Washington, D.C. - The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial is revealed to members of the press before opening to the public today. The design is derived from part of King's famous "I have a dream" speech when he said, "With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope." The memorial sits by the tidal basin between the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials.
King memorial opens to the public today
The first members of the public to see the official opening of Washington’s new $120 million memorial to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. walked in quietly, smiling but “so slow it was like we were coming to see a body,” said Weldon Ferguson of the District.
What they saw instead was stone and water, words and an iconic image on a picture-perfect summer day along the Tidal Basin. Some were weeping. Others were taking pictures of the statue and each other and giving high-fives, lending the unveiling of the memorial the feeling of one big block party.
“It’s beautiful, exquisite,” said Paulette Davis of Washington. “I’m remembering where he led us. This exceeded my expectations.”
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.
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Showing posts with label MLK Jr. Memorial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MLK Jr. Memorial. Show all posts
Monday, August 22, 2011
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