A bit of a stutter is part of the monument's history. The 555-foot-tall obelisk, a tribute to George Washington's military might, was dedicated on February 21, 1885. But it didn't officially open until nearly four years later. Construction, which began in 1848, took 36 years and was interrupted by a lack of funds in 1854—when the monument was just over 150 feet tall—and didn't resume until 1876. By that time the same marble was no longer available, so there's a color change memorializing the delay. The monument's architect, Robert Mills, died 30 years before his vision was complete.

When the Washington Monument finally opened its elevator doors, tourists swarmed to what was then the tallest structure in the world. (The designation