Washington Monument with Cherry Blossoms

The Washington Monument is the only monument in Washington, DC and is in honor or our Nations first President George Washington. The Monument stands 555’ 5/8” high, and can been seen at a distance of 30 to 40 miles away. It was finished on December 6, 1884 and is currently maintained by the United States National Park Service (NPS). The view from the top of the monument is spectacular and is the highest viewing stand in Washington.

Getting to the monument is quite easy and not very hard to miss.  It’s a great focus point if you are not familiar with the layout of the district.  Just think of it as the center of a bike wheel and all the memorials surround it.  One thing you need to know is if you want to venture to the top you will need a ticket. The tickets are free and can be requested two ways. You can either go to the Monument information center in front of the Monument on 15th street (more info) or you can use the government’s reservation system via the internet to reserve your tickets. The Monument is open from 9:00am to 10:00pm every day and tickets often go fast.  During busy tourist seasons the line can form as early as 7:30am.

I think the coolest thing about the Monument is the color change in the marble.  Around the 152′ mark you will see a distict color change in the stone.  Do you know why?  The construction was stopped due to the civil war and when they started construction again the stone didn’t match.

Need to Know