The Washington Monument - Democratic Underground

Deja Q

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Sun Jul-23-06 04:58 PM
Original message

The Washington Monument

The Washington Monument usually refers to the large white-colored obelisk in the center of the National Mall in Washington, D.C.. It is a United States Presidential Memorial constructed for George Washington, the first President of the United States and the leader of the revolutionary Continental Army, which won independence from the British following the American Revolutionary War.

Other monuments to honor Washington, also known as the "Washington Monument", are in Baltimore and Washington County, Maryland.

The monument is made of marble, granite, and sandstone. It was designed by Robert Mills, a prominent American architect of the 1840s. The actual construction of the monument began in 1848 and was not completed until 1884, almost 30 years after the architect's death, due to lack of funds and the intervention of the American Civil War. A difference in shading of the marble (visible approximately 150 feet up) clearly delineates the initial construction from its resumption in 1876. It is generally considered fortunate that the Greek Doric rotunda Mills planned for the base of the monument was never built. ( from http://sc94.ameslab.gov/TOUR/washmon.html)

Its 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 to the public on October 9, 1888. Upon completion, it became the world's tallest structure at 169 m, a title it inherited from the Cologne Cathedral and held until 1889, when the Eiffel Tower was finished in Paris, France.

The Washington Monument reflection can be seen in the aptly named Reflecting Pool, a rectangular pool extending westward in the direction of the Lincoln Memorial.

And for all you terra'sts out there, here's a map:

Hmmm, why no mention of "the hidden reason" why it was built? :evilgrin:

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jberryhill

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Sun Jul-23-06 05:06 PM
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1. It needs larger windows

Edited on Sun Jul-23-06 05:09 PM by jberryhill

The windows are too small.

If you are visiting DC and have a limited amount of time to spend, go to the museums and admire the monument from the outside. It is not worth going up.

If you have to go into a monument with tiny windows and confined spaces, do the St. Louis Arch instead. The elevators are really cool.

Little known fact: The St. Louis Gateway Arch was created out of the collapsed St. Louis Space Needle after the tower bent and the rotating restaurant drove itself into the bank of the river.

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GoddessOfGuinness

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Sun Jul-23-06 07:50 PM
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2. Here are a couple of picsof the "other" Washington Monuments

Here's the one in Baltimore

and this is the one in Washington County

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