Washington Monument (USA) - 170 meter high, tallest stone statue of the world

The monument is 169.2 meters (555 feet) high and 16.8 meters (55 feet) wide at the base, which is the standard Egyptian 10: 1 ratio Height to the base. It is the highest stone monument in the world.

Construction of the current structure began in 1848 and was not completed until 1884, almost 30 years after the architect's death, it was not completed due to lack of funds and civil war.

The difference in shade of marble visible above 45 meters, exactly separates the previous structure from that completed in 1876.

George P. March, Italian ambassador together with others agreed that the proposed height of the 600-foot facility proposed by Mills will be limited to 555 feet, and that it is round The Greek-Dorin temple in the base will not be built and the monument will not have any decorations.

We can get to the viewing platform 500 feet above the ground by elevator or by climbing 897 stairs.

At the top there is a nine-inch aluminum pyramid. At that time it was the largest aluminum element in the world, because aluminum was then a precious material. A lightning rod is also attached to the top.

Part of the marble from the Temple of Concord Temple in Rome was embedded in the base of the monument. It was a gift from Pope Pius IX. The item was stolen on March 6, 1854.

The whole monument weighs a total of 90,854 tons.

The first 452 feet of the interior of the monument are reinforced with granite from Maine.

The only man who jumped from this monument was David G. Morris. He was a worker working on the scaffolding when renovating the building in 1934.

In September 1880 the cat jumped from the monument from a height of 160 feet and survived the fall. However, legends say he was killed shortly after by a nearby dog.