Inside a Greek-style temple, a 19-foot statue of Abraham Lincoln looks out over Washington, D.C. Above him are the words, “In this temple, as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the Union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.”

Abraham Lincoln Memorial:

Some say that the grandeur of Abraham Lincoln memorial does not suit his style; he was a modest man – why immortalize him in a 99-foot tall Greek temple?

But supporters celebrate his grand achievements. Shortly after Abraham Lincoln became US President, several states seceded from the Union. Before his presidency ended, Lincoln saw his country through civil war, preserved its union, and passed the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery.

Lincoln Monument Association:

The President was assassinated in 1865 just six days after the Confederate General Lee surrendered. Congress formed the Lincoln Monument Association two years later. However, they did not choose the site in West Potomac Park until 1901. It was 1911 before they appropriated funds; President Taft approved a bill for $2 million. (The memorial’s final cost was $1 million more.)

The Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is a familiar symbol of independence, freedom, and justice in America.

Originally called the State House Bell, it was commissioned in 1751 by colonial representatives. The Liberty Bell has been tolled on important days from the colonial era to modern times.

After enduring cracks, repairs, and an exciting hideout from the British, the bell is now on display. It is rung every Fourth of July.

In 1751, three men representing the Pennsylvania Assembly wrote a letter to their colonial agent in London. On the fiftieth anniversary of William Penn’s Charter of Privileges, they requested a bell for Philadelphia’s State House steeple. The agent arranged for casting at London’s White chapel foundry, and the bell was delivered in 1752.

The Bell was met with much excitement. First of all, it weighed an impressive 2,080 pounds! More importantly, it was a solid, solemn symbol of what the Pennsylvania Assembly hoped to uphold. William Penn had been especially progressive with religious freedom, Native American rights, and democracy overall.

The Bell was inscribed with a Biblical passage to capture this spirit: “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”

Independence Rock, a natural landmark along the old Oregon Trail, can be found near Casper, Wyoming. The independence rock was an important landmark for pioneers; it served as a campground and watering hole, and it marked their progress westward.

Three main pioneer trails – the Oregon, California, and Wyoming – led past Independence Rock.

The structure of Independence Rock:

Measuring approximately 1900 feet long, 800 feet wide, and 130 feet tall, the massive granite outcropping is hard to miss. The distance around its base measures 5,900 feet, or more than a mile.

Some say it looks like a giant whale emerging from the plateau. The rock is now believed to have been carved by glaciers during the last ice age.

It’s believed that the first white people to pass the rock were fur trappers working under General William Ashley. Some of these men were famous adventurers, including Jedediah Smith. They would have passed by in 1823.

Legend says that in 1830, another group of fur traders reached the rock in time for a Fourth of July celebration. This occasion supposedly lent Independence Rock its current name.

In 2006, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom made Golden Gate Park officially car-free on summertime weekends.

According to the city’s own report, recreational attendance at the park has doubled and tripled on these “healthy weekends”. More than twelve million people had already been visiting in a typical year.

Golden Gate Park is a rectangular strip of land slightly larger than New York City’s Central Park; its 3 miles long and half a mile wide. The park was proposed in the late 1860s when San Francisco’s rapid urban growth was leaving little green space.

In 1868, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors approved converting the city’s “Outside Lands” – sand dunes along the seashore — into miles of lush green space. They hoped this would provide a natural heaven for city dwellers while drawing realty investment to the mostly uninhabited western part of the city.

However, supervisors who didn’t like Golden Gate Park were presented with two obstacles:

1) Squatters who were already living on the dunes, and

2) The sandy soil and harsh ocean winds. After a long legal battle, resistant squatters relinquished 10% of their claimed landholdings. This allowed the city enough land to proceed with park development.

May 27, 1937 was Pedestrian Day in San Francisco. This kicked off a week-long celebration of the new Golden Gate Bridge. Pedestrian Day meant that the bridge was open to foot traffic for 25 cents per person.

About 200,000 people paid the fee and crossed the 1.7-mile span in their walking shoes or on roller skates. For the first time, it was possible to walk across the San Francisco Bay, from the northern tip of San Francisco to the southern end of Marin County. Automobile traffic was permitted the next day at noon.

Golden Gate Bridge construction:

Before the Golden Gate Bridge was constructed, San Francisco was a relatively isolated city. It sat at the top of a peninsula, surrounded on three sides by water that was difficult to cross. The “Golden Gate” itself is a narrow strip of water at the mouth of the San Francisco Bay.

With strong currents and a depth of 400 feet, the Golden Gate bridge strait is foreboding to sailors. On the other hand, circumnavigating the whole San Francisco Bay has its drawbacks too: the trip is hundreds of miles long and involves crossing several rivers, which can become shallow sand traps.

