One of the most famous landmarks in the world, the Washington National Monument, is located in the US capital. This is a high granite stele lined with marble. On one side is the Capitol building, on the other side is the legendary The White house. The Washington Monument is a tribute to the first American President— George Washington. This is a legendary, controversial, rather interesting personality. At one time, this man made an invaluable contribution to the history of America. His main merits were the liberation of the country from the colonialists, the struggle against slavery. The Washington Monument can be seen in several American films– “Life after people”, “Event”, “Mars attacks”, and many others.
History of creation
In 1832, Washington celebrated its anniversary. The city is 100 years old. In honor of this great event locals decided to build a memorial here. For this, a special commission was created to collect donations. Two years later, Washington's fund stood at $28,000. In 1835, local authorities announced a competition for the best architectural design of the obelisk. After much painstaking deliberation, the victory was awarded to the architect Robert Mills. He proposed to erect a 180-meter high granite stele, the top of which would be crowned by a statue of Washington. According to the Mills project, the monument was to be surrounded by a round marble colonnade, the decoration of which was sculptural composition in the form of George Washington in a fairy chariot. Inside the colonnade, the architect planned to install several statues dedicated to the heroes of the revolution.
The project was good, but its implementation required a fabulous amount of money, so the commission for the construction of the monument did not immediately agree to accept it. In 1848, the erection of a memorial stele began. With the colonnade, we decided to postpone it for now. Not everything was easy, construction stopped more than once, there was not enough money for materials. But, despite this, in 1985 in the capital of the United States took place Grand opening magnificent white obelisk. Today, the Washington Memorial is a beautiful tall monument with a full-fledged colonnade and a pyramidal top, inside of which a wonderful observation deck has been created.
obelisk construction
Washington Monument - a tall 169-meter snow-white stele, erected in the likeness of Egyptian pyramids. This is one of the most grandiose stone structures in the world. Around the base of the stele, you can see 50 American flags belonging to 50 US states. They complete this beautiful architectural composition. A modern elevator is equipped inside the monument, which will take visitors to its very top with lightning speed. There is a large viewing gallery here. Its numerous windows offer breathtaking views of the city panorama - the famous White House and the legendary Capitol. Looking at the stele, you can see that it consists of stone slabs of two colors. And this is not an accident - due to lack of funds during construction, work was stopped more than once. As a result, the material of one color is over, but it was not possible to pick up the same one. But this fact does not make the monument less beautiful, on the contrary, it is its highlight. Right at the foot of the obelisk there is a wonderful pond, where it is reflected as if in a mirror. For several decades, the Washington Monument has been one of the most visited places in the city. Tourists from all over the world come here to admire this architectural masterpiece. The Washington Monument is located in the middle of a picturesque natural park. What even more attracts tourists and citizens. At the beginning, it was planned to build a “Greek” temple around the stele with numerous statues of honored politicians USA. But the idea was never put into practice, due to lack of funds.
The Washington Obelisk consists of 36.5 thousand stone slabs. Inside there are 200 original carved slabs, which the city received as a gift from sponsors, various foundations, cities and states of the country. One of the stones was brought from Japan as a gift from the state of Ryukyu. Another slab from Italy is a donation from the Pope. There are stones here from the Society for the Fight against Alcoholism, several charitable foundations, the Greenpeace Society and many others. There is an artificial pond near the memorial obelisk. It is 2,000 feet long and 160 feet wide. The beautiful reservoirs of Versailles served as a prototype. Interestingly, even with strong wind, the water surface of the pond always remains unperturbed. In 1982, an ardent fighter with nuclear weapons Norman Meyer, arrived at the stele in a huge truck, as a protest, he threatened to blow up the monument. He was shot dead by police officers after lengthy negotiations. No explosives were found under Mayer. Interestingly, the Washington Monument is still not on the list of UNESCO sites.
Marble obelisk in honor of the first president; one of the most revered monuments in the city (DC). The height of this object directed to the sky is almost 170 meters. Before the advent eiffel tower, he beat all world records with his parameters. The memorial is located in the center of the American capital on the territory of the National Mall. It is included in the version of our site.
Inside the monument is hollow. Once upon a time, it was possible to climb 896 steps or an elevator to its top, but after 2011 it was closed to the public. Now the monument can only be viewed from the outside. Around it is almost always crowded. The main contingent of visitors are tourists and groups of schoolchildren studying the history of their country. Maryland marble and granite were used to build the most important national memorial. It was opened in Washington in 1888.
