The Monument That Had to Start Over Underground

In 1848, workers broke ground on the Washington Monument in the nation's capital. The marble obelisk rose steadily to 156 feet before political turmoil and the Civil War halted construction. For over two decades, the unfinished shaft stood as a national embarrassment — a broken promise jutting into the sky. When the Army Corps of Engineers returned in 1876 to finish the job, they discovered a problem far more serious than the gap in the marble.…