East Coast Trip: Washington Monument

10-11 September 1985
Washington, DC

With parking at a premium in DC, we left the car parked near the White House and walked over to the Washington Monument.

Built at intervals between 1848 and 1885 with funds from public subscriptions and federal appropriations, the monument “memorializes George Washington’s achievements and unselfish devotion to principle and to country.” The hollow obelisk, made of marble, granite, and bluestone gneiss, is both the world’s tallest stone structure and the world’s tallest obelisk.

Glimpse of the monument from the National Mall (L) and from the Lincoln Memorial (R).
(If you look closely at the picture on the left, you can see the difference in the shade of
the marble used when construction resumed after a multi-year hiatus.)

After a short wait, a 70-second elevator ride whisked us to the top of the 555-foot (169 m) tall monument.  We’d been looking forward to a spectacular view of the city, but it wasn’t meant to be.  Instead, we made do with views that were veiled by haze.

Glimpse of the monument from the Jefferson Memorial.

Back on the ground, it was time to call Dwight McGhee, a Petrolex client, who wanted to take us to dinner, and also get some lunch.  We figured the Old Post Office Building would provide both a public phone as well as eatery options.  But first, we had to find a longer-term parking solution; no easy feat in downtown DC.  Not to worry.  Mui made use of the driving skills he’d acquired in Turkey, flipped a u-turn in the middle of downtown traffic, and slipped the car into a spot across the street from our destination.  I have to admit that I thought the long-arm-of-the-law was going to descend on us and haul Mui off to traffic jail to punish him for the illegal maneuver, but we survived unscathed.