Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
“With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free on day.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr., "I Have a Dream,” August 28, 1963.
With a combined length of approximately 500 feet, the granite “Inscription Wall” arcs on either side of the Mountain of Despair, engraved with Dr. King’s speeches and writings which embody the universal themes of love, justice, democracy and hope.
Master sculptor Lei Yixin’s masterpiece, the “Stone of Hope,” includes a 28 foot tall statue of Martin Luther King, Jr. emerging from the granite.
The main entrance to the memorial is through the “Mountain of Despair,” a massive boulder symbolizing the struggle faced in the quest for peace and equality. From within the struggle, a piece has been removed and thrust into the open plaza the “Stone of Hope.”
The memorial is strategically placed on a direct line between the Lincoln Memorial and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. The Lincoln Memorial is where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The statue of Martin Luther King, Jr. gazes across the Tidal Basin toward the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and the promise of freedom found within the Declaration of Independence.
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy to the world is of love, justice, democracy and hope. The Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc. was established on May 28, 1998 to coordinate the development, funding, and the construction of a memorial on the grounds of the National Mall. President William Jefferson Clinton signed a Joint Congressional Resolution authorizing the building of a memorial on July 16, 1998.
• Designer: ROMA Design Group of San Francisco.
• Architect of Record: McKissack & McKissack.
• Contractor: McKissack & McKissack / Turner Construction / Tompkins Builders / Gilford Corporation Design-Build Joint Venture.
• Sculptor of Record: Master Sculptor Lei Yixin.
• Projected Cost: $120 Million.
• Projected Completion Date: Late 2011.
For more information, and to view a webcam of construction, please visit…
http://www.mlkmemorial.org/
[Illustrations]:
“Build the Dream” (Logo of the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation).
The model for the Memorial’s winning design.
Artist renderings of the “Inscription Wall”, the “Stone of Hope” sculpture, and the “Mountain of Despair” boulder – with arrows pointing to their locations on an overview of the memorial site.
Map of the Tidal Basin area, showing the MLK Memorial site in relation to major memorials nearby.
Marker is on Tidal Basin Walkway south of Independence Avenue, SW, on the left when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
