WASHINGTON MONUMENT FINALLY COMPLETED
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On December 6, 1884, workers placed a marble capstone weighing 3300 pounds on the Washington Monument* and topped it with a 9 inch pyramid of cast aluminum.
And just like that, the Washington Monument at 555 feet & 5 1/8 inches became the tallest building in the world. The accomplishment, however, had not been that easy.
Phase One of construction (1848-1854) stopped at 156 feet because of a lack of funds. In 1876, President Ulysses S. Grant ordered construction to resume (1876-1884) and that task, Phase Two, was accomplished by the Army Corps of Engineers.
At the monument's dedication, President Chester A. Arthur said...
"I do now...receive this monument...and declare it dedicated from this time forth to the immortal name and memory of George Washington."
*Washington Monument, the tallest structure in the District of Columbia, honors the 1st POTUS George Washington. It is built of 36,000 stacked blocks of granite and marble.
It is the world's tallest free-standing masonry structure. The cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1848. It was designed by Robert Mills and dedicated on Feb 21 1885.
SOURCES
"The Washington Monument," Today In History-Dec 6, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
"Washington Monument," National Park Service, www.nps.gov/
"Washington Monument dedicated, February 21, 1885," by Andrew Glass, February 21, 2018, Politico, www.politico.com/
