About the Memorial

Site Location - Context

The National Capital Planning Commission and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts approved the site location for the King Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC December 1999.

The Memorial’s address will be 1964 Independence Ave, SW, Washington, DC 20024. The street number is a reference to the Civil Right’s Act of 1964, a milestone which Dr. King played an integral role in achieving.

The approved site creates a visual "line of leadership" from the Lincoln Memorial, which honors the President who protected the United States from internal strife, and where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech; to the Jefferson Memorial, which honors the President who helped create the United States as the author of the Declaration of Independence.

Site Location - Memorial

For more information on the King Memorial site plan, please visit our Construction Update page.

Dr. King's Memorial is situated on a four-acre plot on the northwest corner of the Tidal Basin adjacent to the Roosevelt Memorial. The Tidal Basin is a man made body of water to the south of the National Mall which acts as an overflow catch basin when the Potomac River swells, helping to prevent extensive flooding of the Mall.

The site is situated within the precinct of Washington, DC’s famous cherry blossom trees, a gift from Japan as a sign of peace. Before the King Memorial was built, millions of visitors would come to Washington, DC each spring to witness the beauty of the two week blooming period. During this short timeframe, the Tidal Basin is surrounded by delicate pink and white blossoms on hundreds of trees, a vision that enhances the experience of the Nation’s Capital, and announces the arrival of spring each year to its residents.

Site | Design Elements | Composition and Space | Dr. King's Spiritual Presence

Design & Construction Team