Today we visited the massive Washington Monument. It stands 555 feet, slightly taller than the Space Needle (518 feet). Construction began in 1845 and finally finished in 1884 with a gap caused by the Civil War. A clear color line can be seen on the monument because the stone they used to build the monument did not match the stone they used after the war. The Washington Monument is an obelisk built without any steel or wooden support. It was fully constructed with mortar and is very strong. An obelisk is a tall rectangle with a pyramid on the top. This shape was chosen because in Egypt obelisks represented immortality. So Washington is immortal in our hearts. As Henry Lee said in his eulogy of Washington: “He was first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” We entered the massive elevator and zoomed toward the top. After disembarking the elevator we explored the top of the monument. Two windows sat on each of the four sides of the monument big enough for a clear view of the city. (Or for someone to fall out of…) After viewing the city from a “bird’s eye view” we traveled down the stairs to the elevator pick up section. If you plan to go to D.C GO TO THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT!!!
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