DC building height laws restrict most buildings to no more than 160 feet tall. As a freestanding structure, the 555-foot ...

On Dec. 6, 1884 — 36 years after construction had begun — the 3,300-pound aluminum capstone was placed atop the obelisk, making the Washington Monument, at 555 feet, the world’s tallest ...

Standing just shy of 555 ½ feet, the Washington Monument was the tallest structure in the world at its completion in 1884. Nowadays, you can ride one of the monument's glass-encased elevators to ...

Fall 1854: By the end of the building season, the Washington Monument stood 152 feet tall and the Washington National Monument Society had exhausted all funds for the project. 1861: The monument ...