Just four years ago, the top 10 list would have included a pair of popular California destinations--South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa and Del Amo Fashion Center in Los Angeles--along with the King of Prussia Mall in Pennsylvania and the famed Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn.

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"This is important because Dr King and his presence on the Mall is a forever presence for the United States of America, and we have to make sure that we get it right, " he said.

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And now that King has his own memorial on the Mall I think that we forget when he was alive there was nobody who was more vilified, nobody who was more controversial, nobody who was more despairing at times.

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The majestic memorials that fill up the National Mall were joined in August 2011 by the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial.

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Today, Dr. King, President Lincoln, and other shapers of our American story proudly watch over our National Mall.

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Today, nearly half a century after Martin Luther King, Jr. led the historic March on Washington for equality, tens of thousands came to the National Mall in Washington, D.

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