On August 23, 2011, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake rattled the Washington, D.C. area, damaging the Washington Monument. Three years after sustaining the earthquake’s damage, one of the U.S. capital’s most recognizable sights reopened May 12, 2014.
Built to honor and memorialize George Washington, the 555-foot marble monument towers over Washington, D.C. It has become, in my opinion, the most famous monument on the National Mall. In honor of the reopening of the monument, I went down to the National Mall to pay a visit to this historical landmark.
Since my move to DC in July, it has been under construction, covered in blue scaffolding and an eyesore in every photo I’ve taken. So to finally see the monument in all its glory, without the scaffolding, is very exciting. As I approached the monument, I noticed something interesting. When you get close, you can see every crack the workers filled. It made me realize that it could have taken a lot longer for it to be opened. Really making me appreciate the work that went into repairing the structure.