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The Washington Monument was built between 1848 and 1884 as a memorial
to George Washington, first President of the United States. Its construction
took place in two major phases, 1848-56, and 1876-84--the Civil War and
a lack of funds causing the intermittent hiatus. Plans for a national monument
began as early as 1783 when Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant proposed to Congress
that an equestrian statue of George Washington be erected. Although the
Monument was authorized by Congress, no action was taken by the time Washington
died in 1799. His death rekindled public aspiration for an appropriate memorial
to him, and John Marshall proposed that a special sepulcher be erected for
the General within the Capitol itself. Lack of funds postponed construction,
but Marshall persevered, and in 1833 he and James Madison formed the Washington
National Monument Society. By 1836 the Society advertised for competitive
architectural designs. The winning architect was Robert Mills, whose design
called for a neoclassical plan which provided for a nearly-flat-topped obelisk
surrounded by a circular colonnade on which would stand a statue of Washington
in a chariot. Inside the colonnade statues of 30 prominent Revolutionary
War heroes would be displayed.
In an elaborate Fourth of July ceremony in 1848, the cornerstone was
laid. Lack of funds and the illegal election which placed the Washington
Monument Society in the hands of the Know-Nothings, a political party,
caused delays. After the Know Nothings returned all records to the original
society in 1858, the Civil War interrupted construction. When Lt.Col.Thomas
L.Casey, Mills' successor, resumed the project in 1876, he redesigned
the monument to resemble an unadorned Egyptian obelisk with a pointed
pyramidion. The original design was greatly altered, producing an unembellished
obelisk. The Corps of Engineers of the War Department was placed in charge
of the final construction, and the monument was dedicated on February
21, 1885, and opened to the public on October 9, 1888.
Weighing 90,854 tons, the Washington Monument stands 555' 5-1/8"
tall. The walls of the monument range in thickness from 15' at the base
to 18'' at the upper shaft. They are composed of white marble from Maryland
and Massachusetts, underlain by granite, the whole supported by interior
ironwork. A slight color change is perceptible at the 152' -level. A flight
of 897 steps rises to the observation area in the pyramidion. Inserted
into the interior walls are 192 carved stones presented by individuals,
societies, cities, States, and nations of the world. An elevator takes
visitors to the top, where they can gaze over the city from the monument's
windows.
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