Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial

Carved in memory of Civil Rights Leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. this memorial is located on four acres of land near the northwest corner of the Tidal Basin, not far from the Korean War Memorial. The address for the memorial is 1964 Independence Avenue, which was chosen because of the famous 1964 Civil Rights Act, a pivotal piece of legislation that Martin Luther King, Jr. played a key role in bringing about.

The memorial statue of Dr. King is carved out of a 30-foot high piece of granite called the “Stone of Hope,” which stands just past the gateway of two crescent-shaped pieces of granite carved in the shape of a mountain. These carvings highlight the quote from Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream Speech” – “Out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope.” The quote is carved out on the “Mountain of Despair.” There are fourteen other quotes from Dr. King on the walls of the monument from speeches to sermons. This statue is only the fourth on the National Mall that has been dedicated to a historic figure that has not served as President of the United States. There are a gift shop and a visitor’s center located at the entrance to the Memorial.