Denali ranger to lead inspection of Washington Monument

The Washington Monument will continue to be off-limits to visitors in the wake of last month's damaging earthquake, officials said Monday. But there's still plenty to see.

Beginning at 8 a.m. today, mountain climbers will simultaneously rappel down each of the monument's four sides to examine the extent of the damage suffered by the landmark. That's the only way authorities can get a detailed look at the exterior of the monument, which stands just over 555 feet tall.

"The good news is that it is structurally sound," Bob Vogel, superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks, said at a news conference Monday. "The original architects knew what they were doing."

A Denali National Park ranger will lead the mountain climbers' slow and careful "expedition" down the sides of the monument.

The monument's elevator system was damaged in the magnitude-5.8 earthquake that rocked much of the East Coast on Aug. 23. Several of its exterior tiles also cracked. All damage seems to be in the top 100 feet of the monument.

Jennifer Talken-Spaulding, a National Park Service ranger, recalled touring the damaged areas shortly after the earthquake.

"When I walked up and saw daylight coming through the cracks at the top, it just broke my heart," she said during the news conference.

Since the earthquake, rangers have been using a foam-like filler and caulk to try to minimize water seeping in through cracks in the monument's mortar that are up to a quarter-inch wide.

It is a 4 sided cap.

While the primary functional purpose of the aluminum apex was to serve as a lightning rod for the structure, it was relegated to a subsidiary role within a few short months. When completed in 1884, the monument was the tallest man made structure in the world at 169.1 m; even today it remains the tallest free-standing masonry structure in the world. Aluminum was chosen for the application because of its conductivity, color, and non-staining qualities. In essence, the aluminum point became a victim of the design application and the lack of data and experience concerning lightning strikes on tall structures.

The overall lightning protection system had seemed quite adequate when designed in 1880. It consists of four hollow wrought-iron columns that stand in the well of the shaft. These act as supports for the elevator machinery and serve as a guide to the car. These columns are 15 cm in exterior diameter and slightly more than 1 cm thickness. The columns rest upon cast-iron shoes that are set in the large drum pit below the monument floor. The cast-iron shoes are connected to soft copper rods that, in turn, lead to the bottom of a water well below the masonry foundation. No disruptive discharge of electricity was experienced between 1880 and 1884.

During the 1934 refurbishment of the monument's exterior, it was noted that lightning strikes had blunted the tip of the aluminum apex and some globules of aluminum had fused to the sides. Some deterioration from strikes was also noted on the original gold-plated copper points inserted vertically into the copper band affixed to the base point perimeter of the apex in 1885. It was decided to replace this band and points with eight larger copper rods, which extended in a slightly different configuration 15.2 cm above the aluminum apex itself (Figure 4). Essentially, only refurbishment rather than redesign of the lightning protector system was done in 1934, even though extensive design experience had been gained in this field during the preceding 50 years with the building of massive, taller, city skyscrapers.

That inscribed place probably says something like “Kilroy was here” or “Eat At Joes” or even
“I fought in the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 and all I got was this lousy inscribed plate.” iLOL!

According to the Wiki there are four inscriptions on the pyramid at the top.

North Face -
Joint Commission at
Setting of Capstone

Chester A. Arthur
W. W. Corcoran, Chairman
M. E. Bell
Edward Clark
John Newton

Act of August 2, 1876

West Face -
Corner Stone Laid on Bed of Foundation
July 4, 1848

First Stone at Height of 152 feet laid
August 7, 1880

Capstone set December 6, 1884

South Face -
Chief Engineer and Architect,
Thos. Lincoln Casey,
Colonel, Corps of Engineers

Assistants:
George W. Davis,
Captain, 14th Infantry
Bernard R. Green,
Civil Engineer

Master Mechanic
P. H. McLaughlin

East Face -
Laus Deo (translation: Praise be to God)

There is also an interior inscription in Welsh at the 240 foot level which says the following.

“Fy iaith, fy ngwlad, fy nghenedl Cymru — Cymru am byth” (My language, my land, my nation of Wales — Wales for ever). The reason for this inscription and its author are unknown.

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