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Must-see

Washington Monument

An obelisk that took nearly forty years to build; you can see the seam between two eras in the stone

Local name: Washington Monument

Collection: Washington, D.C. · USA · Open in OpenStreetMap

The obelisk and the ring of fifty flags at its base
The obelisk and the ring of fifty flags at its base · Greyfiveys, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The story

Before you is the Washington Monument, a white obelisk about 555 feet tall. It honors George Washington, the first president of the United States. The cornerstone was laid on the fourth of July 1848. A private society raised the money, and in 1854 the money ran out. Then came the Civil War, and for a quarter of a century the unfinished obelisk stood as a stump. In 1876 Congress took over the project, and work resumed in 1879. The marble now came from a different quarry. Look closely: about 150 feet up, the color of the stone changes. That is the seam between two eras. On the sixth of December 1884 an aluminum tip was set on top. At the time it was the tallest structure in the world, until the Eiffel Tower overtook it in 1889. The monument was dedicated on the twenty-first of February 1885, and in 1888 it officially opened to the public, with an elevator. Set into the inner walls are commemorative stones from states, cities and societies, nearly two hundred of them. One stone was sent by the Pope. In 1854 anti-Catholic activists destroyed it. Today an elevator takes you to the observation level, 500 feet up, in seventy seconds. From there you can see the whole Mall: the Capitol to the east, the Lincoln Memorial to the west, the White House to the north. Around the base fly fifty flags, one for each state.

Visiting

Open daily, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Closed on July 4, December 25 and one day a month for maintenance; the dates are on nps.gov/wamo. You can go up only with a timed ticket, required for everyone age 2 and up. Same-day tickets are handed out from 8:45 a.m. at the Washington Monument Lodge on 15th Street, and the line forms early. Advance tickets are booked on recreation.gov and go quickly.

Photos

Sunrise over the Mall, seen from the Lincoln Memorial
Sunrise over the Mall, seen from the Lincoln Memorial · Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
The unfinished shaft, before 1880
The unfinished shaft, before 1880 · Related names: Mills, Robert Marsh, George Perkins Washington, George Washington National Monument Society U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Christianson, Justine, transmitter, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Sources

This text was written by AI from open sources. An expert will still check it. Found a mistake? Write to us. Support

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