Last month we spent the weekend down in Washington, D.C. checking out some of the local tourist attractions. We visited 2 museums, the National Zoo and walked around the National Mall. While I love the history surrounding our nation’s capitol, I don’t like all of the big crowds and long lines. I guess I need to visit during the non-tourist season.
Today we wanted to show you a photograph of the historic Washington Monument which sits on the grounds of the National Mall. It was built to honor George Washington who is considered to be one of our country’s founding fathers. He was a commander in the Continental Army and later became the first president of the United States.
The Washington Monument stands a whopping 554 feet tall and is done in an obelisk shape. We have a replica one on a much smaller scale in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania called the Dauphin County Veteran’s Memorial which I blogged about a few years ago. You can check out that post to learn more about it.
What’s really cool about the Washington Monument is that its the tallest obelisk in the world and is made almost entirely of stone. Inside there are spiral staircases and in the center of the obelisk is an elevator. Thank goodness for modern-day conveniences. Can you imagine being responsible for the maintenance and cleaning of the monument and having to climb all of those stairs? Wowza!
Have you ever visited Washington, D.C. and if so…what kind of things did you enjoy seeing? What did you do while you were there? We plan on visiting again later this fall, so would love some additional ideas.
I have visited Washington DC and seen the museums, zoos and more monuments such as Jefferson memorial and statue of Abraham Lincoln.
I would obe day love to see these places. We keep telling ourselves we want to go to the Smithsonian, the memorials . One day…. and I hope soon.
I didn’t know it is the tallest obelisk in the World. You learn something new every day!