There are still times when portions of the park are under water and occasionally the monument area itself is inundated with flooding. The footing was difficult to locate, for a building project of its weight and size. Federal Writers' Project 18) There were times in the interim of the twenty years it took to complete where many believed it was a dead project.

Federal Writers' Project 53) Though cornerstone for the monument had been laid many years before (1884) and the structure was begun as a shaft the new designer engineer created an Egyptian style obelisk that lacked any external ornamentation,

Federal Writers' Project 322) at his desire and the building commenced utilizing many men and materials to complete the structure.

Senie and Webster 24)

It is not only ironic but also somehow troubling that a monument designed covertly, against enormous opposition, should so neatly reconcile so many competing ideals ancient tradition and modern technology, republican values and national progress, communal harmony and individual enterprise.

Senie and Webster 26)

The building was completed finally completed and, "On February 21, 1885, Robert Winthrop, who had delivered the formal address at the laying of the cornerstone 37 years before, dedicated the Washington Monument. On October 9, 1888, it was opened to the public. More than a century had passed since its inception."

(Federal Writers' Project 322)

The dimensions of the monument are as follows:

Height of Monument above floor, 555 feet 5 ? inches.

Side of base of shaft, 55 feet 1 1/2 inches.

Side of top of shaft, 34 feet 5 1/2 inches.

Thickness of walls at base of shaft, 15 feet.

Thickness of walls at top of shaft, 18 inches.

Depth of foundation, 36 feet 10 inches.

Area foundation (126 feet 6 inches square), 16,002 square feet.

Weight of foundations, 36,912 tons.

Weight of Monument,...

The restoration project was in fact led by a business (target) who dedicated a million dollars to a foundation to restore the monument and the restoration took several years of fundraising and building 1996-2000.
The exterior renovations will focus on replacing mortar -- the first time since 1935 -- and repairing cracked and chipped stones, repointing exterior and interior joints and cleaning the stones. The mortar will be the same sand-and-cement mix used when construction began on July 4, 1848....Construction crews already have completed interior work on the elevator system and upgrades on the heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems. The observation levels at the 490- and 500-foot levels of the monument will be refurbished and a glass elevator and new education exhibits will be added starting in 1999.

Reiter 41)

Even the restoration went on with controversy, as many argued about the nature of the building site and it was finally decided that the scaffolding would be artistic to maintain the integrity and no federal funds were used, again a testament to the controversy of the building's history.

Works Cited

Federal Writers' Project. Washington, City and Capital: Federal Writers' Project, Works Progress Administration. Washington, 1937. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1937.

Reiter, Bill. "Monumental Restoration." Insight on the News 17 Aug. 1998: 41.

Senie, Harriet F., and Sally Webster, eds. Critical Issues in Public Art: Content, Context, and Controversy.…