The Most Famous Monuments of Washington D.C.: The History of the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and Jefferson Memorial

ISBN: 9781507808641
$12.99
$12.99
*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of the origins and construction of the monuments written by people who worked on them *Includes bibliographies for further reading *Includes a table of contents People have always loved symbols and monuments, and monumental architecture has always been as much symbolic as functional. The pyramids of ancient Egypt were artificial mountains expressing the link of the pharaoh to the gods, and mountains have always been associated with the divine in the human imagination. The Colossus of Rhodes, the Roman Senate House and Temple of Capitoline Jove, the Grand Teocalli and Tzompantli or skull-rack of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, the Forbidden City of Peking, the Parisian Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile and the Brandenburg Gate of Berlin, all provide or provided material focuses for national ideals, beliefs, and culture. There are countless ways that Washington, remembered as "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen," has been commemorated across America, but the most famous is the Washington Monument. Congress had actually called for establishing a monument to Washington as far back as 1783, but it would not be until the 1830s that work on the world’s tallest obelisk began in earnest. In fact, while the Washington Monument is taken as a given today, and it was designed to be “unparalleled in the world, and commensurate with the gratitude, liberality, and patriotism of the people by whom it is to be erected,” there were several issues that nearly prevented it from being a reality, including political arguments, costs, and lack of progress. Though it may be hard to believe, the Washington Monument was not dedicated until the 1880s, nearly half a century after it was first proposed. By the time it was finished, however, it was clear that the wait was worth it
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