The Washington Monument is administered by National Mall and Memorial Parks.
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The Washington Monument, designed by Robert Mills and eventually completed by Thomas Casey and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, honors and memorializes George Washington at the center of the nation's capital.
The U.S. Department of the Interior has announced a $7.5 million gift from private equity mogul and philanthropist David M.Rubenstein to restore the Washington Monument, which closed last August after a magnitude 5.8 earthquake shook the National Mall and caused extensive damage to the historic structure.
August 2, 1876Congress appropriates $2 million in federal funds to complete the construction of the Washington Monument. The public funding is contingent upon the transfer of ownership of the monument from The Washington National Monument Society to the federal government.
However, after Washington became president, he scrapped the plans for his memorial, as federal government funds were tight and he didn't want to use public money for the project.
The Washington Monument was constructed in two phases after laying the cornerstone in 1848. The color line shows where construction halted in 1856, when private donations to fund the Monument dried up.
The two sections closely resembled each other at first, but time, wind, rain, and erosion have caused the marble sections to weather differently, thereby producing the difference in color. A third type of marble is also visible at the dividing line between the two main phases of construction.
The pyramid was supposed to serve as a lightning rod, and since Frishmuth had already done some plating work for the monument, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers called on him to fashion the topper as well. They requested a small metal pyramid, preferably made from copper, bronze, or platinum-plated brass.
The monument's present foundation is 37 feet (11.3 m) thick, consisting of half of its original bluestone gneiss rubble encased in concrete. At the northeast corner of the foundation, 21 feet (6.4 m) below ground, is the marble cornerstone, including a zinc case filled with memorabilia.