Washington Monument

This article is about the monument in Washington, D.C. For other monuments dedicated to George Washington, see List of monuments dedicated to George Washington.

Washington Monument
Location	Washington D.C.
Area	106.01 acres (0.4290 km2)
Visitors	467,550 (in 2005)
Governing body	National Park Service
Location of Washington Monument in the United States

The Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington. The monument, made of marble, granite, and bluestone gneiss, is both the world's tallest stone structure and the world's tallest obelisk, standing 555 feet 5+1⁄8 inches (169.294 metres). There are taller monumental columns, but they are neither all stone nor true obelisks. It is also the tallest structure in Washington D.C.. It was designed by Robert Mills, an architect of the 1840s. The actual construction of the monument began in 1848 but was not completed until 1884, almost 30 years after the architect's death. This hiatus in construction happened because of co-option by the Know Nothing party, a lack of funds, and the intervention of the American Civil War. A difference in shading of the marble, visible approximately 150 feet (46 m or 27%) up, shows where construction was halted for a number of years. The cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1848; the capstone was set on December 6, 1884, and the completed monument was dedicated on February 21, 1885. It officially opened October 9, 1888. Upon completion, it became the world's tallest structure, a title previously held by the Cologne Cathedral. The monument held this designation until 1889, when the Eiffel Tower was completed in Paris, France. The monument stands due east of the Reflecting Pool and the Lincoln Memorial.

Construction details

Monument as viewed from near the U.S. Capitol Building.

The completed monument stands 555 ft 5+1⁄8 in (169.294 m) tall, with the following construction materials and details:

• Phase One (1848 to 1858): To the 152-foot (46 m) level, under the direction of Superintendent William Daugherty.

Exterior: White marble from Texas, Maryland (adjacent to and east of north I-83 near the Warren Road exit in Cockeysville)

Exterior: White marble, four courses or rows, from Sheffield, Massachusetts

• Phase Two (1878 to 1888): Work completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, commanded by Lt. Col. Thomas L. Casey.

Exterior: White marble from a different Cockeysville quarry.

• Structural: bluestone gneiss
• Commemorative stones: granite, marble, limestone, sandstone, soapstone, jade
• Pyramidal point was cast by William Frishmuth from aluminum, at the time a rare metal as valuable as silver. Before the installation it was put on public display and stepped over by visitors who could later say they had "stepped over the top of the Washington Monument".

The cost of the monument was $1,187,710.

Inscriptions

The four faces of the pyramidal point all bear inscriptions in cursive letters:

North face	West face	South face	East face
Joint Commission at Setting of Capstone Chester A. Arthur W. W. Corcoran, Chairman M. E. Bell Edward Clark John Newton Act of August 2, 1876	Corner Stone Laid on Bed of Foundation July 4, 1848 First Stone at Height of 152 feet laid August 7, 1880 Capstone set December 6, 1884	Chief Engineer and Architect, Thos. Lincoln Casey, Colonel, Corps of Engineers Assistants: George W. Davis, Captain, 14th Infantry Bernard R. Green, Civil Engineer Master Mechanic P. H. McLaughlin	Laus Deo

Halfway up the steps of the monument is an inscription in Template:Lang-cy (My language, my land, my nation of Wales — Wales for ever). The reason for this inscription and its author are unknown.

On the 24th landing of the Monument, stones quote the Bible verses Proverbs 10:7, Proverbs 22:6, and Luke 17:6. These stones were presented by the Sunday Schools of the Methodist Episcopal Church in New York and from the Sabbath School children of the Methodist Episcopal church in Philadelphia.

Exterior structure

• Total height of monument: 555 ft 5+1⁄8 in (169.294 m)
• Height from lobby to observation level: 500 feet (152 m)
• Width at base of monument: 55 ft 1+1⁄2 in (16.802 m)
• Width at top of shaft: 34 ft 5 in (10.49 m)
• Thickness of monument walls at base: 15 feet (4.6 m)
• Thickness of monument walls at observation level: 18 inches (460 mm)
• Total weight of monument: 90,854 short tons (82,421 t)
• Total number of blocks in monument: 36,491
• Sway of monument in 30-mile-per-hour (48 km/h) wind: 0.125 inches (3.2 mm)

Capstone

• Capstone weight: 3,300 pounds (1.5 t)
• Capstone cuneiform keystone measures 5.16 feet (1.57 m) from base to the top
• Each side of the capstone base: 3 feet (910 mm)
• Width of aluminum tip: 5.6 inches (140 mm) on each of its four sides
• Height of aluminum tip from its base: 8.9 inches (230 mm)
• Weight of aluminum tip on capstone: 100 oz (2.85 kg)

