The Washington Monument re-opens to the public on May 12, 2014, after being closed for nearly three years to repair earthquake damage.
The National Park Service and the Trust for the National Mall will host a re-opening ceremony at 10 a.m. that morning, and the iconic landmark re-opens for tours at 1 p.m. Opening day tickets will be available on a first come-first served basis starting at 8:30 a.m. at the Washington Monument Lodge, 15th Street, between Madison and Jefferson Drives.
Tickets for tours on May 13 and all future dates can be booked on the NPS reservation website. Visiting hours are 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. until the end of summer.
The repair cost $15 million, half of which was donated by philanthropist David Rubin via the Trust for the National Mall, matching the public funds allocated by Congress.
The Washington Monument has been closed since August 23, 2011, due to damage received in a 5.8 magnitude earthquake. It is now in the final stages of the restoration, which included repairs to more than 150 cracks in the structure.
Do you remember where you were when the unusual earthquake struck the Northeast? I was at CitiField stadium in Queens, and I swear I saw the escalators move.
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