Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial: D.C.'s Newest Landmark (PHOTOS)

WASHINGTON -- In a city full of monuments to political giants, the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial, which opened to the public in last August and was dedicated in October, has settled in nicely in its spot adjacent to the Tidal Basin.

But the MLK memorial's design, by Chinese artist Lei Yixin, was controversial from the start. When the monument was unveiled, poet Maya Angelou said that one on of the inscriptions -- which was a fragment of a quotation -- was out of context and made the civil rights leader sound like "an arrogant twit."

On Friday, Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said that the inscription in question would be changed.

Despite all the controversies, the newest monument in the nation's capital is here to stay and is poised to be among the city's major tourist magnets, sitting in an alignment between the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials.

A wreath will be laid at the foot of the memorial's Stone of Hope to honor the civil rights leader as part of the celebrations. A local parade on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Ward 8 will start Monday at 11:30 a.m.