Here’s What the Tip of the Washington Monument Looks Like Up Close

The 129 - year - one-time Washington Monument isenshrouded in scaffoldingthis month , as doer repair the morphologic cracks due to a 2011 earthquake . But the scaffolds are giving scientist the probability to carry out other work , too : Like measuring the precise height of the aging memorial .

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Back when it opened in 1884 , the Washington Monument stood exactly 555 feet , 5 and 1/8th inches . Today , scientists are taste to figure out whether it ’s sinking . The means in charge of the undertaking is the National Geodetic Survey , whose employee make out with locating and map America . allot toNPR , along with more conventional GPS and laser scanning devices the GDS is installing a peculiar sensor installed at the tip of the monument to complete a full survey .

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We get in ghost with the GDS to get hold out more — and we were able to get our hands on the following remarkable exposure of the undertaking . For good example , here ’s a shot of one of the first Geodetic Surveys placing a transit on the tip of the memorial , on November 19 , 1934 :

Today , the GDS uses a more advanced arranger that include a GPS beacon and other sensing element . Here ’s its fashion designer , Don Breidenbach , making a final adaption to its emplacement at the pyramidion :

Here ’s the adapter being work up in the GDS shop :

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Here ’s the pyramidion itself . consort to the GDS , the original inscription are on all four side of the piece , “ though a circle of them have been obliterated by a long - standing neckband which was part of an quondam lightning auspices organisation . ”

Taking mensuration of the pyramidion :

Here ’s the Meridian Stone , installed in 1890 , which serve as a “ ascendance mark ” for all resume in business district D.C. :

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In this photo , GDS workers set up their leveling rod on the Meridian Stone to get a baseline sketch of the repository :

GDS work party members Steve Breidenbach , David Grosh , Courtney Lindo and Clyde Dean “ talk about their initial measurements of angles and distances to the top of the Washington Monument : ”

Pretty cool , right ? We wo n’t know for a while whether the Monument is in reality sinking — according toNPR , GDS will need to analyze the data they collected before make an announcement — but at the very least , the projection has give us an amazingly cool perspective on a piece of architecture we normally only see from afar .

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