The_Washington_Monument

The Washington Monument Designed by Robert Mills (born-Charleston, S.C., Aug. 12, 1781, died-Mar. 3, 1855) in 1838, to follow the form of an Egyptian obelisk, it rises more than 550 feet above the city and is the largest masonry structure in the world. The cornerstone of the Washington Monument was laid on July 4, 1848. The structure was completed in 1885. Mills achieved fame after being appointed (1836) architect and engineer to the federal government, in which he designed this monument to honor the first president of the United States. The actual construction of the monument began in 1848 and was not completed until 1884, almost 30 years after the architect's death, due to lack of funds and the Civil War. A difference in shading of the marble (visible 150 feet up) clearly shows the initial construction from its fishing construction in 1876. The Washington Monument was the world's tallest structure for five years, when it was surpassed by Paris' Eiffel Tower. Constructed entirely of stacked granite and marble blocks with no metal structural supports. The only metal portion is the uppermost tip — a 100-ounce pyramid of aluminum, which in the 1880s was considered such a rare and precious metal that it was monument, washington, national, feet, work, service, park, elevator, years, united, states, interior, structure, stone, restoration, president, metal, maryland, marble, government, during, covering, construction, began, until, tallest, phase, george, first, federal, exterior, 1848, world, through