Dedication of the Lincoln Memorial
Over 35,000 people attended the dedication ceremony for the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/33">Lincoln Memorial</a> in 1922, ten years after <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/493">construction</a> began. At the ceremony, President Warren G. Harding, former president and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Howard Taft, and Robert Moton, Principal of Tuskegee Institute spoke about Lincoln’s legacy and how the memorial might help heal sectional tensions in the US. Harding’s address was broadcast on the radio using an experimental radiophone developed by the US Navy. Attendees included Union and Confederate Civil War veterans and President Lincoln's son, Robert Todd Lincoln. Though the event emphasized reconciliation and unity, audience members watched from segregated seating.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Department+of+Defense.">Department of Defense.</a>
National Archives at College Park. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVUbzOk8mCc">View original.</a>
5/30/1922
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1920-1949">1920-1949</a>
Founding of the Society for a More Beautiful National Capital
First Lady Lady Bird Johnson was a conservationist and lover of nature. She believed that the environment could help shape people's lives by improving their health and attitudes. In 1964, she established the Society for a More Beautiful National Capital to improve neighborhoods and tourist attractions in Washington, DC. Her projects centered around trash cleanup, building renovation, and <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/432">planting flowers</a>. She hoped that Washington would become an example to the rest of the cities of the country for the power of beautification.
Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library. <a href="http://www.lbjlibrary.net/collections/photo-archive.html">View original</a>.
1964
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1950-1979">1950-1979</a>
White House construction
When President Truman moved in in 1945, the White House was showing its age. <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/157">Burned by British troops in 1814</a>, renovated in 1902 and 1927, and expanded several times, the piecemeal and constantly incomplete renovations to the White House had left the building structurally unsound. Beginning in 1949, Truman and his family moved into the Blair House across the street so that the White House could be entirely gutted. New foundations, wiring, plumbing, duct work, and other utilities were added. Designers had intended to reuse historic wall paneling but it was not practical, so reproductions were used instead.
The Truman Library. <a href="http://www.trumanlibrary.org/abierowe/Gallery/Whitehouse/Dismantling/pages/71290.htm">View original</a>.
10/1949 (started)
03/1952 (completed)
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1920-1949">1920-1949</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1950-1979">1950-1979</a>
Executive Stables
The Executive Stables, which held the horses, carriages, and later automobiles of the President, were built, rebuilt, and relocated several times. The first stables were built in 1800 by the Jefferson administration and sat just off the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/66">White House</a> grounds, near the current site of the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/337">Treasury Building</a>. The stables were relocated and redesigned three more times before those shown in this photo were constructed. Built during the Pierce administration in 1857 and destroyed by fire during Lincoln's presidency in 1864, these stables were located in the backyard of the White House. Three redesigns later, the final Executive Stables stood where the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/67">Eisenhower Executive Office Building</a> is located today.
Library of Congress Prints and Photograhs Division. <a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2011660268/">View original</a>.
1800 (created)
1911 (removed)
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1800-1829">1800-1829</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1890-1919">1890-1919</a>
America's Reunion on the Mall
This festival celebrating American cultural diversity was held on the days leading up to the first inauguration of President Bill Clinton. It was organized by the Inaugural Committee, with support from the Smithsonian Institution, the Library of Congress, and the National Park Service. Three food tents offered cuisine from all over the United States. There were multiple stages where musical performances were held throughout the day for all three days of the festival, as well as a kickoff concert at the Lincoln Memorial headlined by major artists including Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and Michael Bolton.
National Archives at College Park. <a href="http://research.archives.gov/description/6481057">View original</a>.
1/17/1993-1/19/1993
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1980-1999">1980-1999</a>
Andrew Jackson Memorial
At the center of Lafayette Park, along the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/66">White House</a>’s north side, stands this equestrian statue of President Andrew Jackson. Cast to commemorate Jackson’s victory at the Battle of New Orleans, the bronze statue was sculpted by artist Clark Mills in 1853. It is part of a set of four - the other statues stand in New Orleans, LA; Nashville, TN; and Jacksonville, FL. The base of the statue is inscribed, “Our Federal Union. It must be Preserved.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. <a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994003544/PP/">View original</a>.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1830-1859">1830-1859</a>
Charles Guiteau
Charles Guiteau shot <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/111">President Garfield </a>on July 2, 1881 at the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/42">Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station</a> on the National Mall. <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/347">Guiteau shot Garfield</a> because he had been denied a political appointment that he believed he deserved. Garfield eventually died from complications from the gunshot wound. Guiteau was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to death by hanging on June 30, 1882 at the District of Columbia jail.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Charles+Guiteau">Charles Guiteau</a>
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. <a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/92508892/">View original image</a>.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1860-1889">1860-1889</a>
Inauguration of President Barack Obama
The 2009 Presidential Inauguration was the first in which the entire length of the Mall was open to spectators. In previous years, parts of the Mall were used as staging areas for the inaugural parade. In this photo you can see that the crowds stretched all the way back to the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/33">Lincoln Memorial</a>.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Senior+Master+Sgt.+Thomas+Meneguin%2C+U.S.+Air+Force">Senior Master Sgt. Thomas Meneguin, U.S. Air Force</a>
Department of Defense via Wikimedia Commons. <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Obama_inaugural_address.jpg">View original</a>.
1/20/2009
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2000-present">2000-present</a>
Presidential Inauguration
James Monroe was the first president to take the oath of office outdoors after the government moved to Washington. Previous inaugurations were held indoors, which limited the number of people who could attend. The inauguration was originally going to be held indoors, but members of the Senate and the House of Representatives could not agree on details such as what chairs to use. As this newspaper article mentions, a temporary portico was erected for the ceremony. Because the ceremony was outdoors, many more people were able to attend the inauguration than in previous years.
<em>Washington City Weekly Gazette</em>
03/08/1817
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1800-1829">1800-1829</a>
Inaugural Ceremonies for President Truman
<p class="p1">The 1949 Inauguration of President Harry S. Truman was the first to be broadcast live on television. This footage from the US Air Force was shot from behind where Truman stood to take the oath of office. As the camera pans, one of the press platforms is visible above the crowd. Roughly 600,000 people attended the inauguration at the east front of the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/59">Capitol Building</a>. Approximately ten million people tuned in to watch the ceremony on television, some gathering in movie theaters or public libraries. </p>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Department+of+Defense.+">Department of Defense. </a>
National Archives at College Park. <a href="http://research.archives.gov/description/65524">View original</a>.
1/20/1949
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1920-1949">1920-1949</a>