WASHINGTON MONUMENT

WASHINGTON MONUMENT. Pierre L'Enfant's plan for the federal city called for an equestrian monument honoring George Washington at the key location where the axes of the Capitol and president's house intersected. The Washington National Monument Society, formed in 1833, raised funds for a design competition, but no plans realized their expectations. In 1845 Robert Mills suggested an obelisk with a colonnaded base. After many sites had been considered, the cornerstone was laid 4 July 1848, near the spot designated on L'Enfant's plan. In 1854 members of the Know-Nothing Party, angered by the donation of an interior stone by the Vatican, stole the stone and took over the society. The project came to a halt, remained unfinished through the Civil War, and

resumed only in 1876, when Congress took control of funding and construction. The monument was finally dedicated 21 February 1885. At 555 feet, 5¹⁄8 inches it was, and still is, the tallest masonry structure in the world. The obelisk has had its admirers and detractors, but many commentators have noted a congruence between the form of the monument and the man it commemorates: "simple in its grandeur, coldly bare of draperies theatric" (James Russell Lowell), "a perfect simulacrum of our first president … powerful … eternal … elemental" (Richard Hudnut).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Allen, Thomas B. The Washington Monument: It Stands for All. New York: Discovery Books, 2000.

Harvey, Frederick L. History of the Washington National Monument and of the Washington National Monument Society. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1902.