On the eastern side, at the top of the obelisk, a symbolic inscription of two words on Latin. In translation, the inscription reads "Praise be to God" and it is she who is illuminated first daily by the first rays of the sun. The process of creating the obelisk lasted a little over 50 years under the guidance of the architect R. Mills. The top of the Washington Memorial is crowned with a four-sided pyramid with 8 windows, behind which there is an observation platform. The 2011 earthquake in the eastern United States led to the fact that the entrance to the site was closed. Also, a crack was found on one of the walls of the pyramid.
This monument is visible from anywhere in the city. Geographically, it is located on the site between the Capitol and the White House. In the neighborhood you can see memorials dedicated to other presidents of the country, such as the Lincoln Memorial.
Photo Attraction: Washington Monument
Address: Washington
Start of construction: 1848
Completion of construction: 1884
Height: 169 m
Architect: Robert Mills
Coordinates: 38°53"22.0"N 77°02"06.8"W
Every day, thousands of tourists come to the capital of the United States of America in order to see with their own eyes all the variety of attractions that the city of Washington is famous for.
Luxurious parks, unique museum exhibits, magnificent monuments of history and architecture, huge buildings, business centers - all this is so fascinating and interesting that once in this American city, almost every traveler wants to come back here again. It is in Washington that the most significant government buildings for the entire state (for example, the White House), offices of the largest banks and world-famous organizations are located. Washington is literally imbued with the "spirit of American patriotism."
In the historical part of the US capital, in a magnificent national park National Mall, in its very center stands a 169-meter granite obelisk called the Washington Monument. A huge stone stele, weighing almost 100,000 tons, is installed in the very heart of the city as a tribute to the memory of the country's first president, George Washington, and as a symbol of recognition and respect of Americans for an outstanding leader. Every tourist will be interested to know that By the time construction was completed, the Washington Monument was the tallest on our planet.. By the way, even today this majestic monument is one of the tallest stone structures. It is also interesting that two words in Latin are carved in the eastern part of the peak of the monument: Laus Deo, which literally translates into Russian as “praise to God”. Every morning, the first rays of the sun illuminate this inscription, which symbolizes the faith of the American people in God.
Washington Monument: construction history
The idea of creating a majestic monument to the first American president, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the birth of George Washington, arose in 1832. The natives of the city created the so-called Society for the Creation of the Washington Monument and began to collect voluntary donations. Having collected a little more than 28 thousand American dollars by 1836 (in our time this amount is approximately 709 thousand dollars), they announced a competition for the most best project memorial. The winner of the competition was the architect Robert Mills, who proposed interesting plan. In the center of the monument, a 169-meter obelisk was supposed to rise, the top of which narrowed and had to be covered with aluminum. Around it it was supposed to place a colonnade, decorated with a statue of George Washington standing in a chariot. Inside the colonnade, according to the project of Mills, it was supposed to place more than 30 figures of American revolutionaries.
Due to numerous criticisms of the project, and most importantly, because of the fabulous (at that time) amount of $ 1 million that was required in order to bring the project to life, the George Washington Monument Society did not immediately decide to build such a massive structure. The construction of the monument was started only in 1848.
The collected money was sorely lacking, so the Robert Mills project was "cut down". Initially, they began to build an obelisk, while with the colonnade they decided to wait until the volume of donations was sufficient to build the rest of the project.
Washington Memorial: Our Days
Today, the Washington Monument is a column in the ancient Egyptian (!) style, the top of which is decorated with a tetrahedral transparent pyramid. Around the majestic column, 52 flags are installed, symbolizing the number of states in America. There is even an elevator inside the marble obelisk, with the help of which today everyone can climb to the observation deck located at the top of the monument. Eight windows, which offer stunning views of the four cardinal directions, allow travelers to see the panorama of the Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and the White House. However, in order to be at the highest point of the monument to the first American president, all travelers will have to stand in line for more than one hour for a ticket: those who want to see the capital of the United States of America from a bird's eye view gather long before the box office opens.
The Washington Memorial is one of the most beautiful and tallest monuments, but it is far from the only one in the US capital. Almost nearby is the equally famous Lincoln Memorial. Between them is an amazingly beautiful artificial Mirror Pond, which is about 600 meters long, 50 meters wide, and its capacity is more than 7 million gallons of water. A similar pond can only be seen at the Palace of Versailles and the Taj Mahal. The special arrangement of the Mirror Pond allowed the builders to minimize the disturbance of the water on the surface, due to which from the side the water surface becomes like a pure mirror, which reflects the magnificent Washington Memorial, considered one of the symbols of a free country.
