Washington Monument completed
On this day in 1884 in Washington D.C.workers place a nine-inch aluminum pyramid atop a tower of white marble completing the construction of an impressive monument to the citys namesake and the nations first president George Washington.As early as 1783 the infant U.S.
Congress decided that a statue of George Washington the great Revolutionary War general should be placed near the site of the new Congressional building wherever it might be.After then-President Washington asked him to lay out a new federal capital on the Potomac River in 1791 architect Pierre LEnfant left a place for the statue at the western end of the sweeping National Mall (near the monuments present location).It wasnt until 1832 however33 years after Washingtons deaththat anyone really did anything about the monument.That year a private Washington National Monument Society was formed.
After holding a design competition and choosing an elaborate Greek temple-like design by architect Robert Mills the society began a fundraising drive to raise money for the statues construction.These effortsincluding appeals to the nations schoolchildrenraised some 230000 far short of the 1 million needed.Construction began anyway on July 4 1848 as representatives of the society laid the cornerstone of the monument a 24500-pound block of pure white marble.Six years later with funds running low construction was halted.
Around the time the Civil War began in 1861 author Mark Twain described the unfinished monument as looking like a hollow oversized chimney.No further progress was made until 1876the centennial of American independencewhen President Ulysses S.Grant authorized construction to be completed.Made of some 36000 blocks of marble and granite stacked 555 feet in the air the monument was the tallest structure in the world at the time of its completion in December 1884.
In the six months following the dedication ceremony over 10000 people climbed the nearly 900 steps to the top of the Washington Monument.Today an elevator makes the trip far easier and more than 800000 people visit the monument each year.A city law passed in 1910 restricted the height of new buildings to ensure that the monument will remain the tallest structure in Washington D.C.a fitting tribute to the man known as the Father of His Country.
