What's Inside the Washington Monument?
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Chapters:
00:00 - IntroducingThe Washington Monument
03:32 - American’s Other Washington Monuments
01:53 - The History of George Washington
06:29 - What the Washington Monument Represents
07:73 - How Politics almost prevented the Washington Monument
08:38 - The Washington National Monument Society
09:37 - Washington Monument’s Design
10:48 - First Phase of Construction of the Washington Monument
13:05 - Why Politics again stopped construction of the Washington Monument
16:07 - Finishing construction of the Washington Monument
18:28 - The recreates of the Washington Monument
19:13 - The Story of Washington Monuments Memorial stones
21:03 - Modernising the Washington Monument
22:06 -When Earthquake and hurricanes damaged the Washington Monument
23:24 - Washington Monuments 1982 incidence
24:37 - The Legacy of the Washington Monument
IT’S HISTORY - Weekly Tales of American Urban Decay as presented by your host Ryan Socash.
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» CREDIT
Scriptwriter - Brandon Evans,
Editor - Karolina Szwata,
Host - Ryan Socash
Music/Sound Design: Dave Daddario
» NOTICE
Some images may be used for illustrative purposes only - always reflecting the accurate time frame and content. Events of factual error / mispronounced word/spelling mistakes - retractions will be published in this section.
What a rare politician as he turned down being king and instead wanted to be an elected official. Can't say that about most modern politicians.
That's one big reason that George Washington is not only the 'father of our country' but also the greatest President of our Republic! Would that politicians of today took Washington's values and beliefs to heart! Those who actively and assertively seek to hold elective office neither merit it nor should be elevated to it. Public servants should perform their public duty and then go back to the farm/school/store/etc. No more pensions for life, no more big salaries and huge expense allowances. TERM LIMITS to protect, we the people from the tyranny of power mongers!
Our last president sure wanted to be a king, didn't he?
@@davidg1612 more like an autocrat lol. The founding fathers wanted the people to have true representation. These days it's the lobbyists and corporations who hold all the power, and that's not what Washington et al stood for.
He wanted democracy because that's even more autocratic than a king.
@@davidg1612 no no he didn't he worked for the good of our country
I use to think George Washington lived in the Washington Monument, and that he would watch over us from the top so he could make sure we were running the country properly. I was sad to learn Mr. Washington passed away over 200 years ago and his big pointy house was empty. ☹
One can have dreams, though... Right?
Lol !!! that's funny.
He still does as the horned sepraant
Brilliant. Something I would have thought as a kid.
This sounds like a part two for a spinoff of Abraham Lincoln Vampire Slayer. George Washington Guard Against the Gods? 😂😂😂
I was hoping you would cover more of what is inside the monument for tourists now, and in the past. When I went to visit during a school trip, we were permitted to walk up the stairs to the top. In later years, they had signs saying not to use the stairs, but because security was lacking, many of us (pre-teens and teenagers) used the stairs anyway. The very top has a store where souvenirs could be purchased, plus you could look out the small windows and see some of Washington D.C. area.
Right??? All I got from the video is that there is an elevator inside.
I doubt students these days could handle the physical exertion of walking up...
@@PRH123 I got tired just reading that...but, I'm in my 40's of course!
I remember sometime in the 1960's while visiting Washington DC my family walked all the way up the stairs of the Washington monument and I know that I was impressed with the memorial stones that I saw. I don't remember seeing a store at the top selling souvenirs. It was quite an experience walking up the monument and I wish that everyone who visits the monument still could walk up and be able to see the memorial stones.
@@charlesbennett8700 I don't remember a store either,, I remember it being a rather small area up top..
I was outside on the top of the scaffolding back in 2015 when it was being repaired after the earthquake. It was absolutely amazing to see the city from that high up. I even got to climb to the very top and touch the lightning rod.
You are obviously not scared of heights like me
How significant was the damage? Were they minor cracks or significant enough to threaten its falling?
@@natep9997 minor cracks. If it was significant enough where it would crumble at any minute they would have all those fields around it closed off.
Great story, grandpa.
@@JetFire9 Retelling a story from 8 years ago makes this person your grandpa?
The Octagon House is worth a look too if you visit DC. It was used as the Presidential residence when the White House was burnt down in the war of 1812
Actually it's a 6 sided house. But is popularly known as the octagon. Also Colonel John Tayloe III house. Was shaped that way because of a diagonal street. President James Madison lived there for 6 months with his wife after the British burned the White House.
