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Lincoln Memorial Undercroft Opens to Public After a Century

The newly converted 15,000-square-foot chamber reveals original Lincoln-era documents and civil-rights exhibits while giving visitors access to a preserved piece of the memorial’s structure.

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WASHINGTON,DC - JUNE 18: Models of President Abraham Lincoln's head and arm are displayed at the Lincoln Memorial Undercroft museum in Washington, D.C., June 18, 2026. The National Park Service unveiled the Undercroft ahead of its opening to the public on June 25. (Photo by Tyler M. Andrews/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Overview

  • The undercroft opened to visitors on June 25, 2026 after roughly 100 years of being closed and now functions as a 15,000-square-foot museum beneath the Lincoln Memorial.
  • The project took about a decade of planning, entered construction in 2023, and was funded by $26 million in federal money plus $48 million raised by the National Park Foundation.
  • Displays include originals of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment, multimedia and interactive exhibits, preserved 1920s construction tools and worker graffiti, and panels on events such as Marian Anderson’s 1939 concert and the 1963 March on Washington.
  • Visitors can enter for free with timed reservations through recreation.gov up to 30 days in advance and a limited number of daily walk-up tickets are available at the nearby Korean War Veterans Memorial kiosk each morning.
  • The conversion highlights the memorial’s role as a civic stage and reflects a public-private stewardship model that may increase foot traffic on the National Mall and create new preservation and programming priorities for park managers.