Things to know
In honor of whom?
The Washington Memorial was built in honor of George Washington, the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. Mr. Washington was also the first president of the United States. At one time the Washington Memorial was the tallest building in the world being slightly over 555 feet tall.
|
Creator
Robert Mills, an architect from South Carolina, won the competition to become the creator and had the best design for the Washington Monument in 1836. Construction started in 1848 and happened under Mills supervision, until it had stopped in 1854, the year before Mills past away and the memorial had not been completed for another thirty years. Mills had also been the architect of other Washington buildings which include the central and eastern wings of the Treasury Department building. Thomas Casey and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers eventually completed the monument from 1876-1884. This time in public. The original design had also been very different from what the Washington Monument turned out to be.
|
Building the Structure and the colors
The Washington Monument had been built during to different times. One private from 1848 up until 1854, the year before the architect Robert Mills died. The construction hadn't started back up again for another thirty years in public from 1876 to 1884 when the monument had been finished. The monument is constructed of stone. According to the National Park Service, when the construction began, the stone used was mined from a quarry near Baltimore, Maryland. After the quarry closed up, stone was brought down from Massachusetts. When the construction resumed again, it had been decided to use a new marble of a brownish color. Later on, it was noticed that there was a "brown-streaked beltline" and decided that they couldn't change the color of obelisk and decided to live with the different colors of the structure. This is why today there is two different colors among the structure and will continue to be like this in the future unless an architect comes along and everyone wants to change it which probably will not happen at all any time soon.
|
What is the Washington Monument?
The Washington Monument is a obelisk. This means it is a stone pillar with a square or rectangular structure with a pyramidal top, set up as an monument or landmark. Which that basically fits as a description of the Washington Monument! The Washington Monument was built in honor of George Washington, the first president of the United States of America. Actually, it had already that the Washington Monument was going to be built before Washington had ever been officially elected president. The Washington Monument is 555 feet tall and 5 inches. No other structure in the District of Columbia is allowed to be taller than the Washington Monument by law. It is the tallest building in the District of Columbia. The Washington Monument is located on the Western end of the National Mall and just a short distance away is the Lincoln Memorial in honor of the 16th president!