James Curtin - Washington Monument, Washington, DC - Post 10

Washington Monument, between the US Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial.

Washington Monument as seen from the Lincoln Memorial with the reflecting pool in between. 

Washington Monument light at night.

The Washington Monument, originally completed in 1885, was the tallest building in the world until completion of the Eiffel Tower. It is still the tallest stone building (it has no metal frame, the masonry fully supports the building), tallest obelisk, and tallest building in Washington, DC. The monument is 555 feet and 5 inches tall. It is in fact more than 200 ft taller than the second tallest building in D.C., The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (329 ft). Because the building is so much taller than any other buildings in the city, the view from the small view windows at the top is unparrelleled in the city. 

Despite living in the D.C. area for so long and visiting the Mall (the grounds between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial) often, I only went to the top once in 1997. It's quite I sight. I just wish the weather had been better so that the pictures I took would have turned out better.