Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Opens to Public
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Aug. 23, 2011 -- After more than 20 years of planning and construction, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial opened on the National Mall.
The memorial features a 30-foot statue of Dr. King emerging from the stone of hope. Two mounds set behind him, form a passageway to the statue, are mountains of despair. Also featured in the memorial are a wall with Dr. King’s quotations and nearly 200 cherry trees.
The cost to build the memorial was $120 million, and organizers are still trying to raise the last $5 million.
The memorial will be formally dedicated on Sunday in a ceremony that is expected to draw hundreds of thousands people from around the country. President Obama will deliver an address at the ceremony on Aug. 28, which also marks the 48th anniversary of the March on Washington and Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered at the Lincoln Memorial.
Photo: Pre-official opening images of the recently finished Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC.. Credit: CORBIS
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