Why was the Washington Monument closed in 2011?

On Tuesday, August 23, 2011, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake, occurred 84 miles southwest of Washington, D.C., damaging the Washington Monument. The National Park Service has temporarily closed the Monument and is assessing the damage to it.



The Washington Monument was closed on August 23, 2011, following a rare and significant 5.8-magnitude earthquake centered in Mineral, Virginia. The seismic activity caused substantial structural damage to the 555-foot marble obelisk, including over 150 cracks throughout the structure and several large pieces of stone breaking off from the pyramidion at the very top. Debris fell both inside the monument and around the exterior plaza, fortunately while the monument was being evacuated. The National Park Service had to launch a massive, multi-year restoration project that cost $15 million, half of which was funded by a private donation from philanthropist David Rubenstein. The repairs involved complex "re-pointing" of the mortar and the installation of stainless-steel plates to reinforce the damaged sections. The monument remained closed to the public for nearly 33 months, finally reopening in May 2014 after a meticulous inspection and repair process that ensured the landmark was seismically stable for future generations.

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On Tuesday, August 23, 2011, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake, occurred 84 miles southwest of Washington, D.C., damaging the Washington Monument. The National Park Service has temporarily closed the Monument and is assessing the damage to it.

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The monument has been closed for most of the past eight years. An August 2011 earthquake left cracks in the stones near the top of the obelisk. It reopened in 2014, but Park Service officials were forced to close it again two years later after a series of elevator malfunctions.

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Having always struggled to gather funding, the Society's change in administration alienated donors and drove the Society to bankruptcy by 1854. Without funds, work on the monument slowed to a halt.

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Washington – The National Park Service announced today that the Washington Monument will close until further notice as a measure to protect staff and visitors from the spread of COVID-19. The monument closed on January 11 for security reasons surrounding the 59th presidential inauguration.

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It took nearly 40 years to build a tribute to the first U.S. president. It was stalled by a lack of funds and, at one point, occupied by a political fringe group. Few structures represent the United States as powerfully as the Washington Monument.

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Despite these developments the aluminum capstone remains in place today and is considered to be in good shape. After the completion of the monument D.C. Building Code was updated to state that the Washington Monument is to be the tallest structure in the city, no future buildings can surpass its 555 feet.

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Even the Washington Monument is a Rubenstein project. He donated $7.5 million to help the National Park Service repair the monument after it was damaged by an earthquake in 2010.

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The Day the Washington Monument Couldn't Stand Still: An Oral History of the 2011 Earthquake. After spending the greater part of the last eight years closed to the public, the Washington Monument finally reopened in September of 2019.

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This tour is an elevator ride to the top. It is worth it and you will probably never get a nother chance. So make a reservation and go. There is a very limited number of people allowed up the monument each day.

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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.

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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.

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5 Things You Might Not Know About the Washington Monument
  • Plans for the monument began even before Washington was elected president. ...
  • The original design for the monument was much different than what ended up being built. ...
  • The monument was once the site of a hostage situation. ...
  • The monument has survived an earthquake.


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