Foundation

• Depth: 36 ft 10 in (11.23 m)
• Weight: 36,912 short tons (33,486 metric tons)
• Area: 16,001 square feet (1,486.5 m²)

Interior

• Number of commemorative stones in stairwell: 193
• Present elevator installed: 1998
• Present elevator cab installed: 2001
• Elevator travel time: 90 seconds
• Number of steps in stairwell: 897

In popular culture

As an iconic landmark of the US capital, the Washington Monument has featured in a number of film and television depictions. The symbolic meaning of the shape is referenced in the novel The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. Its phallic resemblance is referenced in The Simpson's episode "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" and the Futurama episode "A Taste of Freedom", (where it is dwarfed by the fictional "Clinton Monument"). Its simplistic design is denigrated in The Simpsons episode "Father Knows Worst".

The monument is a target for destruction in sci-fi/disaster films, comics and video games. It is destroyed in sci-fi/disaster films such Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, Mars Attacks! and 2012. It was destroyed in the Marvel Comics series X-Factor during a superhuman fight. In the DC Comics series called Guy Gardner: Warrior, it was toppled in a battle. In the same continuity, it was rebuilt. It was again demolished in the limited series Amazons Attack!. In video games such as Modern Warfare 2 it serves as a touchstone for a supposed evacuation of the city of Washington. In the game Fallout 3, the damaged monument is frequently visible to the player while outdoors, and it can be visited and ascended. Note that the depictions of the monument in Modern Warfare 2 and Fallout 3 are fanciful, as the monument is almost entirely supported by the masonry, not an internal metal superstructure.

One of the missions of the video game Splinter Cell: Conviction takes place around a county fair in front of the monument. The entrance of the monument serves as a meeting place for protagonist Sam Fisher with his old friend Victor Coste.

In the Home Improvement episode "Al's Fair In Love And War", Tim Taylor and Al Borland are discussing lighting on Tool Time. Tim holds up different pictures. First, he says, "This is the kind of lighting you want if you have a pool" and holds up a picture of a pool that is lit. Second, he says, "This is the kind of lighting you want if you have a patio" and holds up a picture of a lit porch. Finally, he says, "And this is the kind of lighting you want if you have a big monument" and holds up a picture of the Washington Monument with lights surrounding it as the music Hail to the Chief plays.

At the Restoring Honor Rally on August 28, 2010, Conservative commentator Glenn Beck noted the difference in coloring between the marble of the lower third of the monument and the marble on the top. Repeating a common misconception about why construction on the monument was halted, Beck said, "They stopped building it in the Civil War. And when the war was over, they began again." Construction was halted in 1858 because the venture ran out of money. Beck also implied that only two words, "Laus Deo," are written on the top of the monument; however, there are inscriptions on all four faces of the pyramidal point.

In Mike Leigh's 2008 film Happy-Go-Lucky, the driver instructor character Scott further reveals his inner turmoil by describing the Washington Monument as being "555 feet above the ground, and 111 feet below the ground", which according to him significantly add up to 666. This is the statement of a fictional character in a film, and not a matter of fact.

In NBC's The Event, Season 1, Episode 15, "Face Off", a group of aliens led by Sophia (Laura Innes) topples the Monument to warn President Elias Martinez (Blair Underwood) of their power and to intimidate the government and the public. Over 70 people are killed in the attack and hundreds are injured. The destruction of the monument marks the beginning of a full-scale war between Martinez and Sophia, and it is a symbol of the U.S. crumbling under Sophia's people. It may also foreshadow future devastating events in the series.

In the Jeff Dunham comedy special Spark of Insanity, Dunham's character Achmed the Dead Terrorist states that the Washington Monument "looks nothing like the guy(George Washington)", and going on to say that it "looks more like a tribute to Bill Clinton."

Gallery

• 
  The top of the monument.
• 
  Fireworks over the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
• 
  Washington Monument at night from the Jefferson Memorial, reflecting in the Tidal Basin.
• 
  Washington Monument in spring with blossoming cherry trees around the Tidal Basin.
• 
  Washington Monument as seen from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

See also

• List of towers
• Washington Monument Syndrome
• World's tallest free standing structure on land

References

• The National Parks: Index 2001–2003. Washington: U.S. Department of the Interior.

External links

• Harper's Weekly cartoon, February 21, 1885, the day preceding formal dedication
• Official NPS website: Washington Monument
• Today in History—December 6th
• Washington National Monument at Structurae