Abraham Lincoln,Waterfront Park, Louisville, Kentucky,USA
N 38° 15.724 W 085° 44.384
16S E 610255 N 4235643
The Lincoln Memorial in Louisville consists of a central statue of Lincoln as a young man, and four phases of Lincoln's life and quotations and bronze panels by sculptor Ed Hamilton,to celebrate the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth.
Waymark Code: WM908G
Location: Kentucky, United States
Date Posted: 06/07/2010
Views: 12
The central bronze statue in the Lincoln Memorial on the Louisville waterfront is a young Abraham Lincoln. Surrounding him in granite is a quote etched there from perhaps his most famous speech---his 2nd Inaugural Address of March 4,1865 which concludes with these lines:
"With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan -- to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations."
On the way to the central heroic size bronze statue of young Abraham Lincoln are 4 bas relief bronze panels and quotations of Lincoln etched in the black polished granite. One of these quotes from Lincoln ca. 1824-26 is this statement:
"Abraham Lincoln, his hand and pen. He will be good but God knows when."
Another panel discusses Lincoln's friendship with Kentuckians even after he moved to Illinois and began his professional career there. His quote on this black granite slab was made in 1862:
"If we have no friends, we have no pleasure." He married Marry Todd from Lexington, Kentucky.
Another panel reminds of of Lincoln's thoughts on slavery in a letter to Joshua Speed of Louisville in 1855. Those thoughts etched in black granite would influence his Emancipation Proclamation speech of 1863.
Another panel includes some of Lincoln's words at Gettysburg battlefield in 1863---one of Lincoln's most efficient use of words:
"that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom."
In summary, the Commonwealth of Kentucky's new Lincoln Memorial in Louisville's Waterfront Park is an interesting use of words etched in granite, and images cast in bronze to remember Abraham Lincoln. Its dedication in 2009 marks the 200th anniversary of his birth in Hodgenville, Kentucky and the influence the state had on his life.
As a visitor from Missouri, I thought it was timely and well done in a beautiful location for the memorial. I enjoyed meeting sculptor Ed Hamilton in February 2003 at his studio and was present for the dedication of his "York" statue in October 2003. (see photo gallery)
Though I missed the dedication of his Lincoln Memorial, I am pleased to see the event video chronicled on the website shown below.
Address:
Lincoln Memorial, Riverfront Park
601 River Road
Louisville, Kentucky 40202
Website: [Web Link]
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