Washington Monument
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Washington Monument
Ryan Janek Wolowski in Washington DC ******************** Above rises the Washington Monument (15th St. N.W. +1 202 426 6841. Tickets required for entry. Same-day tickets available; arrive early. Reserved tickets available for handling fee at 800 967 2283 or reservations.nps.gov), perhaps the city's—and country's—quintessential landmark, piercing the Washington skyline with austere marble simplicity. Crowning a small rise near the east end of the Reflecting Pool, this 555.5-foot [169.3-meter] obelisk was long in the making. As early as 1783, the Continental Congress voted to erect an equestrian monument to Washington. But, perhaps providentially, the new nation could not afford such statements, and for decades the idea languished. Then in 1833, private citizens founded the Washington National Monument Society and raised enough funds to begin planning the memorial. Preeminent architect Robert Mills won the design competition with his "grand circular colonnaded building... from which springs an obelisk." Construction actually got underway in 1848, and over time the concept was simplified to a single shaft. The monument committee solicited aid from states, aid that eventually took the form of granite blocks for the interior, engraved with appropriately respectful inscriptions. When Pope Pius IX contributed a block from a Roman temple, it was stolen by the radical, anti-Catholic "Know-Nothings" of the American Party. With 150 feet [45.7 meters] of the obelisk completed, work ceased while the Civil War raged. Construction resumed in 1878, but contracts changed hands, and the marble used was quarried from a different source, resulting in the subtle color differentiations still visible today. That small flaw does not dissuade the crowds that perpetually wrap around the monument beneath fluttering American flags, waiting to ride the elevator to the observation room at its summit. From here, the city and the Virginian suburbs swell below, divided by the sweep of the Potomac. South of the monument, the quiet waters of the Tidal Basin reflect the changing panoply of the seasons. In early spring, the scene becomes an unforgettable mirage of pink, as Japanese cherry trees in full, creamy bloom weep their petals into the basin's waters. The trees have a distinguished lineage, a gift to the city in 1912 from the mayor of Tokyo. **************** Contact: ryanisland@aol.com www.ryanisland.com www.myspace.com/ryanisland
YouTube | July 12, 2008
