Washington Monument re-opens in August 2019

After years of repairs, Washington Monument will re-open in August 2019. 

The 169-meter building is dedicated to the U.S. first president, George Washington. It is made out of marble and was completed in 1888 after about 40 years of construction. It was the taller building in the world until the erection of Eiffel Tower.

The symbolic structure was affected by a 5.8 earthquake in 2011 and closed for about 3 years. The monument presented intense cracking while some structural parts of the building were displaced. Moreover, the internal elevator was also damaged. The building re-opened in 2014 but it was closed again 2 years later due to another elevator issue. At that time, the U.S. National Park Service decided to retrofit the elevator system.

The renovation works also include the construction of a new structure that will replace the temporary center built after the 2001 terrorist attacks. "The new glass and steel facility will offer full ballistic and blast protection and includes queuing space for 18-20 visitors at a time, screening equipment, an accessible restroom for National Park Service and U.S. Park Police staff and a security office," the National Park Service announced.

The initial plan for the monument was to re-open this spring but the opening was postponed due to potential contamination of the soil near the construction area. Currently, mitigation efforts to reduce the possible contamination are conducted. Moreover, officials run the final tests on the elevator system.