Skip to Main Content
Photographing Washington, D.C.: Digital Field Guide
book

Photographing Washington, D.C.: Digital Field Guide

by John Healey
March 2010
Intermediate to advanced content levelIntermediate to advanced
318 pages
6h 29m
English
Wiley
Content preview from Photographing Washington, D.C.: Digital Field Guide

Chapter 27. The Washington Monument

The Washington Monument

The Washington Monument from the northeast side of the Tidal Basin with the National Park Service's tulip library in the foreground (annuals are planted in place of the tulips after their season passes). Takenat ISO 400, f/20, 1/60 second.

Why It's Worth a Photograph

At just over 555 feet high, the Washington Monument was built to commemorate George Washington, the first president of the United States. This monument is the tallest structure in Washington, D.C., and for a short time the world's tallest structure until the Eiffel Tower was completed in Paris, France in 1889.

When the engineers began work after a hiatus due to the American Civil War, they were faced with a dilemma: There was no more marble that matched the marble used to build the first 150-odd feet some 20 years prior. They contracted with a company to provide similar marble from Sheffield, Massachusetts, but they immediately ran into quality and delivery problems. Eventually, the monument was finished with marble from nearby Cockeysville, Maryland. Today, you can see the three different colors of the marble used in the monument: the first area of marble from the original construction, four rows of the Sheffield, Massachusetts, marble, and the rest from Cockeysville.

The best locations from which to photograph the Washington Monument: (A) the west end of the Lincoln Reflecting Pool, (B) the inner circle of the Washington Monument, (C) the park area just west of the monument, and (D) the Lincoln Memorial. Nearby photo ops: (3) Ford's Theatre, (4) Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, (6) Korean War Veterans Memorial, (7) Lincoln Memorial, (10) National Archives, (11) National Mall, (12) National World War II Memorial, (14) Old Post Office, (16) Smithsonian Institution Castle, (18) Thomas Jefferson Memorial, (26) Vietnam Veterans National Memorial, (28) White House and President's Park.

Figure 27.1. The best ...

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.
Start your free trial

You might also like

Photographing New York City: Digital Field Guide

Photographing New York City: Digital Field Guide

Jeremy Pollack, Andy Williams
The iPad Project Book: Stuff you can do with your iPad

The iPad Project Book: Stuff you can do with your iPad

Michael E. Cohen, Dennis R. Cohen, Lisa L. Spangenberg

Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9780470586877Purchase book