@@Michael_Brock I haven't had sufficient coffee for be able to read yet. On first pass, I thought you typed "after his wife and the British burned the White House"
I watched this whole thing trying to get a look inside lol.
There is tree inside
On a humid day in the early summer of 1967 while Privates in the Army and stationed at Fort Eustis, Virginia, not far from the city of Newport News, four Army friends and I on a weekend pass to Washington DC all challenged each other to run all the way up the stairs inside the monument without stopping. We were all young, physically fit since we were each right out of Army Basic Training, and kind of dumb back then as I think about it now, yet very enthusiastic about doing it, so we did. All five of us - everyone of us - ran from the ground floor, without stopping, all the way up inside the monument to the visitors observation deck on top. We were soaking wet with perspiration when we got to the top, but we were all excited that we’d all done it. We’d met the challenge. And no…, we didn’t run back down. We’d talked about it but that idea got scrapped. After enjoying the view from the top through the small windows, and after a long rest, we all took the elevator ride back down to the ground. And that’s the way it was.
Likely story! Ha!
Likely story! Ha!
Likely story! Ha!
Likely story! Ha!
Likely story! Ha!
Thanks for describing the interesting phases of monument construction, which reflects different stages of national history. Washington the man was truly a national treasure and founding father.
I cannot believe you forgot the special fund raising event in the 1800's that allowed people, for a price, to jump over the metal cap of the obelisk before the cap was installed at the top. I would presume that platforms were constructed on either side of that tip so the leap was minimal since in that time period aluminum was more scarce and precious than "unobtanium" is today and no damage to the tip could be tolerated. Thus, this donation allowed people to brag that they jumped over the Washington monument.
Your delivery of the story is excellent, well paced and enunciation and emphasis. Really like the fact that you narrate rather than an AI.
Just wish people that did videos like this knew how to pronounce words.
I was there years back when you could still use the steps to go up and down / we did just that, lots of steps. It took forever as we tried to real all the memorial stones. lol Thanks to Ryan for his time, work and posting
I did that as a kid. Was surprised at all the dust.
A Track Team buddy and I ran up the steps, two at a time, to the inside top. Sometime in '68-'69. We made it, non-stop but thought I was going to die! My legs were worse than jelly; guess who took the elevator down!
Sounds like fun, now kids would do the same thing using a VR system....... lol@@nortiusmaximus1789
When my parents took me to Washington. I was able to walk the stairs. It was great seeing all the blocks that were from all the different states.
19:10 I was driving Arkansas Route 7 (an excellent road to drive, or at least it was), and completely by coincidence I pulled into a small parking area to get a bottle water from the cooler. In the back of the parking area was a monument stating that the block of granite in the Washington Monument from Arkansas was taken from the hill behind the monument... I did a little research, and that's how I found out about the stones in the Washington Monument.
That's a great story! I really enjoy 'going down the rabbit hole' and finding links like that.
I have serious doubts that Abigail Adams was at the ceremonies in 1840 since she died in 1818.
In the late 80s I attended a function on the lawn of the Washington Monument. Lenny Kravitz, Whoopi Goldberg, Molly Yard and a few others were in attendance. After finding a perfect spot on the grass, I turned to view this beautiful structure. Starting from the bottom, I noticed that the stones were a different color almost midway and I have ALWAYS wondered why. 20+ years later, I finally received the answer. Great video. Thank you very much.
I got to do the guided tour inside the monument when I was in high school, back when they offered that. It was really cool to see the stones given by the different states to honor the legacy of Mr Washington and the founding of the country.
I remember going to the top of the Monument with my parents as a child. It's a pity Americans can't go there today. It's pretty amazing.
I can't tell you the number of times my cousins and I climbed to the top of the monument. From the 1950s, 1960s and even into the early 1970s we had lots of visitors and that was one of our go to places in DC to take the family tourists.
In the 70s my grandparents came to visit. We rode the elevator up and took the stairs down. There are a lot of steps!
I climbed the steps and rode the elevator while attending elementary school in Hyattsville, MD. I'd forgotten what the inside is like. We had the best field trips going to school in that area. I also lived in DC for about a year. I could see the Capitol from my window as we lived in a high rise on Mass Ave. When I first saw people climbing the walls and entering the Capitol on Jan 6 it felt like a personal afront to me. I just kept thinking "you don't do that, you just don't". None of that having to do with the Wash Monument just wondering if anyone else who may have grown up there felt the same way.
