Washington Monument

Washington DC · landmarks · history · architecture

Massive marble tower. The Washington Monument stands 555 feet tall on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., making it one of the most recognizable buildings in America. It was built to honor George Washington, the first president of the United States.

Three different marbles. The monument is made of white marble on the outside, but it actually uses three different types of marble because construction kept getting interrupted over the years. The base is made of bluestone gneiss and granite, which are much harder rocks.

Was world's tallest. From 1884 to 1889, the Washington Monument was the world's tallest human-made structure, standing taller than anything else on Earth. Then the Eiffel Tower in Paris was built and took the record away.

Precisely measured height. Engineers measured the monument in 2013 and 2014 and found it stands exactly 554 feet, 7 inches, and 11/32 of an inch tall, which is about 169 meters. Today it is the third tallest monumental column in the world.