History Monument Washingtong From Ancient Times to the Present

who are not familiar with Washington, many tourists from abroad who visit this famous city let alone in one of these historic places are Monument, Monument in Washington in the wake of this as one of the signs untu ancient history, as for the history of this monument from the past to now continue to follow this blog info.

 The fastest anyone has climbed the 897 steps to the top of the Washington Monument is 6 minutes, 42 seconds. But it’s probably best to just take the 70-second elevator ride up 550 feet to the top.

But if you have your heart set on walking it, walk-down tours are twice offered daily based on the availability of National Park Rangers, at 10:30 a.m. and Noon.

Built in honor of the first U.S. President and for his leadership in American independence, the Washington Monument opened in 1884.  But its history of construction was anything but smooth. The project took two 8-year phases of actual construction over a 36-year period. During the Civil war and periods of no finding, the monument’s construction was halted for 20 years between 1856 and 1876.

Initial plans for a national monument honoring Washington was first proposed while Washington was still alive in 1783.  District of Columbia planner, Pierre Charles L’Enfant recommended a statue of a horse-mounted Washington be erected, although Congress took no action. After Washington’s death in 1799, additional recommendations were made, resulting again in no Congressional action. (Some things never change.)  Thirty-four years later, a society was formed to design, fund and erect a monument.

The initial plans called for a tall obelisk (50 feet taller than the current monument) with a circular colonnade at the base incorporating a statue of chariot-riding Washington along with 30 statues of Revolutionary War heroes. 

The cornerstone was laid in 1848, but society infighting and lack of funding delayed progress. In 1854 the money ran out and in 1858, the Civil War halted all construction. For the next twenty years the monument remained one-third built.

The project was resumed under the control of the Corps of Engineers; now with a modified design that removed the original base and statutes, partially to lower the total cost.  You can still see where the inability to buy similar white stones after construction restarted, which resulted in a slight but noticeable color change of the exterior marble around the 150-foot mark, indicating where the initial construction stopped and the second phase resumed.

A national campaign for funds and marble blocks needed in construction renewed interest and fund raising, but brought with it additional problems. Civic groups, businesses, individuals and  organizations as well as local and foreign governments all donated blocks of marble.  But some arrived inscribed with messages, many completely unrelated to Washington.  

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The story of today's Washington Monument

The monument was finally completed and then opened to the public in October, 1888.  Initially, visitors were required to climb the stairs to the top, limiting attendance. After the elevator used in construction was quickly converted to a passenger elevator, a dramatic (25x) increase in the number of visitors happened instantly.

It became the tallest man-made structure in the world at 555 feet, but just one year after opening, the Eiffel Tower dramatically surpassed it by over 500 feet to claim the tallest structure title.

The Washington Monument crack near the top of the iconic building occurred during the earthquake that rattled the East Coast of the United States on Tuesday. Officials indefinitely close the building on Wednesday in response to the small crack, according to AFP.

Every day, the tallest edifice in Washington – standing in at 555 feet of giant stone – draws hundreds of tourists who climb the structure for its amazing views of the city. The Washington Monument was built between 1848 and 1884 as a tribute to George Washington’s military leadership during the American Revolution.

AFP reports that Tuesday’s earthquake caused a four-inch long fissure in the building. With the crack, brought concerns of more serious structural damage of the Washington Monument not visible to the eye.

A statement to AFP from the United States National Park Service, the agency that oversees many attractions around Washington’s National Mall area, said, “The Washington Monument, because of its structural complexities, will remain closed until further notice. The NPS will continue to inspect the interior of the monument before any decisions are made about reopening it to the public.”

Beside the Washington Monument, other sites that are temporarily closed include Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials and the city’s Old Post Office Tower. Also, Washington’s National Cathedral lost part of its neo-Gothic spires and suffered cracks in its flying buttresses while masonry and tile fell from the domed roof of the U.S. Capitol building, according to AFP.

The epicenter of the 5.8 magnitude earthquake that cracked the Washington Monument was under the central Virginia town of Mineral, which sits 84 miles southwest of D.C. However, its effects were felt as far south as Georgia and as far north as Boston.

Is the Washington Monument tilting?

Give Megyn Kelly credit for communicating gravitas in the aftermath of the earthquake. Yesterday afternoon on Fox News, she reported: “They are concerned that the Washington Monument may be tilting.”

Then she slowed down a bit and said: “They are concerned that the Washington Monument may be tilting.”

Blockbuster, huh? So who is “they”? Engineers with the National Park Service having observed the Washington Monument? White House officials who’ve been briefed on the teetering national symbol?

Nope — for this most momentous of scoops on D.C.’s federal core, Fox News was relying on the words of some “D.C. police officer.” One extraordinary comment from this D.C. police officer to our producer — this is just a one-liner but apparently he told our producer that they are concerned that the Washington Monument may be tilting. They are concerned that the Washington Monument may be tilting. That’s all I have … a one line of that.”

Extraordinary for sure. Perhaps even extraordinary enough to merit checking before broadcasting. Especially considering that it came from a “D.C. police officer.” Assuming that’s a member of the city’s Metropolitan Police Department, such an officer has no expertise, jurisdiction, or business commenting on the structural integrity of any obelisk in this town. Especially for the symbolic Washington Monument.

So what did Fox do to investigate the claim? Did it do any checking whatsoever? A spokesperson for the network declined to answer specific questions. A producer for the network says that the issue will be addressed today on Kelly’s America Live program, which starts at 1 p.m. The National Park Service and the Metropolitan Police Department didn’t respond to inquiries before posting time. The Fox report triggered lots of political humor about the direction in which the monument was tilting. The Park Service proceeded to knock down the speculation, stating that there was “absolutely no damage” to the obelisk. It later revealed that there appeared to be some cracks at the very top of the Washington Monument — but no tilt.
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