The Washington Monument is a memorial to George Washington, the first president of the United States.  It was built in two stages.  Construction started July 4, 1848 but was stopped in 1856 because of lack of money and the Civil War was taking place.  In 1876 construction began again, but it was not completed until 1884.

The Monument weighs 90,854 tons and is 555 feet 5-1/8 inches tall. The walls of the monument range are between 15 at the bottom and 18 inches at the very top.  It is made of white marble from Maryland and Massachusetts which was placed over a layer of granite.  Because of the 20 year break in construction, there is a slight color change at about 152 feet from the ground because they could not match the marble exactly.

There is an elevator you can take to the top.  There are 897 steps to the observation area 500 feet above the ground, but the steps are too dangerous to be used any more.  There are 192 carved stones set in the inside walls that have been given to the Monument from individuals, societies, cities, States, and nations of the world. 

There is another Washington Monument In the small town of Boonsboro in western Maryland.  It is 34 feet tall and was dedicated on July 4, 1827 by the citizens of Boonsboro.

Photograph from Weekend Adventures