The Washington Monument, Washington D.C. — Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

The Washington Monument rises 555 feet into the D.C. sky as the world's tallest obelisk and oldest surviving national monument to an American president. Construction began in 1848 but stalled during the Civil War, creating a striking two-tone marble shaft visible from the National Mall; a change in marble quarries created a noticeable color difference, turning the monument into an unintended metaphor for national division and eventual reunion. Completed in 1884, the monument contains 36,491 blocks of marble and granite, built without modern machinery by workers whose sweat and ingenuity drove each stone into place. The 360-degree view from the top encompasses the entire city, with monuments, museums, and governmental buildings spread below like an atlas of American ambition. With Questo, you can ride the elevator (or climb 897 steps for the ambitious), explore exhibits documenting the monument's troubled construction, and contemplate why Americans chose to honor their first president with a 555-foot stone needle pointing toward heaven. The monument survived earthquakes, the Civil War, and centuries of weathering.