December 6, 1884.<br />The Washington Monument stood as the tallest man-made structure in the world at the time.<br />A monument to honor the nation's first president, George Washington, had been a focus of Congress since 1783.<br />The Washington Monument Society began raising funds for the structure in 1832.<br />Though fundraising efforts had fallen well short of the the $1 million budget, construction of Robert Mills' design began on July 4, 1848.<br />Construction was halted in the mid- 1850s and did not begin again until 1876.<br />Once completed, the 555-foot-tallmonument utilized more than 35,000 marble and granite bricks.<br />Today, 800,000 people visit the monument yearly.
