Washington Monument (Washington DC, United States)

Washington Monument
Robert Mills originally designed the Washington Monument which was later completed by Thomas Casey and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The project was designed during the Greek Revival period as a memorial in order to honor George Washington in the center of our nation's capital. Robert Mills began the first phase of construction in 1848 and finished in 1854. The first phase of construction by Robert Mills was under private funding, where they had difficulties raising funds. The cornerstone was laid on July 4th 1984. “ Builders commenced work on the blue gneiss foundation, an 80-foot square step pyramid. With the substructure completed, the builders then proceeded to the above-ground marble structure, 55 feet, 1.5 inches square at the base, using a system of pulleys, block and tackle systems, and a mounted derrick to hoist and place the stones, inching the structure skyward. By 1854, the monument had reached a height of 156 feet above ground”. The Architect Robert Mills died in 1855 so the project could not be completed and construction hit a dead end with a struggle to find funds. The pause in construction did the opposite of what the monument was intended to do. It was not till congress took control of the fundraising did the construction get going again. The second phase of construction by Thomas Casey began in 1876 and finished in 1884 under public construction. The project was built in the shape of an Egyptian Obelisk to represent ancient civilizations. By replicating the obelisk style, it created a sense of power and respect for our founding father George Washington. The Obelisk was very monumental when it completed as it stood as the tallest building in the world at 555 feet and six inches. “ It is clear in the monument where the stone tends to change as stone from the quarries were no longer available during construction so this resulted in a change of three different types of stone in the monument.

https://www.nps.gov/wamo/learn/historyculture/index.htm


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