Keim's illustrated hand-bookWashington and its environs: a descriptive and historical hand-book of the capital of the United States of America . iskstands, embraces an area of 78 a., 22,678 sq. ft. On the W. arethe U. S. Fish Ponds, S. the Government Propagating Jardens,S. E. the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and E. the Groundsof the Department of Agriculture. The drive from the PresidentsGrounds winds along the W. and S. portion of the park. The Site.—The selection of this site was due to its naturaladvantages and historical associations. It commands a view ofthe Potomac and of Mt. Vernon
Keim's illustrated hand-bookWashington and its environs: a descriptive and historical hand-book of the capital of the United States of America . iskstands, embraces an area of 78 a., 22,678 sq. ft. On the W. arethe U. S. Fish Ponds, S. the Government Propagating Jardens,S. E. the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and E. the Groundsof the Department of Agriculture. The drive from the PresidentsGrounds winds along the W. and S. portion of the park. The Site.—The selection of this site was due to its naturaladvantages and historical associations. It commands a view ofthe Potomac and of Mt. Vernon, the home and tomb of Washing-ton, in the distance. It is also free from danger of dwarfing bythe contiguity of other constructions. Washington himselfselected this very spot for a Monument to the American Revo-Intion, which in 1795 it was proposed to erect at spot is also marked on the original plan of the city as the siteof the equestrian figure of George Washington, voted in 1783, bythe Continental Congress. This plan was approved by Washing-ton when President. The site may, therefore, be said to have hadhis THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT. (OBELISK) 194 THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT. The Shaft.—The Obelisk, from the zero mark, is SSS4j4 high,or from the foundation bed. 5922. It is the loftiest constructionof human hmds on the face of the Globe. From the top of itsown base it is 20^4 higher than the projected tower of the newCity Hall, of Philadelphia, Pa : 30$ higher than the spires ofthe great Cathedral at Cologne, Germany, and 24710 higher thanthe Statue of Freedom on the Dome of the Capitol. The dase is SS^/^ sq-» and the walls 15X thick. The wellis 25! >^ sq. to the height of 150, where it enlarges to 31$}^.The exterior facing-stones of the old portion consists of whitemarble, from Texas Station, Md., with beds 14 to 18 wide,with a butter of ^^f to i on the outside, laid in courses 2 risewith alternate headers and stretchers throughout the mass, and
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookpublisherwashi, bookyear1887
