Wands Edwards, age 13, of Dodge City, Ran., for her question:
WHEN WAS THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT BUILT?
Many people wanted to build a memorial to President George Washington while he was still alive, but he objected to the plan because of the expense. Then in 1833, the Washington National Monument Society organized to raise funds. It was to be 52 years later, in 1885, that the monument was finally dedicated in Washington, D.C.
A design by Robert Mills was approved and the government approved the project. The cornerstone was laid July 4, 1848 with the same trowl Washington had used to lay the cornerstone of the Capitol in 1793. No one knew the project was still 37 years away from dedication.
Soon after the cornerstone was placed, engineers found the ground too soft to support the monument. They had to start over, farther north.
Many people donated stones for the monument. Pope Pius IX sent a marble block from the Temple of Concord in Rome. Then one night in 1854, a group believed to be Know Nothings, or members of the American party, stole this block. The act so shocked the public that contributions almost stopped.
In 1855, Congress agreed to give some financial aid to the project. But the Know Nothings broke into the society's offices and claimed possession of the monument.
Twenty one years later, in 1876, Congress voted to finish the project at government expense. Work started again on Aug. 17, 1880, and was completed on Dec. 6, 1884. The monument was finally dedicated on Feb. 21, 1885.
The monument has the shape of the obelisks of ancient Egypt. It is 555 feet and five and an eighth inches high. It measures 55 feet and one and an eighth inches long on each of its four sides at the bottom.
The inner walls are set with 189 carved memorial stones presented by individuals, cities, states and other countries.
When you visit the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., you'll take an elevator to the top. The view of the city, the Potomac River and the countryide is spectacular. You may either ride the elvator back down, or you may walk if you like. There are 898 steps from the top down to the bottom.
More than a million people visit the Washington Monument each year.
The walls of the monument are 15 feet thick at the bottom and 18 inches thick at the top. They are covered with white marble from Maryland.
On the top of the monument is a pyramidion, or small pyramid. Each side is 34 feet, five and a half inches long. The pyramidion rises 55 feet. Stones covering the pyramidion are seven inches thick. A cap of cast aluminium protects the very tip.
The monument was opened to the public for the first time on Oct. 9, 1888.
Total cost of the Washington Monument was $1,187,710.31. The monument today is maintained as a national memorial by the National Park Service.