The Washington Monument is an obelisk shaped building within the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army (1775ââ¬â1784) in the American Revolutionary War and the first President of the United States (1789ââ¬â1797). Located almost due east of the Reflecting Pool and the Lincoln Memorial,[2] the monument, made of marble, granite, and bluestone gneiss,[3] is both the world's tallest predominantly stone structure and the world's tallest obelisk,[A] standing 554 feet 7+11âÂâ32 inches (169.046 m) tall according to the U.S. National Geodetic Survey (measured 2013ââ¬â14) or 555 feet 5+1âÂâ8 inches (169.294 m) tall, according to the National Park Service (measured 1884).[B] It is the tallest monumental column in the world if all are measured above their pedestrian entrances.[A] It was the tallest structure in the world between 1884 and 1889, after which it was overtaken by the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Previously, the tallest structure was the Cologne Cathedral.
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