Photo of the Day

The Washington Monument, still rising

Friday 9 October 2026

The Washington Monument opened to the public on 9 October 1888.

Black-and-white photo of a tall unfinished stone obelisk with lifting gear on its flat top, above work sheds and a rail track, a city behind — Photograph · 1880–84

The monument under construction in the early 1880s, with lifting gear on top of the unfinished shaft. Money ran out in 1854 and the Civil War followed, so for more than 20 years it sat as a stump about 150 feet tall, until the Army Corps of Engineers restarted work in the late 1870s.

Fun facts

Look about 150 feet up on the finished monument and you'll see the stone change shade. The later marble came from a different quarry. source ↗
When it was finished in 1884 it was the tallest structure in the world, at about 555 feet, until the Eiffel Tower passed it in 1889. source ↗
Its tip is a small pyramid of aluminum, which was a precious metal in 1884. source ↗
The walls are about 15 feet thick at the base. source ↗

Image: Unknown photographer · Library of Congress (HABS), via Smithsonian
Licence: Public domain
Source: Wikimedia Commons Library of Congress, HABS DC,WASH,2-