A new museum and exhibit is opening beneath the Lincoln Memorial on June 25, giving visitors a look at the underground structure that supports the massive monument as well as historic documents like the 13th Amendment and Emancipation Proclamation.
The Lincoln Memorial Undercroft Museum, a $69 million project first announced in 2016, takes visitors underground, where they can walk among the 122 concrete pillars that hold up the monument. The exhibit includes lots of interactive experiences meant to show visitors how the memorial was constructed and how the site has contributed to significant moments in American history, like serving as the venue for Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech and other moments of protest.
Kevin Griess, Superintendent of National Mall and Memorial Parks, said the exhibit holds a special significance ahead of America’s 250th birthday.
“This is the epitome of the American story,” Griess said.
The moment visitors enter the exhibit, they get a view of the previously hidden undercroft and dozens of support columns visible behind a glass wall. A theater plays a video that takes visitors through the history and building of the memorial.
The museum’s “Exhibit Hall” is home to several interactive exhibits, including one where visitors can see mock-ups of alternative designs and one revealing details about the Lincoln statue sculpted by Daniel Chester French. Another room displays signed copies of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment, as well as a miniature version of the chair Lincoln’s statue sits on.
“I hope those [documents] become more real to them in what they stand for in what they mean, and they can read the words themselves and see the original signature,” Griess said.
The exhibit places particular emphasis on celebrating the workers who constructed the memorial. In one of the museum’s bathrooms, visitors can see a rendering of graffiti, depicting a woman smoking a cigarette, drawn on the concrete of the memorial by workers during construction, which took place between 1914 and 1922.
“The beauty and dignity of the memorial up on top was achieved only through hard labor over eight years of common Americans who were in here working,” Griess said.
Griess said 8 million people visit the memorial each year, and he hopes that visitors going forward will make the museum a part of their experience. Tickets are free with a $1 online service fee for advance reservations, and guests can also get same-day tickets in person at the nearby Korean War Veterans Memorial kiosk.
Visitors can reserve timed-entry tickets at https://www.recreation.gov/ticket/facility/10113318.