@@nicholastanton8404 I lived in Riverdale, went to Hyattsville Jr High for one year. We used to see who saw the most of the commorative stones, we'd jot them down and compare when we got back down.
On a more serious note: imagine how much better off we would be if we had no political parties and didn't get involved in foreign wars. For this he'll always be the greatest president America would be better off if we listened to this!
Exactly, he saw what happened to the Roman empire. The UK is a good recent example as well, they decided to fight everyone and have shrunk massively.
Wonderfully made video about our outstanding (literally) George Washington Monument in D.C. Thank you so much😊
One afternoon in the summer of 1967, when I was eleven, I walked up, rode down, walked up and walked down the monument. The unlimited energy of youth, and a more innocent time for access…
Aluminum was a rare element when the monument was built, as if we capped a monument with platinum today.
At the time it was placed, it was the largest single piece of aluminum on earth, more valuable than gold of the same size
@@NDC1115 I've always loved this detail about the monument. It was incredibly difficult to process aluminum from raw ore back then, and at the time this was considered the pinnacle (no pun intended) of metallurgy and science, well befitting the optimism of the growing industrial age. Today that metal is so ubiquitous that we give it no thought. I find it ironic that it caps a monument to one who fought for freedom, guided a new nation through its birth, and believed in its founding democratic principles enough to retire and not become yet another tyrant though there were people who would have made him king. Some of the current politicians could learn a thing or two from him.
This is one of my favorite of all your posts. Thank you God bless you and God bless America
You provided very good information, however your video title was misleading. There was very little information about the inside of the monument. I would really appreciate more photos of the inside construction and point area. Thank you.
When I was a little boy you could still go inside the Washington monument. It was awesome.
You still can go inside.
On a spontaneous late summer Sunday in August 1973, my Dad and stepmom took me to DC from Caroline County, VA. As a treat, having worked the summer, saving my earnings, they asked what I'd like to do for summer's end before heading back home to my Mom's in Portsmouth, VA. Anyway, that trip is on we I'll never forget, and still find hard to fathom in memory and belief. I ventured to the top of the Monument and was alone on the elevator except for the operator, and was by myself at the top viewing area. I was 15 years old. With the usual and customary throngs of people who regularly visit it, I still find it hard to believe, something I didn't give much thought at the time. Is that strange or weird or what? I feel special, even in privileged to have had such a spiritual experience, one that would be IMPOSSIBLE to do today, with all the security measures, and limitations of today's world. It's also something (one of those things) that is by now also impossible to research. Thanks to the gods!
I was there 2 days ago. It’s amazing experience to be there in the top. Highly recommended! BTW. Washington DC is a phenomenal city worth to spend some time on exploring all the beautiful places around.
So its open now? Last 2 times i was there it was under renovation
And so easy to get around to all the sites using the metro. I love it there.
Ryan, thank you so much for sharing both Washington's story and the story of this beloved monument of our most important founding father! I am thinking about the time I first heard this statement about Washington. It was that a decision he made saved The Revolution. At the time I heard that, I believed it; but I did not completely understand it. But when I think on it, or am reminded of it by people like you, I am filled with such gratitude towards, and admiration for him! How did George Washington save The Revolution? He refused to accept the role of king or dictator which we would have gladly given to him. When I think even more about it, he not only saved The Revolution. He saved our history. Because if he had accepted either role, our history would have been vastly different than what we know. We not only owe a debt of gratitude to George Washington but an even greater debt of gratitude to Our Heavenly Father who gave Washington to us.
Yes, it is! I was trying to get there 4 and 6 years ago, but it was not possible to get there. Finally I did it this time.
In 1964 I was in DC. I was just a kid. On a whim I walked to the top. From I understand that is no longer possible. When George III heard that Washington would resign his military commission & return to his farm the King refused to believe it. The King then called him the greatest man alive. Washington did own slaves. In his will he freed all of them except for those too old or too ill to take care for them. He did not free his wife’s slaves.
Walked the stairs to the top and the elevator down when I was in 8th grade. Loved seeing all the ingraved blocks on the inside and the history on them alone
Did the opposite, elevator up, stairs down. Fascinating.
I Love my Country Thanks for this
I can remember taking the stairs to the top and remembering how worn the marble was from all the people that had been up those stairs previously after it was built. Of course being from Arlington, Virginia, we referred to it as only the Monument. My favorites were always the bronze horse statues on Memorial Bridge.
Thank you Ryan this is a great history of Washington and the monument made to honor him.
