Memorial to George Washington

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The Washington Monument, the nation’s memorial to the first President, George Washington, was constructed in two stages, in the periods from 1848 to 1856 and 1876 to 1884. The work could not proceed in the interim time because of the Civil War and a paucity of resources needed for construction. The idea for a national monument as a memorial to George Washington was born in 1783 with Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant suggesting to Congress that the commissioning of a figure of Washington riding a horse would be appealing. Congress did agree to major L’Enfant’s proposal, but nothing had been done until 1799, when George Washington passed away. At this time, the enthusiasm for a suitable monument to the memory of the first President rose again, and it was John Marshall who suggested that a tomb be built for Washington inside the Capitol. Insufficient money for construction was an obstacle to achieving this plan, but John Marshall did not give up on his dream. Together, Marshall and James founded the Washington National Monument Society in the year 1833. In 1836 the Washington National Monument Society invited design ideas from architects and Robert Mills’ neoclassical design was eventually chosen., Mills’ plan featured an obelisk with a flattish top in the middle of a colonnade which would bear a figure of Washington in a chariot. The colonnade would also hold thirty figures of famous people from the Revolutionary War.

Although the cornerstone of the Washington Monument was placed with much ceremony on July 4, 1848, financial problems and other issues such as the unfair decision that gave control of the Washington National Monument Society to a political group called the Know Nothings, impeded the process of building the Monument. In the year 1876, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas L Casey took over Mills’ work on the Washington Monument. Casey simplified the design, resulting in a plain, pointed obelisk in the Egyptian style. The responsibility of completing the building of the Washington Monument was given to War Department’s Corps of Engineers. The dedication was done on February 21, 1885, and the public began visiting the Washington Monument on October 9, 1888.

As far as the dimensions of the Washington Monument are concerned, the building weighs a total of 90,854 tons. It is around 555 feet in height and the walls, made of white Maryland and Massachusetts marble, are 15 feet thick at the bottom and 18 inches thick at the higher levels. The walls lie on a granite base, and have inner supports of iron. Interestingly, you can see a difference in colour at a height of 152 feet and can climb 897 stairs to a lookout platform in the pyramidion. There are 192 memorial stones set in the inside walls – these were the gifts of various people, organizations and governments from across the globe.

The year 1996 saw the launch of the Washington Monument Restoration Project, with the idea of enhancing the appearance of the memorial. This was a joint effort by the National Park Foundation, the National Park Service and Target Stores. Target financed an initiative worth one million dollars to generate concern about this project, and more money poured in – to the tune of four million dollars – from other corporate sponsors. The work that needed to be done consisted of creating a scaffold for the entire whole building, scrubbing 59,000 square feet of inside wall area, pointing work for 64,000 feet of outside joints, renovating 192 memorial stones inside the monument, 3900 feet of pointing joins inside the monument, sealing up chinks in the inner and outer walls (500 feet), sealing airplane warning illumination fixtures and lookout windows (eight each) All this was done by the year 2000.

Teachers who would like to make history lessons about the Washington Monument more interesting can take a look at the lesson plans offered online at the home page of Teaching with Historic Places.

The working hours of the Washington Monument are between 9 am and 4.45 pm. You can by a ticket either online at http://reservations.nps.gov. or by making a reservation at 1-800-967-2283. Free tickets are also available, but these are limited so if you want one, you should be at the kiosk near the Washington Monument as early as possible. This booth is located at 15th Street and Jefferson Drive and is open from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm. Not more than six free tickets are provided per head. The Metro stop that is ideal for visiting the Washington Monument is Smithsonian. You can get additional details at the Washington Monument homepage.