Martin Luther King Jr. MemorialStop on Washington DC National Mall Walking Tour, a free self-guided tour.The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial is the first memorial on the National Mall to honor an African American. Its address, 1964 Independence Avenue, refers to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.You enter through a gap cut in a granite Mountain of Despair. The missing piece has been pushed forward to become the Stone of Hope, from which a 30-foot figure of King emerges, arms folded, looking across the Tidal Basin toward the Jefferson Memorial. The design takes its image from a line in his 1963 speech at the March on Washington. Chinese sculptor Lei Yixin carved it.The memorial opened to the public in August 2011. Its formal dedication, postponed by Hurricane Irene, was held on October 16, 2011. The campaign to build it was led by Alpha Phi Alpha, the fraternity King joined as a graduate student.Along the curving wall behind the statue are 14 quotations from his sermons, speeches and writings. A paraphrased inscription on the statue itself drew criticism for misrepresenting his words and was removed in 2013. The memorial is open around the clock.Stops on this tourWashington MonumentNational Museum of African American History and CuNational Museum of American HistorySmithsonian National Museum of Natural HistoryNational Gallery of ArtUnited States CapitolUnited States Botanic GardenNational Museum of the American IndianNational Air and Space MuseumHirshhorn Museum and Sculpture GardenThe Smithsonian Institution Building - The CastleFreer Gallery of ArtJefferson MemorialWorld War II MemorialMartin Luther King Jr. MemorialKorean War MemorialLincoln MemorialVietnam Veterans MemorialWhite House EllipseWhite HouseLafayette Square