Washington D.C. is the vacation destination we have visited most frequently over the years. And, among all the iconic locations in our Nation’s Capitol, the Washington Monument is probably where the most interesting memories have been made.
It is certainly my fave. It’s a National Treasure.
Reflecting on past visits, there was the time, in ’97, that Holly got to drive the elevator from the top to, as she put it, the ‘dowwwwnnn part.’
That was the visit when we wound up with an extra ticket – because Paul didn’t actually need one – and we gave it to a man waiting in line who needed tickets. He only found out he needed tickets to go in the monument after he made his way to D.C. from his hometown…Knoxville, TN. Small world.
Maybe I’ll devote a future post to all the times we have run into East Tennesseans away from home! It has happened more than once.
Back to the monument, when we were there in ’05, we all ooh’d and ahh’d when Marine One flew over on its way to the South Lawn.
Lots of memories associated with visits to the Washington Monument.
I love the view, too. From the base of the monument, you have great view of the Lincoln Memorial in one direction and of the mall, reflecting pool and Capitol on the other side. And from the top, of course, you see so many sights that remind you of the photos in your middle school textbook. History everywhere.
It’s quite a memorable place to visit.
Of course, no one will be visiting the monument any time soon. I wrote about the damage the obelisk suffered during the August 2011 D.C. earthquake just after it happened. Now, the National Park Service is about to undertake a painstaking renovation/restoration of the Washington Monument. Preparations for that work are now underway and the work may begin in a few weeks.
In March, work crews began to assemble scaffolding around the structure. They finished this work last month. They also scaled the monument to inspect it up close.
The repairs will literally have to take place block by block. It will be an expensive process, too, costing nearly $15M. The National Park Service received a $7.5 gift from wealthy philanthropist, David Rubenstein, to help ensure the repairs would go forward.
Engineers and Park Service officials hope they will complete the restoration work on the 555 foot structure by sometime next year.
Until then, we’ll all just have to admire it from a distance.
JG
(Source: photoblog.nbcnews.com)
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