Lincoln Memorial's hidden 15,000-square-foot undercroft opens to the public after a century underground

A century-old concealed hidden beneath the feet of erstwhile President Abraham Lincoln is opening to the nationalist connected Thursday, with a caller video from the U.S. Department of the Interior teasing immoderate of the never-before-seen views connected the National Mall successful Washington, D.C. 

Visitors volition beryllium capable to research the recently unveiled Lincoln Memorial Undercroft, a sprawling 15,000-square-foot depository located straight beneath the iconic monument, for escaped with beforehand reservations.

For 100 years, the cavernous structural enclosure has sat vacant, resembling a "two-story buying mall" supported by a grid of 122 elephantine factual pillars.

The project, backed by $26 cardinal successful national funds and $48 cardinal from the National Park Foundation, has been 10 years successful the making, with operation officially opening successful 2023, according to Julie Moore, vice president of communications with the Trust for the National Mall.

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The Emancipation Proclamation is connected show wrong the Lincoln Memorial Undercroft. (U.S. Department of the Interior via X)

Now, a glass-encased grounds country floats wrong the infrastructure beneath the statue of the 16th president.

The highly anticipated depository features interactive carnal displays, multimedia video presentations and a bookstore.

Among the astir breathtaking humanities treasures connected show are archetypal copies of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment, implicit with Lincoln's signature, according to the Department of the Interior.

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A diagram shows wherever the caller Lincoln Memorial Undercroft depository is located. (NPS)

Visitors volition besides get a unsocial glimpse into the memorial's construction, featuring humanities tools and authentic graffiti near down by archetypal workers successful the 1920s.

Beyond its carnal foundations, Moore said, the undercroft tells the communicative of however the Lincoln Memorial evolved into America's "civic stage."

Exhibits item the site's profound relation successful civilian rights history, memorializing historical events similar Marian Anderson's 1939 performance and the March connected Washington.

A representation of erstwhile President Abraham Lincoln made of pennies is displayed astatine the Lincoln Memorial successful Washington, D.C., Dec. 20, 2025. (Annabelle Gordon/Reuters, File)

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Advance reservations tin beryllium made done recreation.gov oregon by calling 877-444-6777.

Visitors tin publication up to 30 days successful advance, oregon get walk-up tickets connected a first-come, first-served ground regular astatine 8:45 a.m. section clip astatine the adjacent Korean War Veterans Memorial kiosk.

Affiliate FOX 5 D.C. contributed to this report.