May 6th - Washington Monument

The Washington Monument

Harold and Joyce are amazing people. We are all seniors, but they hold the most seniority in our group. As such, they put us to shame as they have TONS more energy than all four of the rest of us put together!!! Entrance to everything in Washington is free, but for some of the more popular events, which also require viewing in smaller groups, you have to stand in line early in the morning for "timed" tickets. We all agreed that we should go up inside the Washington Monument, but that meant we had to have tickets. In order to co-ordinate the rest of our day, our tickets should really be for earlier in the morning. Ergo, we should be in line REALLY early in order to get early tickets. Hmmmm? Of course, that meant getting up even EARLIER, to catch the bus and subway in order to get to the line like an early bird. Dear, sweet Harold and Joyce offered to get up and hit the road early in order to allow the rest of us to arrive at our leisure at 9:30 AM for the tour of the monument. They did; we did; and we were on the 10:00 AM tour, which was just perfect!!!!

Excerpt from the NPS Brochure:

"Among the founders of the United States, George Wshington alone earned the title "Father of his Country," in recognition of his leadership in the cause of American independence. In 1775 he molded a fighting force that won independence from Great Britain. In 1787, as president of the Constitutional Convention, he helped guide the deliberations to form a governmnet that has lasted over two centuries.

In 1789, George Washington was unanimously elected the first president of the United States. Washington defined the presidency and helped develop the relationships among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. He established precedents that successfully launched the new government on its course. President Washington remianed ever mindful of the ramifications of his decisions and actions, for he was a consumate statesman. With this monument the citizens of the United States show their enduring gratitude and respect."

"The Washington Monument, at 555 feet, 5 1/8 inches, towers over everything in the Nation's Capital and remeinds us of the immensity of George Washington's contribution to this republic. The monument resembles a classic Egyptian obelisk and has little in common with the colonnaded temple originally designed by Rober Mills to house statues of Washington and other American heroes. The cornerstone was laid July 4, 1848, in a ceremony attended by President James K. Polk and other dignitaries, among whom were representatives Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. The monument rose steadily to 156 feet, financed by popular subscriptions collected by the Washinton National Monument Society. Construction stopped in 1858 due to lack of funding. It stood unfinished for over 18 years, until President Ulysses S. Grant, in 1876, approved an act authorizing the federal government to complete the project. In 1878, Lt. Col. Thomas Casey, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, took control, simplified the design by Mills, and resumed construction. In December 1884, a 3,300 pound marble capstone was placed on the obelisk and topped with a 9-inch pyramid of cast aluminum, a rare metal in 1884. The monument was dedicated on February 21, 1885."

It takes 70 seconds to ride to the 500-foot level from which you have some of the most spectacular views in Washington. Usually you can walk either up or down the stairs inside the monument, but they are closed right now for preservation purposes. It seems that people's bodily persperation was causing too much moisture insde the tower and it was degrading the surfaces!!!! They now stop the elevator a couple of times during the descent so that you can view a few of the 195 memorial stones embedded in the walls of the interior of the monument.

You sat on these benches until your ticket time was called, and then you proceeded inside the monument where you had to go through the usual security.

The National Cathedral

The Pentagon

The Tide Pool with the Jefferson Monument and the Potomac River behind.

In the distance you can see the White House. In this zoomed in photo below, you can see that they were waiting for the President to come out for some ceremony or presentation.

Looking straight down the Reflecting Pool, over the World War II Memorial to the Lincoln Memorial.