Washington Monument Imperfections
The Washington Monument was built intermittently. The bottom and top are made of two different Maryland marbles with slightly different colors. (more below)
Click the photo to see the full-size version. The bottom third was built of Maryland marble from a quarry in the town of Texas, before the money ran out and the Civil War interrupted work. When work resumed, the foundation needed reinforcement, then came a few rows of Stockbridge marble from Massachusetts. But this was found to be too expensive, and marble from Cockeysville, Maryland, was used for the remainder.
Like the great pyramids of Egypt to which the Washington Monument pays homage, the core of the structure is harder rock and the beautiful stone is reserved for the outer layer.
Learn more about the monument from the U.S. Parks Guide and the Washington DC Guide. And a page on glasssteelandstone.com has some interesting trivia about the monument.
Click the photo to see the full-size version. The bottom third was built of Maryland marble from a quarry in the town of Texas, before the money ran out and the Civil War interrupted work. When work resumed, the foundation needed reinforcement, then came a few rows of Stockbridge marble from Massachusetts. But this was found to be too expensive, and marble from Cockeysville, Maryland, was used for the remainder.
Like the great pyramids of Egypt to which the Washington Monument pays homage, the core of the structure is harder rock and the beautiful stone is reserved for the outer layer.
Learn more about the monument from the U.S. Parks Guide and the Washington DC Guide. And a page on glasssteelandstone.com has some interesting trivia about the monument.
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