Washington Monument

The Washington Monument is the highest structure in Washington DC, the U.S. capital. It is also the tallest obelisk in the world. The monument was built in honor of America's first President, George Washington, who served between 1789 and 1797. The pillar was first designed by architect, Robert Mills, who pitched a Greek column surrounded by a colonnade, but his plan was altered significantly during construction.

The monument soars more than 555 feet into the sky, and has a vacuum inside of it that allows visitors to climb to the top. But it is currently closed to visitors due to a massive earthquake that rattled Virginia on August 28, 2011, causing a lot of damage to some of its stone components. When it's operational, visitors are required to secure a ticket first, but those seeing from outside can do so free of charge.

Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the country and the world visit the Washington Monument each year. Statistics from the National Park Service show that visitations totalled a whopping 671,031 in the year 2008.

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