Cherilyn Diamond, age 12, of Chester, Penn., for her question:
WHEN WAS THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT BUILT?
Many people wanted to build a memorial to President George Washington while he was still alive, but he objected to the plan because of the expense. Then in 1833, the Washington National Monument Society was organized to raise funds. In 1885, the monument was finally dedicated to the first U.S. president in Washington, D.C.
A design by Robert Mills was approved and the government approved the project. The cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1848 with the same trowel Washington had used to lay the cornerstone of the Capital in 1793. No one knew the project was still 37 years away from dedication.
Soon after the cornerstone was placed, engineers found the ground too soft to support the monument. They had to start over, farther north.
Many people donated stones for the monument. Pope Pius IX sent a big marble block from the Temple of Concord in Rome. Then one night in 1854, a group believed to be members of a political party called the Know Nothings, or perhaps members of another group called the American Party, stole this block. The act so shocked the public that contributions almost stopped.
In 1855, Congress agreed to give some financial aid to the project. But the Know Nothings broke into the society's offices and claimed possession of the monument.
Twenty one years later, in 1876, Congress voted to finish the project at government expense. Work started again on 17, 1880, and was completed on December 6, 1884.
The monument was finally dedicated in 1885 on George Washington's birthdate, February 21.
The monument has the shape of the obelisks of ancient Egypt. It is 555 feet and 5 1/8 inches high, and 55 feet and 1 1/8 inches long on each of its four sides at the bottom.
The inner walls of the monument are set with 189 carved memorial stones presented by individual, cities, states and other countries.
There are 898 steps from the bottom of the monument to the top.
When you visit the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., you can take an elevator to the top. The view of the city and countryside is great. You may then either ride the elevator back down, or you may walk if you like.
More than a million people visit the Washington Monument each year.
The walls of the monument are 15 feet thick at the bottom and 18 inches thick at the top. They are covered with white marble from Maryland.
On the top of the monument is a pyramidion, or small pyramid. Each side is 34 feet 5 1/2 inches long. The pyramidion rises 55 feet. Stones covering the pyramidion are seven inches thick. A cap of cast aluminum protects the very tip.
The monument opened to the public for the first time on October 9, 1888.
Total cost for the monument was $1,187.710. Today it is maintained as a national memorial by the National Park Service.