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 ...

At the western end of the National Mall, the Washington Monument towers over our country’s capital. The 555-foot obelisk—a four-sided stone pillar with a pyramid-shaped top—was built to ...

ancient Egyptian pharaohs were building magnificent temples adorned with huge monuments that pointed to the sky. Called obelisks, these massive, pointed shafts of polished granite were often ...

Some of the most iconic memorials that grace Washington ... it when the monument was finally dedicated in 1885. That year, the proud country celebrated the awe-inspiring obelisk as the tallest ...