Knoxville — A towering statue of one of our nation's most revered presidents now gazes over downtown Knoxville.
The Lincoln Memorial University School of Law unveiled the statue of Abraham Lincoln at its Duncan School of Law on Summitt Hill Drive on Tuesday.
Called "The Final Summation," the statue depicts Lincoln as he would have looked before becoming president, dressed as an attorney in his early forties--- around the year 1850. It's more than seven feet tall and sits on a six-foot marble pedestal.
A plaque underneath it reads, "Let reverence for the laws be breathed by every American, be taught in schools, and enforced in the courts of justice."
The statue was created by artist Wayne Hyde. The Maryville man called it a tremendous honor to craft this tribute to Lincoln for LMU.
"I have such a fondness for Lincoln, I feel our greatest president. It has been a wonderful opportunity," he said.
It's take more than a year to bring the statue from idea to reality. First, Hyde created a model to be approved by the school. After he received that, it took about six months to sculpt it, and then several months at a foundry to finish it.
LMU's Duncan School of Law is located in Knoxville's Historic Old City Hall Building. The school's main campus is located in Harrogate.