts of the president,
his wife and companions and the principal conspirators. |
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Reflecting
Pool
From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial you can
look back along this reflecting pool to the monument
to that other most-revered of US presidents, George
Washington. This is the view Dr Martin Luther
King would have seen as he made his famous "dream"
speech.
Just a short walk to the left
you can find the famous refelecting wall of the
Vietnam Veterans' memorial.
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