Washington Monument – Building
#18 of 100 things to do in Washington DC
The Washington Monument is an obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and the first American president. Wikipedia
Height: 555′ (169 m)
Construction started: 1848
Area: 106 acres (43 ha)
Opened: February 21, 1885
Address: 2 15th St NW, Washington, DC 20007
Phone: (202) 426-6841
Architect: Robert Mills
The Washington Monument is the most prominent structure in Washington, D.C. The 555-foot, 5-1/8″ marble obelisk honors the nation’s founding father George Washington, who led the Continental Army to victory, and then became the nation’s first president under the Constitution. Tickets are required to visit the interior of the Washington Monument.
What to Expect on a Tour:
- Arrive to the Washington Monument grounds 15 minutes before the tour time indicated on your ticket.
- Signs posted will indicate the waiting areas for tour times near the benches on the east side of the Washington Monument
- Rangers will direct you to the security area in small groups, where security screening will be performed
- You will wait in the ground floor lobby for the elevator.
- A park ranger will help you board the elevator and provide commentary on the ascent, a ride of approximately 70 seconds
- Visitors may tour the 500′ level observation deck with 8 windows at their leisure
- Visitors proceed down the steps to the 490′ level museum, where they may queue up to enter the descent elevator. Visitors with limited mobility may take the elevator to the museum level from the 500′ level when it is available.
- Rangers will help you board the elevator and provide commentary on the approximately 2-minute descent. The elevator slows in preprogrammed areas of the monument to provide passengers with views of select areas of the monument’s interior.
- Upon reaching the ground floor, passengers exit the elevator and the monument
website: http://www.nps.gov/wamo/
