In further pursuits of architectural achievements, Erik writes about his time in Washington, D.C. Back when he was in 8th grade, Erik was amazed at the creation and construction of the Washington Monument. He’s still amazed today.
By Erik Bearman
A few years ago, I went on a trip with my 8th-grade classmates to Washington, D.C., America’s capital. I spent a few days there, and we had a great time. While we were walking around the city, we passed the Washington Monument. Let me tell you about it.
History of the Washington Monument
The Washington Monument was intended originally to be a memorial statue of George Washington, but Washington got rid of those plans when he was elected President. It wasn’t until 1833 that a group of citizens (later known as the Washington National Monument Society) decided to raise funds for a monument to be built. The leader of the WNMS, Chief Justice John Marshall, held a competition to determine who would get to design the monument.
The winner of the competition was an architect by the name of Robert Mills. Mills envisioned a “pantheon (a temple-like building) featuring 30 stone columns and statues of Declaration of Independence signers and Revolutionary War heroes. A statue of Washington driving a horse-drawn chariot would reside above the main entrance and a 600-foot-tall Egyptian obelisk would rise from the pantheon’s center” (history.com). Obviously, this idea in its entirety didn’t come to fruition. The reason being a combination of low funds and the fact that it took too long to build. Not to mention, the quarry stone that had been initially used ran out. So workers had to use an alternative plan which resulted in “the monument [having] two different shades; lighter at the bottom and darker at the top” (www.history.com).
Construction was finally completed in 1884 (even though the monument didn’t open to the public until 1888)–leaving the U.S. with the monolith you see today.
Traveling to and through D.C. is arguably one of the best life experiences I’ve had that predates high school. I’ve always wanted to learn more about this (honestly) generic-looking monument.
Fun Fact: The Washington Monument held the world record for tallest man-made structure for less than a year when it was beaten by the Eiffel Tower!
washingtonpost.com
Architectural Achievements Editor: Roman Rickwood
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