Lincoln Memorial Undercroft Opens to Public

A secret hidden beneath the Lincoln Memorial is now open to visitors. The U.S. Department of the Interior released a new video showing new perspectives on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. As of Thursday, the Lincoln Memorial Undercroft, a 15,000-square-foot museum below the monument, is accessible with advance reservations.

For a century, this cavernous chamber lay empty, looking like a “two-story shopping mall” and supported by a grid of 122 concrete pillars. This refurbishment project, which took $26 million in federal funds and $48 million from the National Park Foundation, began construction in 2023 and took 10 years of planning, says Julie Moore from the Trust for the National Mall.

“The Emancipation Proclamation is on display inside the Lincoln Memorial Undercroft.” (U.S. Department of the Interior)

The new museum contains a glass-encased exhibit area within the infrastructure beneath Lincoln’s statue. It features interactive displays, multimedia videos, and a bookstore. Exciting historical items on exhibit include original copies of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment, marked with Lincoln’s signature, according to the Department of the Interior.

“A diagram shows where the new Lincoln Memorial Undercroft museum is located.” (NPS)

Visitors learn about the memorial’s construction, seeing historical tools and genuine graffiti from workers in the 1920s. The undercroft illustrates the Lincoln Memorial’s transformation into a “civic stage”, says Moore. Exhibits celebrate the site’s key role in civil rights history, highlighting events like Marian Anderson’s 1939 concert and the March on Washington.

Advance reservations are available at recreation.gov or by calling 877-444-6777. Visitors can book up to 30 days ahead or get walk-up tickets at 8:45 a.m. daily at the nearby Korean War Veterans Memorial kiosk.

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Editor: Alexandra Koch, known for covering significant national events, contributed to this report.