Washington Monument

A 555-foot (169 m) obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, the first president of the United States.

The Washington Monument is a 555-foot (169 m) obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, a Founding Father and the first president of the United States. It stands east of the Reflecting Pool and the Lincoln Memorial. The foundation is bluestone gneiss, the structure is granite, and the outside is faced with three different kinds of white marble, because construction was repeatedly interrupted.

Construction began in 1848 and was suspended from 1854 to 1877, and the stone structure was completed in 1884 to a design by Robert Mills. The monument was dedicated on February 21, 1885, and opened to the public on October 9, 1888. It was the world’s tallest structure from 1884 until the Eiffel Tower in Paris overtook it in 1889.