Museum underneath Lincoln Memorial opens in June, exhibits highlight icon site's place in US history

A new museum under the Lincoln Memorial is slated to open to the public June 25.

The museum will feature 15,000 square feet of exhibit area and aims to introduce visitors to a formerly unseen space under the memorial, on the National Mall, in Washington. D.C., according to the National Park Service.

The NPS expects a limited supply of and high demand for tickets, which visitors can get tickets through the Lincoln Undercroft Large Group Tour website.

The museum offers a “striking view of the engineering that made the iconic monument possible,” the NPS also says. Visitors can see interactive displays and a multimedia presentation exploring how the memorial’s construction and meaning has developed throughout the last century, particularly pertaining to the First Amendment.

“More so than any other memorial in the city, the Lincoln Memorial has become historic in its own right,” National Park Service spokesman Mike Litterst told WTOP News when plans for the memorial were first announced. 

He also said the memorial has become the place Americans visit to exercise their rights to free speech and assembly.

“Most importantly, it’s where demonstrations related to civil rights happen,” Litterst also said.

The demonstrations include Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 address, Marian Anderson’s 1939 Easter Sunday concert, Black Lives Matter gatherings following George Floyd’s death in 2020, rallies protesting against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and more.

The museum will project pictures from several of these scenes into the undercroft. Litterst believes it’s important to tell such stories in greater magnitude with use of a large museum.

Interested participants can now book up to six tickets per transaction – free of charge except for a $1 service fee — 30 days in advance of visiting. Visitation time slots will range from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Free, same-day tickets will be distributed at the Korean War Veterans Memorial Kiosk starting at 8:45 a.m. once the museum opens.