Editing Washington Monument (section)

===Design===
[[File:Washington National Monument Society 1845.jpg|thumb|Donation receipt of the Washington National Monument Society]]
Progress toward a memorial finally began in 1833. That year a group of citizens formed the Washington National Monument Society.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=John |last=Lockwood |date=Spring 2016 |url=https://www.archives.gov/files/publications/prologue/2016/spring/monument.pdf |title=The Men—and the Women—Who Built the Washington Monument |magazine=[[Prologue (magazine)|Prologue]] |publisher=National Archives |access-date=February 26, 2025}}</ref> Three years later, in 1836, after they had raised $28,000 in donations ({{Inflation|US-GDP|28000|1835|r=-6|fmt=eq}}), they announced a competition for the design of the memorial.<ref name=Olszewski>{{cite web
|last=Olszewski |first=George J.
|title=A History of the Washington Monument, 1844–1968, Washington, D.C.
|location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=National Park Service |year=1971
|url=http://npshistory.com/publications/wamo/history/index.htm
}}</ref>{{rp|chp 1}}

On September 23, 1835, the board of managers of the society described their expectations:<ref name="nps3">{{cite web | url = http://www.nps.gov/NR/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/62wash/62facts4.htm | title = The Washington Monument: Tribute in Stone, Reading 3 | publisher = National Park Service | access-date =August 12, 2011}}</ref>
{{blockquote|It is proposed that the contemplated monument shall be like him in whose honor it is to be constructed, unparalleled in the world, and commensurate with the gratitude, liberality, and patriotism of the people by whom it is to be erected&nbsp;... [It] should blend stupendousness with elegance, and be of such magnitude and beauty as to be an object of pride to the American people, and of admiration to all who see it. Its material is intended to be wholly American, and to be of marble and granite brought from each state, that each state may participate in the glory of contributing material as well as in funds to its construction.}}

The society held a competition for designs in 1836. In 1845, the winner was announced to be architect [[Robert Mills (architect)|Robert Mills]], supposedly the first native-born American to be professionally trained as an architect.<ref name=HSR/>{{rp|2{{hyphen}}2}} The citizens of [[Baltimore]] had chosen him in 1814 to build one of the [[Washington Monument (Baltimore)|first monuments to George Washington]] originally planned for the former courthouse square in their port city, and he had designed a tall elaborately decorated [[Classical orders|Greek column]] with balconies, surmounted by a statue of the President. Mills' Baltimore monument, with cornerstone laid and construction begun in 1815, was later simplified to a plain column shaft with a statue of a toga-clad Washington at the top when it was completed in 1829 but moved (because of its height) to the then [[Mount Vernon, Baltimore|rural hills to the north]], where the city's growth would later extend. Mills also knew the capital well, with its being only {{convert|40|mi|km|abbr=off|round=5|sp=us}} southwest of Baltimore, and his having just been chosen Architect of Public Buildings for Washington. His design called for a circular colonnaded building {{convert|250|ft|m}} in diameter and {{convert|100|ft|m}} high from which sprang a four-sided obelisk {{convert|500|ft|m}} high, for a total elevation of {{convert|600|ft|m}}. A massive cylindrical pillar {{convert|70|ft|m}} in diameter supported the obelisk at the center of the building. The obelisk was to be {{convert|70|ft|m}} square{{efn-ua | name=Obelisk1836 | The base of the obelisk atop the circular pillar was to have been "70 feet square" ({{convert|70|ft|m|disp=out}} square) according to the House report of 1872<ref name=House1872/>{{rp|8}} and Torres (1984),<ref name=Torres/>{{rp|13}} but only "50 feet square" ({{convert|50|ft|m|disp=out}} square) according to Harvey (1903).<ref name=Harvey/>{{rp|27}} The corners of a {{convert|70|foot|m}} square base ({{convert|99|foot|m}} diagonal) would dangerously overhang a {{convert|70|foot|m}} diameter pillar, whereas a {{convert|50|foot|m}} square base ({{convert|71|foot|m}} diagonal) would not. <!-- end of efn-ua --> }} at the base and {{convert|40|ft|m}} square at the top with a slightly peaked roof. Both the obelisk and pillar were hollow within which a railway spiraled up. The obelisk had no doorway—instead its interior was entered from the interior of the pillar upon which it was mounted. The pillar had an "arched way" at its base. The top of the portico of the building would feature Washington standing in a chariot holding the reins of six horses. Inside the colonnade would be statues of 30 prominent [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] heroes as well as statues of the 56 signers of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]].<ref name=House1872>[http://www.infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/Digital/?p_product=SERIAL&p_theme=sset2&p_nbid=O5FV50BLMTQ5MjYyMDcxOC4zOTU0MjoxOjE0OjEzMi4xNzAuMjcuMjU1&p_action=doc&p_docnum=752&p_queryname=9&p_docref=v2:0FD2A62D41CEB699@SERIAL-10B351852A1112D0@-@0 Washington National Monument, April 19, 1872]{{cbignore}}, U.S. Congressional Serial Set, Vol. 1528, 42d Congress, 2d Session, House Report 48. Available for free in most large United States libraries in government documents or online. Establish a connection to [http://www.Readex.com/log-through-your-library ''Readex'' collections] before clicking on link.</ref>{{rp|6–8}}<ref name=Torres/>{{rp|13}}<ref name=Harvey/>{{rp|26–28}}

