The Lincoln Memorial
Built in : 1914 – 1922
Soon after his assassination in 1865, there was a strong demand to memorialize America’s 16th president, Abraham Lincoln. Two years later, Congress passed bills to commission a monument in Lincoln’s honor. The demand may have come swiftly, but it took almost five decades to break ground. It then took another near-decade until it was finally completed.
Work on the new Lincoln Memorial grounds is under way. Excavating for the big mirror lake. Photo By Getty Images/Bettmann / Contributor
The Lincoln Memorial was originally intended to have six equestrian statues, 31 pedestrian statues, and a 12-foot statue of the president himself. Instead, it resulted in the simple, stately version that is seen today. By the time the monument was completed in 1922, the reflection pool – that sits between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument – was still under construction.