National Mall Story Walk

Welcome to the National Mall! We're starting at the Washington Monument, the 555-foot obelisk honoring George Washington, the country's first president. When it was finished, it was the tallest structure in the world, and it held that title from 1884 until 1889, when the Eiffel Tower in Paris overtook it. Getting here took a long time.

Construction started in 1848, then stalled from 1854 to 1877 because of money troubles, a fight over who controlled the monument society, and the Civil War. That long pause left a mark: the outside is faced with three different kinds of white marble, because the work kept stopping and starting. The original design by architect Robert Mills included a grand colonnade around the base, but there wasn't money for it, so the builders went with the bare obelisk you see today. It was dedicated in February 1885 and opened to the public in October 1888.

This is the National World War II Memorial, honoring the Americans who served in the armed forces and as civilians during the war. It opened in April 2004, replacing the old Rainbow Pool at the east end of the Reflecting Pool, and it was dedicated that May. Walk around the oval. The 56 granite pillars, each 17 feet tall and hung with bronze wreaths, stand for the states and territories of the time, including the 48 states of 1945, the District of Columbia, and territories such as Alaska, Hawaii, the Philippines and Puerto Rico.

Look for the two tall arches on opposite sides, one for the Atlantic and one for the Pacific. On the west side is a wall covered in gold stars, representing the Americans who died in the war, with its own reflecting pool in front. The initial design came from the Austrian-American architect Friedrich St. Florian.

Take a moment here before we continue west.