Washington Monument Washington DC

Washington Monument Washington DC

Even if its not part of your Roadtrippers itinerary, the Washington Monument is hard to miss if you’re in the DC area.  You pretty much see it from anywhere you are unless your under a bunch of trees.

Every time I’ve visited Washington DC, I look at this monument in awe.  It is so tall.  I am so scared of heights.  I got to see it at night, though construction was being done on it, while I was on my business trip.

My son and I also walked by it during our road trip when we walked the National Mall.  As we approached, we talked about going up into the monument.  My son is also afraid of heights.  He and I decided that we weren’t going to do it that day.  We would save that for another trip.

I do kind of wish we would’ve done it.  I know that we will be able to do it when we make it back though.  Can you say you visited if you didn’t go inside?  Well, we saw a lot of historic buildings from the outside on this road trip.

We’ll add this to our adventure next time.

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About Washington Monument Washington DC

It 1833, James Madison, John Marshall, and others formed the Washington National Monument Society.  They wanted to honor the 100th anniversary of George Washington’s birthday.  They began advertising for competitive architectural designs in 1836.

On July 4, 1848, Robert Mills’ design was chosen.  Construction was halted in 1856 due to national turmoil causing a lack of funding.  Work resumed after the Civil War ended in 1876.  Robert Mills had passed by that point, so Lieutenant Colonel Thomas L. Casey became the lead architect.

The Washington Monument was dedicated on February 21, 1885 and opened to the public on October 9, 1888.  Standing 555 feet and 5 1/8 inches tall, the Egyptian obelisk weighs in at 81,120 tons.  The monument is surrounded by 50 American flags represented each state.

Made of white marble blocks ranging in thickness from 15 feet at the base to 18 inches at the top, the color changes at 150 feet.  This shows where construction had halted in 1856 for twenty years.

Construction

There are 896 steps to get to the top, if you don’t want to take the elevator.  At the top, you’ll see 30-to-40-mile views on a clear day.  The construction I saw on my business trip was when repairs were being made to fix the damage caused by Hurricane Irene and a 5.8 magnitude earthquake in 2011.  Hurricane water and 150 cracks were found in the monument, as well as stones which had rattled free.

The Washington Monument was the tallest structure in the world from 1885 until 1889 when the Eiffel Tower was finished.  Today the monument is the tallest structure in Washington DC, the tallest stone structure in the world, and the tallest obelisk in the world.  It is arguably the most prominent feature of the Washington DC skyline.

Located in the National Mall at 2 15th Street NW, the monument is free to visit and open 24/7/365.  Phone: (202) 426-6841.  While free to visit anytime, tickets are required to enter and ride the elevator to the top.

Tickets cost $1 and can be purchased the day before you plan to visit.  Tickets become available at 10am for the next day visits.  No tickets are available for purchase onsite.  There are no onsite restrooms and no shade in the waiting area.

Summary

While we did not go inside, it was very cool to visit the monument in person, both during the day and at night.  I think my son and I are both a bit intimidated of its height.  But we will cross it off of our adventure bucket list one day.

I am so itching to get my camera to the top and get some nice photos of DC.  The question is… will I chicken out when I get there.  That remains to be seen.

Despite not going inside, my son and I both still enjoyed the stop.  It is definitely a must see if you are in the area.  I definitely recommend it.

Have you been there?  I’d love to hear what you thought of it.  Did you go to the top?

Please drop a few lines in the comments box below and let me know how your visit went.

In the meantime, safe travels!

~Kris M.

P.S.  If you happen to use travel journals, be sure to check out the travel journal I created for my future Washington DC Road Trips.

Written by Kris M.