George Washington is considered the “Father of the Nation” in the U.S., a title he won thanks to his leadership in the cause of American independence. Well, one of many tributes to this historical find is the Washington Monument, which probably more than once will have seen on film, photographs, etc.
As you can imagine, this is a must on your trip to Washington DC. When you visit the monument an elevator will take you to the top of this building, so that the dome can have a beautiful view of the city of Washington.
Doing a little story about the creation of the monument, in the early stages of planning was Pierre-Charles L’Enfant who proposed to carry out this project honoring the revolutionary leader.
First got the idea to create a huge statue of Washington on horseback. However, considering that it was a very modest and simple, the same George W. refused to be carried out because the government did not want to spend money on it.
In this way, the project file until 1848, when new plans were approved and construction finally began. Being a very ambitious construction, work was carried out gradually and stopped completely between 1876 1854y due to many causes, the Civil War, lack of money, political conflicts, were major factors.
As construction was halted during the war, was a long time without end until the middle of 76 ‘put back to work. This year, where they celebrated the centennial of the Declaration of Independence, Congress decided to donate a large sum of money which allowed them to resume construction.
However, enough time had passed to cause a significant change in color of what was already built. This change is still visible, the bottom third has a different tone than the rest.
The walls of the monument is made of white marble and granite Maryland and Massachusetts, and a strong support of iron.
While you can choose to use the high-tech elevator to take us to the top, you may request permission to walk the 897 steps. Besides being an excellent aerobic exercise, also allow us to make a thorough tour of its interior.