On Feb. 22, 1885, the
Washington Monument was formally dedicated by
Robert C. Winthrop, the man who laid its corner-stone in 1848.
The first movement towards the erection of this monument was made as early as 1783, when the Continental Congress passed a resolution recommending the erection of an equestrian statue of
Washington, supported by four marble pedestals showing the principal events in the war which he had successfully conducted.
After his death, in December, 1799, the
House and Senate passed a joint resolution for the erection of a monument under which his body should be placed; but Congress failed to provide for the execution of the work, and the matter was allowed to drop.
In 1816 an unsuccessful effort was made by
James Buchanan, then a young
Congressman from
Pennsylvania, to revive an interest in the monument which should lead to its construction.
Twenty-five years later an association known as the “
Washington monument Society” was formed, and $87,000 was collected in sums of $1, each person so contributing being enrolled as a member of the society.
The corner-stone was laid and the erection of the monument was begun July 4, 1848.
The building progressed slowly until 1855, when, owing to the failure of the Senate to concur in the passage of an appropriation bill giving $200,000 to the enterprise, all work upon it ceased.
The Civil War broke out, and the
Washington Monument was for the time forgotten.
In 1876
Senator Sherman introduced a resolution providing that whatever was returned from the government appropriation for the
Centennial Exposition in
Philadelphia should be refunded and appropriated to the completion of the
Washington Monument.
This resolution was amended by the appropriation committee of the
House, and $1,000,000 was appropriated, to be paid in annual instal-
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ments of $30,000 each.
A commission was appointed to examine the work already done, and the foundation was declared insufficient.
A new foundation was accordingly constructed at a cost of nearly $100,000, and the work was pushed actively forward until its completion, nine years later, under the direction of
Col. T. L. Casey, United States Engineers.
The entire cost of the monument was about $1,500,000, of which amount nearly $300,000 was contributed by the “
Washington monument Association.”
Its base is 55 feet square—the base of the foundation being 106 feet square and 38 feet deep.
Its height is 555 feet, being 30 feet greater than that of the cathedral at
Cologne, and 75 feet greater than that of the Great Pyramid.
It is built of
Maryland marble lined with blue gneiss.
Various stones contributed by the States are built into the interior lining.
Including the foundation, the weight of the structure is nearly 82,000 tons.
The top of the monument is protected by a cap made of aluminum, which is not affected by the elements.
The ascent can be made by an elevator or by an iron stairway of nearly 900 steps.
The thickness of the walls at the base is 15 feet, gradually lessening until at the top to 18 inches.
Washingtoniana 
