Hi everyone!
This is the last post about architecture, so I hope you like it
specially! We are going to talk about a couple of important constructions of
the 19th and 20th century.
1.The Lincoln memorial
This is a commemorative monument of neo-classical style situated in the
National Mall in Washington DC created to honor the memory of the 16th
president Abraham Lincoln, because as we know it was very important in the
history of the United States.
The architect was Henry Bacon, a designer of the Beaux-Arts movement.
The building has the form of the ancient Greek Doric temples and it is decorated with quotes of two famous
speeches of Lincoln and the well-known huge sculpture of the president, which is made of limestone of Indiana and marble from Colorado. It also has 36
columns of 44 feet (around 10 meters) that are around the building and represent
the number of states that were part of the union at that time. In fact, every
column has the name of its state recorded on them, and the rest of the states
were added later on the walls.
The main room is next to two more rooms and in
one of them, the "Gettysburg speech" is recorded on the south wall.
The second inaugural speech is also recorded on the north wall of the other room. Above
these speeches, there are murals painted by Jules Gérin: an angel
(representing the truth) setting free to a slave and the unity of the north and
the south of North America. In the wall before the statue of the ex-president,
there is this quote:
“IN THIS TEMPLE
AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE
FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION
THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN
IS ENSHRINED FOREVER “
AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE
FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION
THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN
IS ENSHRINED FOREVER “
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| The Lincoln Memorial |
This construction is a representation of the
freedom that Lincoln fought so hard for. We have to mention that some important events has happened
there, for exmaple, the famous speech by Marthin Luther King called “I have a dream”, the 28th
August 1963. As a curiosity, the first stone was not put until the day of the
birthday of Lincoln, the 12th February of 1914 and it was
inaugurated the 30th of May of 1922 with the presence of his only
son alive, Robert Todd Lincoln. Besides, the image of the Lincoln memorial appeared
on the reverse of one penny coins until 2010 and on the five dollar bills.
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| Lincoln penny reverse |
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| Five dollars bill reverse |
2. The Washington monument
It is a white great obelisk situated also in
the extreme west of the National Mall in Washington DC, so they are in front of
each other. It commemorates the first president of the United States George
Washington.
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| The Washington monument |
It is
made of marble granite and bluestone gneiss and it has a height of 152 feet (around
170 meters). It was designed by Robert Mills, an American architect of the
decade of 1840. The construction started in 1848 and finished in 1884, almost
30 years after the death of the architect. This delay was caused for the
expensive American Civil War.
As a curiosity, in 1884 the monument became
the tallest structure in the world until the Eifel Tower was built in 1889, but
it is still the highest construction of Washington DC! And probably is going to
continue this way due to the laws passed there. Nowadays, it is visited by 800.000
tourists every year. Because of the earthquake and hurricane of 2011, the
monument had been repaired many times.
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| The Lincoln and Washington memorial, one in front of each other |
So here finishes this post and the
architecture part, but if you have some question left just leave a comment
below! And we will answer them with pleasure.
As a reflection, with these monuments we can
see the importance of history in the United States, what made them proud of
their country and values and how they learn from the innovations in the rights
of people in the case of Lincoln or the union of the country in the case of
Washington. Do you think that it is like this in other countries? What about
yours?
So I hope you liked the post and keep reading
because we have some topics left!
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- INFORMATION
- PICTURES
P086_Lincoln_Memorial_1280x720_54628.jpg.HTML
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