Excellent video. Thanks. I have been to the monument a number of times but I was still surprised by the height.
This was a GREAT history lesson about our 1st President plus the history of the making of the Washington Monument, thanks for the lesson, Question are you going to make a series based on the monument, I HOPE SO THANKS AGAIN...
Outstanding job Ryan and team! Learned so much. 🇺🇸
When I was a kid.. I rode the elevator to the top and walked down the stairs.... saw the writing on the stairs and know just how tall the monument really is.
Your content was wonderful delivery spot on thank you for your Channel
Why didn't they reopen the original quarry to procure the same type of stone?
That's definitely a question many of us asked ourselves. I couldn't find it in 15 minutes but the NPS gov website has a report called "Washington Monument A History" that contains many details of potential interest.
What happened is that the quarry stayed in the business of selling stones while the construction of the monument was stopped. Eventually the quarry ran out, so it was extremely difficult to find anything that looked close. I personally like the look of the "newer" stone, but the difference tells a story that also should be remembered.
I visited in 2012 when it was shut down due to a earthquake that damaged the monument. I was still in awe of the size of the structure.
Great video. I have always loved the monument and learning more about its history is great. Thanks so much.
Washington was not born on 2-22-1732. That event happened on 2-11-1732 under the Julian calendar then used in Great Britain and its colonies. In 1752, the British switched to the more accurate Gregorian calendar, which had been in use in most Catholic countries since 1582. The deviation from the earlier Julian calendar was eliminated by taking 11 days out of September, moving Washington's birthdate to February 22, (New Style), retroactively.
I was there July 3rd '22. It's very impressive. Take a trip to Washington D.C. someday. I recommend it.
Our nation's capital is beautiful
Your shows are awesome and excellent
You should have a National audience of children and young people promoting Knowledge Through History like we had around children's programming in the seventies and eighties that would hopefully keep knowledge of interesting historical facts for the simple pleasure and fun of it. I know it puts a smile on my face to recall some facts I learned as a child and an even bigger smile to learn something new about the past. ☺
really enjoy these videos Ryan, thx
Outstanding video and presentation
I was in 1976 for the bicentennial. It was amazing.
Baltimore boy, here. I knew about the monument here, but I DIDN'T know there was another one in MD.
He foreseen the problem of forming political parties. You end up like today with a Uni-party that serves themselves and fights against the citizens instead of serving and fighting for them.
Very entertaining and fun to watch. Thanks for posting this.
I visited the monument in 1960, I was just out of high school and the line to the elevator was very long, so we decided to climb the stairs. It was a long haul but I was just 17 years old and in good physical condition so it wasn't too hard to get to the top. We rode the elevator down however, we had already seen enough of the stairs.
Really nicely done Presentation!
I have been up there several times; I enjoyed the panels on the walls. Did you know that Dennis the Menace comic books featured it? Ted Miles retired but still interested
"His humility, political awareness and upstanding moral character has set the precedent that every subsequent president tried to match" I know one of them that had no intentions to match that...
1972. Took me abt 5 min to ride to the top and about 2 hr to walk down. Lots of stones to read.
Thank you!
That view from the tidal basin in late March is even more beautiful in person. Thank you for covering this from a former Californian transplant to Virginia
In the early 63 or 64 I was in the army in Virginia a friend and I went to visit DC we went to the Monument and there was a line so we just walked up the stairs to the top. Looking at all the writings on the stones inside the stair case. We look around and took the elevator down. I moved to California in 1968 and got a job at the railroad. The van Mayers used was once owned by my friend in California he was a motorcycle racer and put a lot of Hard miles on that van. When we saw the van on the TV we were all yelling that's Ross's van and his kids said yea that's our old van. Strange on how things work out.
excellent, very enjoyable
There was also speculation that the Pope Pius IX Pope Stone may have been dumped into Washington City Canal that was built along the alignment of what is now Constitution Avenue.
I hoped that there would have been a section about the McMillan plan and the evolution of the grounds around the WM.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gets the job done.
The cap stone is the same as that of the dollar bill which is why photos and drawings show the moment before placement, where it "hovers". "Honor our endeavors" is from a poem to Zeus, or Ra as the Egyptians called him
Remember you titled this as what is inside the Washington moment. Yet you tell us little about the inside. So you fail at getting my support!
You may be thinking...aluminum cap ?! Why not gold or something right? At that point the aluminum was very rare and expensive...I'm not sure of the numbers but apparently it was enough to be favorable over gold! I Hope You Are Having A Great Day Or Night!
