The Washington Monument

The Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington. The monument, made of marble, granite, and sandstone, is both the world's tallest stone structure and the world's tallest obelisk, standing 555 feet 5⅛ inches (169.294 m). There are taller monumental columns, but they are either not all stone, or not true obelisks. It is also the tallest structure in Washington D.C.. It was designed by Robert Mills, an architect of the 1840s. The actual construction of the monument began in 1848 but was not completed until 1884, almost 30 years after the architect's death. This hiatus in construction happened because of co-option by the Know Nothing party, a lack of funds, and the intervention of the American Civil War. A difference in shading of the marble, visible approximately 150 feet (46 m or 27%) up, shows where construction was halted for a number of years. The cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1848; the capstone was set on December 6, 1884, and the completed monument was dedicated on February 21, 1885. It officially opened October 9, 1888. Upon completion, it became the world's tallest structure, a title previously held by the Cologne Cathedral. The monument held this designation until 1889, when the Eiffel Tower was completed in Paris, France. The monument stands due east of the Reflecting Pool and the Lincoln Memorial.

As an iconic landmark of Washington, D.C., the Washington Monument has featured in a number of film and television depictions. The symbolic meaning of the shape is referenced in the novel The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, its phallic resemblance is referenced in The Simpson's episode Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington and the Futurama episode A Taste of Freedom, and its simplistic design is denigrated in The Simpsons episode "Father Knows Worst". The monument is destroyed in disaster films such 2012 and Mars Attacks! while in video game sequences such as Fallout 3 and Modern Warfare 2 it serves as a touchstone for a supposed evacuation of the city of Washington. Used as a backdrop in the final scene of the movie In The Line Of Fire, Frank Horrigan (Clint Eastwood) and Lilly Raines (Rene Russo) sit on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial as Horrigan says the movie's final line: "I know things about pigeons, Lilly."