Criticism of Mills's design came up already in 1847, when architect Henry Robinson Searle from Rochester presented an alternative concept, backed by three objections against Mill's project.:<ref>Henry R. Searle: [https://archive.org/details/washingtonmonume00sear/page/n3/mode/2up ''Washington Monument - Monograph.''], Gibson Brothers Washington, D.C. 1847, page 3, in: [[Internet Archives]], retrieved February 11, 2024.</ref> 
{{blockquote|First, would the foundation sustain the weight of the required height, and especially with the increased localized pressure in a storm of wind; second, the mere obelisk appeared only as an enlarged plagiarism, in no way illustrating the memory of Washington personally, or those connected with him, or the history of this growing country; third, there is nothing whatever aesthetic about it, and nothing that would impress the visitor, whether native or foreign, with the grandeur of the work of Washington and his coadjutors in founding this nation.}}

Morerover the estimated price tag of more than $1&nbsp;million (in 1848 money, {{Inflation|US-GDP|1000000|1848|r=-7|fmt=eq}}) caused the society to hesitate. On April 11, 1848, the society decided, due to a lack of funds, to build only a simple plain obelisk. Mills's 1848 obelisk was to be {{convert|500|ft|m}} tall, {{convert|55|ft|m}} square at the base and {{convert|35|ft|m}} square at the top. It had two massive doorways, each {{convert|15|ft|m}} high and {{convert|6|ft|m}} wide, on the east and west sides of its base.<ref name=Torres/>{{rp|15, 21}} Surrounding each doorway were raised jambs, a heavy pediment, and entablature within which was carved an Egyptian-style [[winged sun]] and asps.<ref>Richard G. Carrott, ''The Egyptian Revival'', 1978, plate 33</ref><ref name=Torres>Louis Torres, [https://www.publications.usace.army.mil/Portals/76/Publications/EngineerPamphlets/EP_870-1-21.pdf ''"To the immortal name and memory of George Washington": The United States Army Corps of Engineers and the Construction of the Washington Monument''] , (Washington, D.C.: US Government Printing Office, 1984).</ref>{{rp|23}}<ref name=Harvey/>{{rp|353+}} This original design conformed to a massive temple which was to have surrounded the base of the obelisk, but because it was never built, the architect of the second phase of construction [[Thomas Lincoln Casey Sr.|Thomas Lincoln Casey]] smoothed down the projecting jambs, pediment and entablature in 1885, walled up the west entrance with marble forming an alcove, and reduced the east entrance to {{convert|8|ft|m}} high.<ref name=Casey1885/><ref name=Torres/>{{rp|90{{ndash}}91}} The western alcove has contained a [[:c:File:Bronze statue of Washington - Washington Monument, High ground West of Fifteenth Street, Northwest, between Independence and Constitution Avenues, Washington, District of Columbia, HABS DC,WASH,2-85.tif|bronze statue of Washington]] since 1992. Also, in 1992 and 1993 a [[:c:File:Detail of elevator door surround - Washington Monument, High ground West of Fifteenth Street, Northwest, between Independence and Constitution Avenues, Washington, District of HABS DC,WASH,2-80.tif|limestone surround]] was installed at the east elevator entrance decorated with a winged sun and asps to mimic Mills's 1848 design.