Back in 1959, the state of Wyoming commissioned a memorial to Abraham Lincoln, featuring an intentionally oversized head on smaller shoulders. It was done to mark the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's birth. Placed along Interstate 80 in 1969, the placing of the monument marks the highest point along the old Lincoln Highway, the nation's first coast-to-coast road.
The head is an impressive 12 1/2 feet high and rests upon a 30 foot tall granite monolith. The monument is accessible to travellers along Interstate 80, westbound, between Cheyenne and Laramie, Wyoming.
I'm not sure why Abe has such an angry expression on his face (actually many statues of him do). But I suppose if any of us oversaw the bloodiest war in our nation's history, only to be murdered by some punk, we'd be really upset, too!
3 comments:
I've posted a couple stories on this monument, including some history and info on the sculptor who recently died. Here are the links (shortened from my first post so they'll now link):
http://brianbutko.wordpress.com/2007/12/15
http://brianbutko.wordpress.com/2007/12/16
Brian Butko
http://www.brianbutko.com
http://www.lincolnhighwaynews.com
Back in the Pleistocene, when I drove that road with some regularity, I stopped to see the monument. Nice stuff. Not angry looking in person. Not much reason to stop, though, if you're runnin' behind on getting to Salt Lake City or Denver.
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