Conceived soon after the American Revolution ended, the great monument to George Washington was not finally completed until almost a century later; the great obelisk was finished in 1884, and remains the tallest stone structure in the world at 555 feet.
The story behind its construction is a largely untold and intriguing piece of American history, which acclaimed historian John Steele Gordon relates in his book, Washington's Monument And the Fascinating History of the Obelisk.