Obelisk made of marble, granite, and bluestone gneiss, built to commemorate George Washington, is both the world's tallest predominantly stone structure and the world's tallest obelisk
General Information
The Washington Monument interior open daily from 9am to 5pm
The monument is closed on December 25, Christmas Day and July 4, Independence Day.
Non-refundable reservation fee of $1.50 per ticket to enter monument and ride the elevator to the 500 foot observation deck.
No pets allowed inside monument
Head southeast on Scott Cir NW toward Rhode Island Ave NW. Exit the traffic circle onto Rhode Island Ave NW. Use the left lane to turn slightly right onto M St NW. Turn left at the 2nd cross street onto 19th St NW. 19th St NW turns left and becomes Constitution Ave. NW. Turn right onto 17th St NW.
The Washington Monument is an obelisk within the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington. Located almost due east of the Reflecting Pool and the Lincoln Memorial, the monument, made of marble, granite, and bluestone gneiss, is both the world's tallest predominantly stone structure and the world's tallest obelisk, standing 555 feet 5 1/8 inches tall according to the National Park Service. It is the tallest monumental column in the world if all are measured above their pedestrian entrances. The interior is occupied by iron stairs that spiral up the walls, with an elevator in the center, each supported by four iron columns. The pyramidion has eight observation windows, two per side, and eight red aircraft warning lights, two per side.
The Washington Monument attracted enormous crowds before it officially opened. For six months after its dedication, 10,041 people climbed the 900 steps and 47 large landings to the top. After the elevator that had been used to raise building materials was altered to carry passengers, the number of visitors grew rapidly, and an average of 55,000 people per month were going to the top by 1888, only three years after its completion and dedication. The annual visitor count peaked at an average of 1.1 million people between 1979 and 1997. From 2005 to 2010, when restrictions were placed on the number of visitors allowed per day, the Washington Monument had an annual average of 631,000 visitors. As with all historic areas administered by the National Park Service (an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior), the national memorial was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Washington Monument" which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
Washington Monument Pics
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