As already mentioned above, the construction of the Washington Monument was carried out at the expense of donations from ordinary citizens. However, businessmen, various societies, organizations from other cities and even representatives of other countries considered it an honor to contribute to the construction of such a large-scale structure, as evidenced by the 188 carved plates installed inside the monument.
The Washington Monument is undoubtedly a bright and memorable landmark of the city and the country. This is evidenced not only by numerous reviews of enthusiastic guests of the city, but also by the fact that the George Washington Monument was captured more than once by directors in fiction films and TV series: “Mars Attacks!”, “Life After People”, “2012”, “Event ", "Bones". In addition, it is described in the book American writer and journalist Dan Brown, who gained popularity with The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons and The Lost Symbol.
Washington Monument is one of the most iconic landmarks in Washington DC, a city known for its historical and political landmarks, including the Capitol Buildings , the White House, the Lincoln Memorial and many interesting ones.
Washington Monument is a 169 meter obelisk built between 1848 and 1884 in honor of its first president, George Washington.
Fundraising for the construction of the monument began in 1833, the year of the 100th anniversary of the birth of George Washington.
By the way, during his lifetime he was categorically against the construction of a monument to himself, although this was approved by Congress.
On July 4, 1848, the first Foundation stone. The monument was built on top of a hill, on an area of 15 hectares. The walls of the monument are faced with white marble brought from the states of Maryland and Massachusetts.
The construction of the monument was carried out for a long 36 years with stops caused by lack of funding and the American Civil War.
In 1876, on the centenary of the Declaration of Independence, Congress approved a $200,000 contribution and construction was resumed.
Interestingly, the point at which construction was suspended in 1858 is still displayed on the obelisk, as another quarry was used after the resumption of work. Starting from a height of 46 meters, the stones have more dark color than the original ones.
The original project was simplified: it was decided not to build colonnades around the monument. The structure retained the proportions of standard Egyptian obelisks. And the flat top was transformed into a pyramidal one. The tip of the top pyramid was made of aluminium, a rare and precious metal at the time.
When the obelisk was built at the end of the nineteenth century, it was the tallest building in the world, although the Eiffel Tower in Paris surpassed it in height five years later. However, it remains the tallest masonry structure in the world.
The construction of the obelisk was completed only in 1884, and on February 21, 1885, the Washington Monument was opened to the public.
A staircase of 897 steps leads to the observation deck at the top of the obelisk. But visitors usually take an elevator to the top of the obelisk, admiring beautiful view to the city.
The visit is free, but you need to reserve a ticket. Tickets for the day of the visit can be purchased at the intersection of Jefferson and 15th streets. The kiosk is open from 8 am to 4:30 pm, although tickets often run out earlier.
Washington Monument open daily from 9 am to 5 pm, except Christmas and.
We bring to your attention a review compiled from primary sources about the Washington Monument - one of the main attractions of the capital of the United States.
Monument
Washington yesterday and today
File photo shows the Washington Monument and Mirror Pond on The Mall.
File photo shows the Washington Monument and Mirror Pond on The Mall. This photograph of the monument also shows the difference in the color of the marble facing that marks the "old" and "new" parts of the obelisk, which is also described in the publication. The illustration also shows the dome of the US Congress building on the horizon.
The US State Department website defines the National Washington Monument as follows (namely, this is the official name of the Washington Monument):
“This four-sided stone structure, located in Washington, DC, in the western part of the Esplanade, was erected in memory of the “father of the nation”, general, founding father and first President of the United States of America (1789-1797) George Washington.
The George Washington Memorial was created in the image and likeness of a classic Egyptian obelisk. The height of the monument is 169 m, and it towers over the entire city, being one of the highest stone structures in the world. 50 flags surround the base of the memorial and represent the 50 states of the Union. If you take the elevator to the top of this pyramid, then from the windows on observation deck views of the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, and the Capitol Building."
About the Esplanade mentioned in the text, see the second part of this review. In the meantime, about the Washington obelisk. The George Washington Monument is the tallest building in the capital of the United States. (And the tallest building in Washington is the Capitol, which is just below the Washington Monument, but it is actually forbidden to erect any buildings above the Capitol, although the name Capitol itself is not mentioned in the current law of 1910, but only numerical parameters of the maximum height of buildings are given).
A long detailed essay on the "Washington Monument is 100 years old" about the history of the construction of the monument, for its centenary, celebrated in 1984, was once published by the America magazine, published in Russian by the US government. Here are some excerpts from this detailed material (Journal "America", No. 337):
“The completion of the monument was preceded by a century of its design, hopes, unsuccessful beginnings of construction, the construction itself, including a quarter-century break, as the country fought and slowly recovered from a terrible civil war.
