Metro:
Designed by Robert Mills (b. Charleston, S.C., Aug. 12, 1781, d. Mar. 3, 1855) in 1838, to follow the form of an Egyptian obelisk, it rises more than 168 m (550 ft) above the city and is the largest masonry structure in the world.
Mills achieved national prominence after being appointed (1836) architect and engineer to the federal government, in which capacity he designed this monument to the first president of the United States, George Washington.
The actual construction of the monument began in 1848 and was not completed until 1884, almost 30 years after the architect's death, due to lack of funds and the intervention of the Civil War. A difference in shading of the marble (visible approximately 150 feet up) clearly deliniates the initial construction from its resumption in 1876. It is generally considered fortunate that the Greek Doric rotunda Mills planned for the base of the monument was never built.
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