D.C. and the North Star

The federal city was planned as a city of lines. In 1791, Pierre Charles L’Enfant ⟦EA, Holland Lodge No. 8⟧ laid out broad avenues, open spaces, and civic axes. One of the most important imagined points was the crossing of two lines: one running south from the President’s House, and the other running west from the Capitol. That point was intended as the place for a national monument to George Washington.

But the monument was not built exactly there.

As construction approached in 1848, the ground at that symbolic center proved too wet and unstable to carry the weight of the structure. Builders shifted the site about 100 yards southeast to firmer ground. The move was practical, but it changed the geometry of the Mall.

Robert Mills ⟦Lodge Unknown⟧, the architect selected for the monument, had proposed a grander design than the obelisk we see today. His plan included an Egyptian-style shaft surrounded by a circular colonnade. Funding, politics, and engineering reduced that design to the plain monument that now rises over the capital. Its cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1848. The work stopped for decades, then resumed under federal direction. The capstone was set in 1884, and the monument was dedicated in 1885.

The hidden alignment was established once the capstone was placed and the obleisk's height was finalized.

Begin around 180 yards due south of the Washington Monument and walk east until you reach a 4x8 foot concrete pad that's parallel with the monument’s north-south approach.

Stand facing north, placing the Washington Monument directly in front of you. The White House will sit beyond it, farther north along the same general line.

From this fixed, concrete point south of the Washington Monument and looking north, the monument aligns toward the White House.  While this alignment exists throughout the day, it is easiest to view at night.  From the correct position, the top of the obelisk visually meets Polaris, the North Star.

The common explanation for the Monument’s location is the original ground was too wet, so the builders moved to firmer land. While that answer is true, it may not carry the whole meaning. 

The move created a deeper geometry that has gone unnoticed for the last 175 years.  The Washington Monument's location is not a offset to its intent, it's set precisely where it needs to be placed.

If you have any supporting or conflicting information regarding the alignment of the Washington Monument, then please Contact Us!