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Experience the Undercroft
Lincoln Memorial Museum
Lincoln Memorial Museum
A new 15,000-sf museum below the Lincoln Memorial greatly expands the site’s visitor amenities and offers a fresh perspective on the iconic building. Located in the memorial’s undercroft—a cavernous, column-filled space beneath the century-old monument—the museum provides critical upgrades, improves accessibility, and delivers an immersive experience.
With multimedia exhibits and an orientation theater, the museum offers visitors an unprecedented opportunity to engage with the massive structure that supports the Lincoln Memorial while exploring its enduring legacy and significance as an important backdrop to American history.
The Lincoln Memorial…is a testament to the ideals that unite us as Americans. This new visitor experience honors that legacy by making one of our nation’s most iconic memorials more accessible, engaging and inspiring for millions of visitors.
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An Under-what?
Because the memorial sits on reclaimed land that was once part of the Potomac River, its foundations had to be driven 50 feet down to the bedrock below. This engineering solution resulted in the undercroft: a cavernous, column-filled space that was never intended for visitors. The new museum is suspended on the memorial’s century-old foundation.
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Something Old, Something New
Contemporary elements are related to, yet clearly distinguishable from, the old. New walls are faced with reclaimed wood, harking back to the boards that shaped the concrete columns during the memorial’s construction. In contrast to the oil-rubbed bronze doors and accents in the statuary chamber, the museum features light bronze doors and hardware.
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A Theater with a View
The centerpiece of the museum is a theater where visitors watch a film projected onto large screens in the undercroft space. To ensure the view will never be clouded by condensation during humid Washington summers, we designed a state-of-the-art glass curtain wall that incorporates radiant glazing.
