Name/Title
StereographEntry/Object ID
2023.055.3.0343Description
A black and white stereograph. Image is of a distant shot of the Washington Monument. Above the image "13" is printed, below the image "437 Washington National Monument, Washington, D. C." is printed, to the left of the image "Keystone View Company COPYRIGHTED Manufacturers MADE IN U.S.A. Publishers" is printed, to the right of the image "Meadville, Pa., New York, N. Y., Portland, Oregon, London, Eng., Sydeny, Aus." is printed. On the reverse the following is printed:
437
WASHINGTON NATIONAL MONUMENT, WASHINGTON, D. C.
Lat. 39 (Degrees) N.; Long. 77 (Degrees) W.
This may be seen from any part of the city. It is the higest, and experts say the best piece of masonry in the world. A plumb line suspended from the top shows that in the more than 555 feet of its height from base to tip it is not moare than three-eights of an inch from the perpendicular. The hear of the sun, which deflects Bunker Hill Monument and changes the length of the spans of the Brookly Bridge affects this very little.
The foundation covers an area of 16,000 feet and wighs nearly 37,000 tons. The shaft is a little over 55 feet square at the base and tapers to about 35 feet at the top. it has 262 marble pieces of seven-inch thickness. The walls at the base are 15 feet thick; at the height of 500 feet, where the pyramidal top commences, they are only eighteen inches thick. The top of the shaft is capped with an aluminum point. Maryland marble is used, and the monument has no inscription. An elevator and iron staircase of 900 steps lead to the top.
At the Centennial celebration of Washington's birth, the Washington National Monument Association was formed, its object beng to erect a suitable memorial. The original plan was for a shaft of granite faced with white marble 600 feet high. Subscriptions to the fund amounted at the end of fifteen years to $87,000. The site then chosen, on the mall, was the very spot Washington had selected for a Memorial of the Revolution. On July 4th, 1848 the cornerstone was laid.
The work continued until 1856, when the funds were exhausted; appeals for more help were vain until 1877, when Congress took up the cause, and the monument was finished in 1885.
Copyright by The Keystone View CompanyCollection
Photograph Collection