I haven’t actually been doing a lot of sightseeing in D.C. yet, probably because I really like to save these experiences for when I’m with my family, but I had to take the opportunity to see the Lincoln Memorial at night.
Like the first time I saw the Parthenon, it lived up to expectations.
It’s a straight shot down a grassy mall from the Capitol, through the Washington Monument, World War II Memorial to the Lincoln.
The building itself is… not so hot. It’s a square classical box, but square is not the classical proportions. It’s the statue that’s impressive.
You walk in at night, to your left is the Gettysburg Address, to your right the Second Inaugural Address, and in front of you is the giant seated Lincoln.
What impresses are features like the huge knobby workingman’s hands and the spectacularly ugly/beautiful face set in a look of unbearable sadness.
By now you’ve probably guessed that I have little patience for Lincoln-Civil War revisionism. Many friends and people whose opinions I respect on other issues have fallen for this bull$#@^ but sorry, it’s just too silly for words.
I can’t recall any piece of statuary quite this moving, though perhaps ‘The Dying Gaul’ comes close. This may be the finest piece of public sculpture our country has produced.
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