One can hardly overestimate the leading role of George Washington in American history. He helped shape the United States in three important ways: as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army that defeated England in the Revolutionary War; as President of the Convention that drafted the US Constitution; as the first President of the United States.
In an illustration from America magazine: An engraving showing the installation of the capstone on December 6, 1884, during the grand opening ceremony of the Washington Monument in the US capital.
The first call for the construction of the Washington Monument came as early as 1783, when the Continental Congress decided that a equestrian statue in honor of the great general who had just led his army of volunteers to victory in the War of Independence. But new country there were other tasks and limited resources, and by the time of Washington's death in 1799, no monument to America's most revered man had yet been erected. This prompted Congress to start over the project, and over the next three decades, various plans were discussed to build a kind of mausoleum in the building of the Capitol itself. All of these plans failed when Washington's family refused to move his remains from his estate in Mount Vernon, Virginia.
In 1833 prominent citizens of the capital created an organization called the George Washington National Monument Society to raise money for the construction of the obelisk we see today. (The monument was administered by this Society until the 1980s. The monument is now administered by the US National Park Service, which in 1998-2000 held large-scale reconstruction structures, when the monument was completely covered with scaffolding. Note. website).
In 1836, the Society commissioned architects to propose designs for the monument. The winner was architect-engineer Robert Mills, who went on to build the Treasury Department Building, the Patent Office, and the Post Office in downtown Washington. Mills' project was to erect a 183-meter obelisk surrounded at the base by a round one with columns Greek temple 31 meters high (this part of the project was subsequently rejected).
The cornerstone of the monument was laid on July 4, 1848 (American Independence Day), using the same spade that Washington himself had used when laying the Capitol 55 years earlier. Speaker of the House of Representatives Robert Winthrop, speaking at the obelisk laying ceremony, urged the citizens of America to build a monument that would “express the gratitude of the entire American people ... Build it to the sky! You cannot surpass the heights of Washington's principles."
The first few years the obelisk grew rapidly, but most of the work was interrupted in the mid-1850s, when the height of the monument was brought to 46 meters: a sharp debate about slavery unfolded, and the threat of a Civil War loomed. When Mark Twain was already working in newspapers in 1867, the monument had not yet been built. “It reminds,” Twain wrote, “of a factory chimney with a broken top, with a barn at the base, and tired pigs sleep in the holy silence of its fertile shade.”
In 1876, Congress appropriated funds to complete the building. On December 6, 1884, the last capstone was placed. The official opening ceremony took place on a platform just a few meters from the spire (As shown in the engraving at the top right. The monument was opened to the public four years later - October 9, 1888. Approx. Site).
So it stands today, towering over Washington. Its height is 169.3 m, the width at the base is 16.8 m, and at the top it is 10.5 m. The thickness of the walls is 4.6 m at the base and 46 cm at the top. It weighs 79,590 tons. In 1888, a steam elevator was installed in it, which in 1901 gave way to an electric one. Service national parks estimated that (by the time of the monument's centenary celebrations) more than 72 million people climbed the platform to look at the skyline of Washington from above. (America Magazine, No. 337).
Collection of facts
about the Washington Monument
Here are some facts about the George Washington Monument, starting from the data of the US State Department website and the Voice of America Russian broadcast, supplementing them with our editorial's research on the subject from other sources.
Location binding
The Washington Monument is located on the Washington Esplanade, in another "Mall", that is, a pedestrian street.
“The Esplanade - or as they call it here, the Mall - is a museum and park area in the very center of Washington between the US Congress building and the Lincoln Memorial. To imagine the Washington Esplanade, imagine a lawn more than three kilometers long and almost 100 meters wide, flanked by museums and government buildings across the street. Pierre Lanfant, developing the project of the esplanade, was guided by the layout of the Champs Elysees in Paris. He called his brainchild "Big Avenue".
This longest lawn in the US is crossed and bordered by paths of sand and gravel. If you wear suitable shoes, say, sneakers so beloved by Americans, the mall is quite a pleasant place for walking, jogging and other activities. active rest, football games, for example.
In the middle of the esplanade stands an obelisk - the memorial of George Washington, one of the most famous characters US capitals. The shape of the obelisk is similar to a pencil, which is why Washingtonians jokingly call the monument a "pencil".
