The first public memorial to United States President Abraham Lincoln in Washington , D.C. , was a statue by Lot Flannery erected in front of the District of Columbia City Hall in 1868 , three years after the Lincoln 's assassination . Demands for a fitting national memorial had been voiced since the time of Lincoln 's death . In 1867 , Congress passed the first of many bills incorporating a commission to erect a monument for the sixteenth president . An American sculptor , Clark Mills , was chosen to design the monument . His plans reflected the nationalistic spirit of the time , and called for a structure adorned with six equestrian and 31 pedestrian statues of colossal proportions , crowned by a statue of Abraham Lincoln . Subscriptions for the project were insufficient
the Lincoln 's assassination
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln Memorial