Washington’s new $120 million memorial to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. opens to the public Monday at 11 a.m.
More than 25 years in the making, the granite memorial features a 30-foot-tall statue of King on a landscaped parcel on the northwest shore of the Tidal Basin, just southwest of the World War II Memorial.
The King memorial will be open Monday until 10 p.m., and Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday it will be open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., but will close Friday and Saturday in preparation for its official dedication at 11 a.m. Sunday. President Obama is scheduled to unveil the “cloaked” statue before tens of thousands of onlookers, including members of the slain civil rights leader’s family.
The National Park Service says for Monday’s opening an entrance line will form near the Memorial on Independence Avenue SW near Ohio Drive, and rangers will direct visitors into the site.
The memorial is the first to an African American on the Mall, and is situated about half way between the Jefferson Memorial, on the other side of the Basin, and the Lincoln Memorial, to the northwest.
The main statue of King depicts him standing with his arms folded, holding a scroll, and looking out across the water. It is built of 159 giant blocks of granite that were quarried in China and carved by master sculptor Lei Yixin. The blocks were shipped to the U.S. and the statue was assembled on the site late last year.
This week will see days of celebrations and commemorations as dignitaries from around the world gather to pay tribute to King, who was assassinated in Memphis in 1968, and remember his role in the Civil Rights movement.
The dedication will take place on the 48th anniversary of the day he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington in 1963, and many people who were present then are expected in Washington this week.
More than 25 years in the making, the granite memorial features a 30-foot-tall statue of King on a landscaped parcel on the northwest shore of the Tidal Basin, just southwest of the World War II Memorial.
The King memorial will be open Monday until 10 p.m., and Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday it will be open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., but will close Friday and Saturday in preparation for its official dedication at 11 a.m. Sunday. President Obama is scheduled to unveil the “cloaked” statue before tens of thousands of onlookers, including members of the slain civil rights leader’s family.
The National Park Service says for Monday’s opening an entrance line will form near the Memorial on Independence Avenue SW near Ohio Drive, and rangers will direct visitors into the site.
The memorial is the first to an African American on the Mall, and is situated about half way between the Jefferson Memorial, on the other side of the Basin, and the Lincoln Memorial, to the northwest.
The main statue of King depicts him standing with his arms folded, holding a scroll, and looking out across the water. It is built of 159 giant blocks of granite that were quarried in China and carved by master sculptor Lei Yixin. The blocks were shipped to the U.S. and the statue was assembled on the site late last year.
This week will see days of celebrations and commemorations as dignitaries from around the world gather to pay tribute to King, who was assassinated in Memphis in 1968, and remember his role in the Civil Rights movement.
The dedication will take place on the 48th anniversary of the day he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington in 1963, and many people who were present then are expected in Washington this week.
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