The esplanade is also decorated with two small artificial reservoirs, which are called "mirror ponds". One of them is located near the Capitol, the other - between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. The mirror pond near the obelisk is built in such a way that the entire stela is reflected in it, creating the illusion of two twin monuments.
The Esplanade is a place for demonstrations, festivals and celebrations. Here, on July 4, the celebration of Independence Day is held with concerts and fireworks. (Russian broadcast "Voice of America" 15/09/2002).
The original design of the monument
“The original design of the monument, created by Robert Mills, has undergone significant changes in the course of construction. The present appearance of the monument bears little resemblance to Mills' complex design, which was a combination of Greek and Egyptian architecture and involved the erection of a 600-foot obelisk surrounded by pantheon columns 250 feet in diameter and 100 feet high. Between the columns there were to be 30 niches, in which, over time, statues of prominent Americans were to be placed. The figure of Washington, dressed in a toga and driving a triumphal chariot, was to decorate the entrance. (US Department of State website).
This initial project of the monument, according to the researchers, was not implemented due to lack of funds. The George Washington National Monument Society accepted Mills' design without having the full amount for its implementation, deciding to start with the construction of an Egyptian obelisk, leaving the construction of a circular colonnade around the obelisk to the future. Later, despite the opinion of critics who considered the monument without the colonnade surrounding it “empty” and similar to an “asparagus stalk”, it was decided to confine itself to the Egyptian element already under construction from the Mills project - an obelisk.
Plates from donors and the Dunno League
“The monument consists of 36,491 stone slabs. The interior walls are adorned with 188 carved slabs donated by individuals, societies, cities, states and nations of the world.” (US Department of State website).
Among the many donators of slabs for the monument in the 1850s were American Indian associations and, for example, Pope Pius IX, whose slab was stolen and thrown into the Potomac River in 1854 by members of the American Nationalist Know Nothing League, holding anti-Catholic and anti-Irish views. (In the 1850s, this league briefly gained control of the National Monument Society to George Washington. This, and the aforementioned papal stone incident, led to a weakening of the flow of donors and a temporary withdrawal from participation in the state project, and, as a result, to a halt in construction. Know Nothing relinquished leadership of the Monument Society in 1858).
In the same years, the Ryukyu Kingdom, independent of Japan, donated a stone that was brought to the United States by the notorious Commodore Perry (discoverer of Japan for the modern West), but the slab never reached Washington. Some donors of the time decorated their slabs with inscriptions unrelated to the memory of George Washington. For example, members of the Temperance Society adorned their Washington Monument slab with the inscription: "We will not buy, sell, or use any liquor, malt, wine, cider, or any other liquor." Many slabs from that time have now been replaced.
Different colors of marble bottom and top
“Do you know that the monument has a “ring”? Due to construction failures, the monument stood for 25 years unfinished, about 150 feet high. Work resumed in 1880. However, the newly supplied marble slabs were from a different quarry. The difference in the color of the facing marble marks the "old" and "new" parts of the obelisk. The marble came from three different quarries and it was impossible to match the color of the old and new stone". (US Department of State website).
The George Washington National Monument Private Society came to the aid of the army during the second phase of construction. The monument was completed by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Pond next door
“Between the George Washington Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial is Mirror Pond. This pond, 2,000 feet long and 160 feet wide, contains 7 million gallons of water. It was created in the likeness of the reservoirs in Versailles and the Taj Mahal. The arrangement of the pond minimizes the disturbance on the surface of the water and increases the sharpness of the water reflection of the monument.” (US Department of State website).
Elevator
The steam elevators originally installed were considered unsafe for women and children, who were supposed to climb to the top of the Washington Monument only through the structure's internal staircases. The public now ascends the monument in an elevator.
Incidents
In 1982, 66-year-old nuclear disarmament activist Norman Mayer drove a van up to the monument and threatened to blow it up to protest the arms race. Mayer ended up being shot after negotiations by the police, who, according to her statement, aimed at the van's engine, but not at Mayer. Mayer did not have any explosives or accomplices.
Free
The Washington Monument is open daily except July 4 and December 25. In summer (from May 31 to September 6) it is open to visitors from 9 am to 10 pm. In winter, the building closes at 17:00. Entrance to the monument is free, but you need to get a ticket. All relevant information on the Washington Monument page on the US National Park Service website;
When to UNESCO?
Unlike the other famous monument USA - the Statue of Liberty in New York, the Washington Monument is still not included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, where the New York statue has been included since 1984.
The review was prepared using materials from the magazine "America" from the archive of the website, the website of the US State Department for Russia infousa.ru and the Russian broadcast of "Voice of America".
Website compilation
