At a height of 555 ft (169 m) the Washington Monument is difficult to miss. Due to the height restriction for buildings in Washington D.C., it is the cities tallest structure and can be seen from many places, even from suburban Maryland and Virginia. During my first stay in the area back in the 80s, access was easy, meaning one could go to the Monument without a pre-registration (most of the safety check vocabularies were not invented yet) and stand in line to get hauled to the top by the elevator. There were even parking spaces right in front, on the northern Constitution Avenue side. While it is great to have abolished this antiquated pro-auto service, the unfortunate security hype is a real drawback for a visit nowadays. But then again, I guess planning ahead with a internet registration and a security screening is the new normal. Better this way than to have some knucklehead wreak havoc at such a prominent site.

The Washington Monument over time and from different perspectives. My earliest pictures are from 1984.

View from the Monument 1985: To the right of the Smithsonian Castle is the construction site of the future Quadrangle

Complex, housing the underground Sackler Gallery, African Arts Museum and the Haupt Victorian Garden.

Behind the Air and Space Museum the empty space for the future American Indian Museum.

Parking space with ticket master 1985. Washington´s sneaky way of

collecting fees has a long tradition.

Winter view from the Lincoln Memorial across the reflecting pool 1985.

We used to play hockey here.

Same view in a summer night 1986

The grave of Pierre L´Enfant in Arlington overlooking Washington.

His grand plans of the city were of course without the Monument.

Would he have liked it?

View from the Jefferson Memorial

Construction time was 13 years but it took 36 years to build. How can this be? There was an involuntary hiatus of 23 years, due to the lack of funding and the standstill during the civil war. The time gap can still be seen in the different shade of the marble at about 150 ft  (46 m). After it was finally completed in 1884, it succeeded the Cathedral of Cologne as the worlds tallest structure. 

From Old Post Office Tower. Pentagon in background to the left.

With the National Christmas Tree. View from the White House.

From the Library of Congress

Classic view of Washington from Arlington. From left to right: Lincoln Memorial,

Washington Monument, Capitol, Smithsonian Castle, Library of Congress.

Another great view: From Georgetown with the Watergate Complex to the left and the Kennedy Center to the right.

From across the Tidal Basin

More great views of the Washington Monument