Boston’s Faneuil Hall, which has been nicknamed “The Cradle of Liberty”, hosted America’s first political town meeting. Since its construction by French Huguenot merchant Peter Faneuil in 1742, the hall has served as a shelter for sheep, a lively marketplace, and a center for free speech.

Each floor of Faneuil Hall holds different activities:

From the start, the Faneuil Hall’s activities have been divided by floor.

The first floor briefly held African sheep herded from New Hampshire; a sheep shortage soon brought that program to a halt. Since 1748, the first floor has served as a public marketplace; Peter Faneuil encouraged pushcart vendors to permanently set up shop.

The second floor has long featured the meeting hall, though it was briefly converted a theater during the British occupation of 1774.

The first public meeting held at Faneuil was actually on the occasion of Peter Faneuil’s death; his eulogy was read at the hall. Revolutionaries later used the site to protest King George’s taxes and to pen the famous doctrine concerning “no taxation without representation”.

Following the Boston Massacre, the public filled the hall to capacity to discuss the event. The patriot orator Samuel Adams gave an impassioned speech, and two years later, he would there initiate the first Committee of Correspondence.

The Empire State Building is a 102-story skyscraper located in New York City. It’s named for New York, the “Empire State”.

When The Empire State building opened in 1931, it was the tallest building in the world! It was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

The Empire State Building was erected as part of a worldwide race to build the tallest structure. The United States previously held the record with the 555-foot Washington Monument, but then France built the 984-foot Eiffel Tower in 1889. By the early 20th century, architects across America tried to set new records.

The Metropolitan Life Tower signaled a start to the race in 1909; the building rose 700 feet and 50 stories. The 57-story Woolworth Building followed in 1913, and the 71-story Bank of Manhattan was completed in 1929. (Of course, since this was the Depression, there was ironically little demand for office space!)

Three skyscrapers:

Competition then intensified within New York State. Three skyscrapers were underway simultaneously: the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, and 40 Wall Street.

The Empire State Building’s rental manager, Hamilton Weber, described the architectural contest:

In March of 2006, Elvis Presley’s Graceland estate was raised to the level of Washington’s Mount Vernon and Jefferson’s Monticello. It officially became a National Historic Monument.

Of course, long before the Secretary of the Interior made this public announcement, Elvis Presley fans worldwide had made his home a popular tourist destination;

Graceland already attracted more than 600,000 people every year. The designation of his home as a national landmark celebrates his widely-known contributions to American culture and music history.

Elvis Presley is among the most influential figures in 20th century music and pop culture. He was most famous as a musician and was indicted into three halls of fame: the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the GMA Gospel Hall of Fame. No other artist has been honored by all three establishments. Presley also triumphed on television and starred in 33 movies.

Shortly after his rise to stardom, Elvis felt a need for privacy. In 1957 he moved out of working-class East Memphis and purchased the 14-acre Graceland estate.

Ellis Island in New York Harbor was once the main immigration station for people entering the United States. About a third of Americans can trace their ancestry to this entry point.

Today Ellis Island is a museum accessible by ferryboat.

The island is named for Samuel Ellis, a wealthy colonial landholder. He once owned the land and used it as a picnic area. When selling the island, Ellis advertised it along with several other items he had for sale, including “a few barrels of excellent shad and herrings” and “a large Pleasure Sleigh, almost new”.

The U.S. War Department purchased the island for $10,000 in 1808. They built defenses there in the buildup to the War of 1812. Fort Gibson was erected to house prisoners of that conflict. Fifty years later during the Civil War, the Union army used the fort as a munitions arsenal.

When the Civil War ended, Ellis Island was abandoned for twenty-five years. Then, in 1890, the government wanted a new immigration processing center. (This would replace the Castle Garden Immigration Depot, the country’s first immigration station, which was located on the tip of Manhattan.)

Devils Tower is a natural stone formation that rises 1267 feet in the Black Hills of northeastern Wyoming. President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Devils Tower the first US National Monument in 1906.

Nobody knows how this unusual rock was formed, but geologists have put forth several theories. They agree that Devils Tower is an “igneous intrusion”, which is magma that hardened while still underground.

This may have happened 60 million years ago, which is when the Rocky Mountains were forming too. Scientists disagree about how this magma eventually came to tower so high above its surroundings. A popular theory sets Devils Tower as the neck of an old volcano. In this theory, the rest of the mountain eroded away.

Weather continues to erode the tower. Cracks fill with ice and expand, and rocks then fall to the ground. Piles of broken lava columns at the base of the tower indicate that it used to be larger.

Stories behind the devil’s tower:

Native Americans also have stories to explain Devils Towers. In their stories, the tower is called Mateo Tepee, meaning Grizzly Bear Lodge.