Advertisement

The Washington Monument has shrunk in its old age

By Aileen Graef
The Washington Monument has lost some height after being beaten by the elements for 130 years. UPI/Kevin Dietsch
The Washington Monument has lost some height after being beaten by the elements for 130 years. UPI/Kevin Dietsch | License Photo

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- The official height of the Washington Monument is to be released on President's Day, and the iconic structure in the nation's capital is shorter than expected.

When the monument was dedicated in 1885, the director of construction Army Lt. Col. Thomas L. Casey measured the monument to be 555 feet 5 and 1/8 inches tall.

Advertisement

After 130 years of lightning strikes, an earthquake and other elemental damage, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will announce its new height, 554 feet 7 11/32 inches.

Lightning strikes have melted the tip to make it rounded rather than perfectly pointed as it was in 1884.

"It's remarkable quite honestly that they had the ability to get such an accurate measurement at that time," NOAA's Dru Smith told Washington's WAMU radio station. "Back then everything was much more technologically restricted, so I think it's fantastic that they were able to get such an accurate measurement."

Those concerned with details may be out of luck. The National Park Service does not plan to change any of the brochures to reflect the new height measurement.

"For our purposes, we'll still use the historic height," Jennifer Anzelmo-Sarles, a Park Service spokeswoman, told the Washington Post.

Advertisement

Latest Headlines