Washington Monument
“The Monument is to be finished, some day, and at that time our Washington will have risen still higher in the nation's veneration, and will be known as the Great-Great-Grandfather of his Country.” - Mark Twain
The Washington Monument is arguably the most prominent feature of the Washington, DC skyline. In 1833, John Marshall, James Madison and others created the Washington National Monument Society in honor of the 100th anniversary of George Washington’s birthday. The Society advertised for competitive architectural designs beginning in 1836. Robert Mills’ design was chosen and on July 4, 1848, the cornerstone was laid.
Construction was halted in 1856 when national turmoil left the project without funding. Work was not resumed until 1876, after the Civil War ended. By that time Robert Mills had died, so Lieutenant Colonel Thomas L. Casey replaced him as the lead architect. The Washington Monument was dedicated on February 21, 1885 and opened to the public on October 9, 1888, exactly 40 years after the cornerstone was laid.
The Egyptian obelisk monument stands 555’ 5 1/8” tall and weighs 81,120 tons. It is surrounded by 50 American flags, one for each state. The structure is made of white marble blocks which range in thickness from 15’ at the base to 18” at the top. Visitors may notice that the marble changes color at 150 feet; that marks the spot where construction stopped between 1856 and 1876. Visitors are welcome to climb the 896 steps inside the monument to the observation level which, on a clear day, provides 30-40 mile views (there is also, of course, an elevator!).
The Washington Monument is the tallest structure in Washington, DC; the tallest stone structure in the world; and the tallest obelisk in the world. It was the tallest structure in the world from 1885 until 1889 when the Eiffel Tower was finished.
In 2011 the monument was severely damaged by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake and Hurricane Irene which struck the Washington, D.C. area. Damage included more than 150 cracks in the monument’s interior and exterior as well as pieces of stone that had been rattled free. Water from Hurricane Irene was also discovered in the interior of the monument.
32 months of repairs were conducted and the monument was officially reopened on May 12, 2014 after its complete restoration — made possible in part by David M. Rubenstein’s $7.5 milliion donation to match the funds distributed by Congress (the largest individual gift in Trust for the National Mall history). Learn more about the restoration HERE.
The Washington Monument Grounds at Sylvan Theater have been re-imagined as part of the Trust’s national juried competition to create an elegant gateway to the Monument and surrounding memorials. Learn more about the vision HERE.
Did you know?
The locThe location of the George Washington Monument was built into Pierre L’Enfant’s original plan of Washington DC and was chosen because of its geometric intersection south of the White House and West of the Capitol Building.
The Washington Monument is the only “monument” on the National Mall, meaning it was proposed by Congress while Washington was still alive, in 1783. All memorial sites were proposed after the individual honored was deceased.
Many individual states, cities, and citizens donated stone blocks to contribute to the building of the Washington Monument. If you are inside the structure, you can see the engravings done to personalize the gifts.
In the original plan for the Washington Monument, the obelisk was to be surrounded by an elaborate 100-columned building, which would have house statues of Revolutionary War heroes.
Although originally intended to be 600 feet tall, the height of the Washington Monument was scaled to be ten times the width of the base, resulting in a height of 555 feet (and 5-1/8 inches).