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This Day in GovCon History, March 29, 1867: Lincoln Memorial First Commissioned

See the latest from GovWin editor Anthony Critelli

March 29, 1867 is the day Congress approved the Lincoln Memorial. The monument is the newest of the major iconic structures in Washington, D.C. – coming after the Capitol, White House and Washington Monument.


D.C. joggers typically loop around here and start heading the two miles toward the Capitol. Photo: National Park Service.

Original Would-Be Contractor

Sculptor Clark Mills was originally commissioned to design the monument. He proposed a multi-tiered, 36-figure, bronze sculpted monument — with a seated Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation at its peak. Lack of funds torpedoed this effort.

Rebirth of the Project

A Lincoln Memorial Commission was created by Congress on February 9, 1911 to resurrect the project with a $300,000 allocation. Henry Bacon, the project’s architect, chose a classic Greek Doric temple design. He felt the memorial would “testify forever to the reverence and honor which attended their erection, and the impression of their dignity and stateliness on the mind of the beholder will be augmented by their surroundings.” Daniel Chester French carved the famed seated statue of Lincoln. The duo worked together on over 50 public projects.

A project of this size needed the help of many other contractors such as:

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