The Washington Monument was completed in 1884 in honour of America’s first President. At the time of its completion it was the tallest structure of any kind in the world at 555’5″ and it remains the tallest masonry structure in the world. It was patterned after the ancient Egyptian Obelisks although it is ten times the size of them. It follows the exact proportions of an obelisk with the height equaling ten times the size of the base.
Although completed in 1884, construction began in 1848 however problems with the society that oversaw the construction and the ensuing civil war stopped construction of the memorial for a number of years at 156′. If you closely at the shot below you can see the line & colour change of the blocks at the 156′ mark.
The monument was supposed to be built in the centre of the National Mall where the north/south axis of the mall crossed the east/west axis however the ground there was too boggy to support the structure necessitating its location to be moved some 350′ from the axis intersection.
The size & shape of the monument makes it difficult to photograph well but I trust you enjoy these shots anyway.
Two of the many flags around the base of the Washington used to frame the Lincoln Monument about one mile to the west (across the WWII Memorial and reflecting pool).
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