when did construction begin on the lincoln memorial
Lincoln Memorial With Congressional approval and a $300,000 allocation, the project got underway. On February 12, 1914, a dedication ceremony was conducted and the following month the actual construction began. Work progressed steadily according to schedule. Some changes were made to the plan. The statue of Lincoln, originally designed to be 10 feet (3.0 m) tall, was enlarged to 19 feet (5.8 m) to prevent it from being overwhelmed by the huge chamber. As late as 1920, the decision was made to substitute an open portal for the bronze and glass grille which was to have guarded the entrance. Despite these changes, the Memorial was finished on schedule. Commission president William H. Taft – who was then Chief Justice of the United States – dedicated the Memorial on May 30, 1922 and presented it to President Warren G. Harding, who accepted it on behalf of the American people. Lincoln's only surviving son, 78-year-old Robert Todd Lincoln, was in attendance.[8]
Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was designed by Henry Bacon, and was constructed in 1922 and 1923, following the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial. It is approximately 2,029 feet (618 m) long (over a third of a mile) and 167 feet (51 m) wide. The perimeter of the pool is therefore 4,392 feet (1,339 m), about 0.83 miles around. It has a depth of approximately 18 inches (46 cm) on the sides and 30 inches (76 cm) in the center. It holds approximately 6,750,000 U.S. gallons (25,500,000 L) of water.[3]