TY! Very good..
It’s almost like history is itching to repeat itself…
You are a good speaker!
Thanks again!!
Nice! It's sad I can't visit the monument since it's very far away from South-East Asia and America being well- america, but I've heard you can hear the monument hum music!
This channel is so great.
When I was a child I visited the Washington monument, when visitors were still permitted to take the stairs down only if they so wished. I remember seeing the many ornated stones that were mentioned in this video on the inside walls. I since heard that the stairs are completely closed to all visitors. Bummer if that is still true.
That was excellent.
Aluminum in 1885 was extremely difficult to make and cost more than gold. However, the next year, 1886, French engineer Paul Héroult and American engineer Charles Martin Hall discovered how to produce Aluminum cheaply. So, in one year Aluminum went from being the most expensive metal to the cheapest. Aluminum does have an advantage that it is very conductive, so it makes for a good component of a lightning rod.
Whatever you think of contemporary politics or politicians, they will not match up to Washington, the man was a role model.
I went to the top and back down using the interior stairs in 1970 .. before that was stopped.
The foundation had to be repaired because the dirt below had settled, causing the monument to lean. In order to avoid another leaning tower of pizza, some dirt was dug out with new large support stones being placed underneath the monument. From there, the new Massachusetts Marble could be brought in to finish the spire.
Tower of Pizza? 🤣
I was In dc many years ago when they were repairing it after the earthquake Sadly it doesn’t have a special tree in it
I learned a lot fr9m this video
Great video
When our family visited Washington in the early 60s, we, of course visited the Washington Monument. I was a lot younger then, and I climbed the stairs to the top ( my parents took the elevator ). I did stop to rest. I wasn't trying to prove anything. I think I took the elevator down, but at this point what difference does it make ?
1:56 Gary Coleman? "What'you talkin bout Wash?"
If Washington could see the country today, he'd be both proud and disappointed.
I do wonder what George Washington would think of Washington now.
Ryan thank you so much for this interesting and educational video. But I must comment on two of the things G.W, said in his remarks that our Democratic Republic was everlasting and that he warned about political parties. He would be spinning in his grave if he saw the damage that political parties have done to our country even to the point of a brush of Fascism in recent years which isn't over yet. He never envisioned that the presidency would amass the powers it has today. Our Democratic Republic is actually a very fragile form of government requiring heavily on the unified cooperation of all branches of government.
Interesting, thank you.
29:59 it says August 4, 198 on the Ryukyu Stone in the image shown but Commodore Perry is responsible for delivering it?
Incredibly informative piece...thank you again...Ryan has had one of his 'Moments' again...AÙDASHOUS?...tee-hee!...dgp/uk
I am surprised you did not start"When the earth was forming"
He must be rolling in his grave about what our government has become.
Great history lesson on George Washington and his wonderful monument 🇺🇸🫡
Also not to forget that the birthplace of the Republic of Texas , was in the town of Washington on the Brazos, Texas.
You mention Abigail Adams as assisting to build and contribute to the monument in 1833, she pasted 1818. You might be speaking about John Quincy Adams wife Louisa Adams who passed in 1852.
I took a trip to Washington D.C. unfortunately i didnt have time to really see it up close.
There were actually early efforts to diefy Washington. At least one painting and one sculpture still exist that demonstrate this.
DEIFY ?
@@The_DuMont_Network Yes, to elevate to the level of and treat someone as a god.
I live in the only state named in WASHINGTON'S honour, he is on our seal and he of course is one of very few humans i do not mind being on my home state seal/flag and state name
Obelisk as in “list”, not obelessk as in “west”! Also promenade as in “odd” not promenade as in lemonade! It’s like nails on a chalkboard!
So is " nu kyu lar ".
Why was aluminum chosen for the top point of the Washington Monument instead of gold? At one time, aluminum was a noble metal more precious than gold! When a new aluminum manufacturing process was developed that made aluminum very cheap indeed! Supply and demand in action.
The Hall Heroult process was patented two years after the Washington monument was capped - that dropped the price of Aluminium by five orders of magnitude overnight. Platinum would have been a better option on price and performance (but no-one will try to steal the aluminium cap now…).
The aluminum cap was the most expensive material at that time. More expensive than gold!
John Hanson served as the first president of the original United States government chartered by the Articles of Confederation in 1781, and twice before that played the key role at critical junctures in holding the thirteen states together in a unified nation.