The Washington Monument is a majestic monument erected in honor of George Washington. It stands in the Mall on the banks of the Potomac, Washington, D. C. The corner stone was laid by President Polk, July 4, 1848, and Dec. 6, 1884, the cap stone was set in position. The foundations are 126½ feet square and 36 feet 8 inches deep. The base of the monument is 55 feet 1½ inches square and the walls 15 feet thick. At the 500 foot mark, where the pyramidal top begins, the shaft is 34 feet 5½ inches square and the walls are 18 inches thick. The monument is made of blocks of marble two feet thick, and its height above the ground is 555 feet. The pyramidal top terminates in an aluminum tip, which is 9 inches high and weighs 100 ounces. The total weight, foundation and all, is nearly 81,000 tons. An immense iron framework supports the machinery of the elevator. At one side begin the stairs, of which there are 50 flights, containing 18 steps each. Five hundred and twenty feet from the base there are eight Windows, two on each face. The Washington monument is the highest masonry monument in the world; total cost. $1,500,000.
