The Washington Monument

Washington, D.C. can boast so many different things. The White House, Capitol Building, a history as rich as they come but one thing that really sets apart Washington from other cities in the United States are the monuments dedicated to its heroes. One in particular, the Washington Monument, took over 100 years to be planned, designed and finally built. George Washington was one of America’s true leaders, dedicated to his country during the American Revolution. The patriotism that is within one of the leading countries on earth is astounding and for this, the idea to build a monument dedicated to George Washington was born in 1783. 

Very little was done in the following years to design and build the monument, however following Washington’s death in 1799, patriotism grew and the love of Washington urged the public to push for a monument. Secretary of State, John Marshall, proposed that the monument be in the Capitol and despite a lack of funding, continued to support the idea of the monument.

Image courtesy of the National Park Service

Finally in 1833, a society was set up to help push the project along and allowed people to submit architectural designs for the monument. Robert Mills won with his design of an obelisk with a flat top. Fifteen years after the society was formed, the first corner stone was finally laid on a grand scale during the Fourth of July celebrations in 1848. Despite this great progress, lack of funds, again stopped work on the obelisk. Over the next 28 years, a number of political events prevented the continuation of the building work until 1876 when the monument design was changed and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of the War Department was given the task of completing it. The monument was finally dedicated to George Washington in February 1885 and opened to the public three years later. It was an arduous process but for U.S. citizens who loved their President, it was well worth doing.

Standing at nearly 556 feet tall, the Washington Monument overlooks the Memorial Parks of Washington, D.C. and up to the White House to the north, Capitol Building to the East and the Lincoln Memorial to the West. Other notable attractions close by are the National Museum of Natural History, National Air & Space Museum and the National Gallery of Art all of which are within walking distance. In August 2012, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.8 shook the South-West suburbs of Washington, D.C. which damaged the Washington Monument. The National Park Service temporarily closed the Monument to visitors to assess the damage.

Visitors can take the elevator to the top of the memorial for free which is open every day of the year except Christmas Day. Tickets can be booked in advance.

For your chance to visit this impressive and historical capital city, there are a number of airlines that offer flights to Washington from cities around the world. Washington, D.C. has two principal airports, Washington Ronald Regan Airport (which caters more for short haul and domestic flights) and Washington Dulles airport which caters for both short haul and long haul flights to Washington, D.C.