Why are there 2 different colors of white stone on Washington's Monument?

Answer 1

When building of the Monument stopped in 1854, they didn't resume until around the early 1870's. When they resumed, they couldn't use the same quarry of rock, because it had long gone to build bunkers for the war effort. when they resumed with enough fundings to continue building, they had to use a slighty differently colored rock to finish the building process. the monument opened to the public in 1878

Answer 2

The color changed on the Washington Monument because it was built during two different periods with two different type of stones. One third of the building was built when Congress had to stop for the reason that political and financial issues were occurring. This took place in 1854. Twenty years later, the construction continued, however, congress was not able to get the same type of marble causing a slight change in color. I was just reaserching this for my teacher. Our report is due on Friday because we are going to Washington D.C. in June. Hope this was helpful!

Answer 3

Differently-quarried marble accounts for the color change which is perceptible at 150 feet on the Washington Monument. Most of the marble came from Maryland while some was quarried in Massachusetts.

Answer 4

Our family just visited the Washington DC area two weeks ago. We took a guided tour of the area's monuments. Our guide told us that the reason the Washington monument is two colors is that due to political debates and lack of funding, the monument was built in fits and starts. When the monument reached the height of about 150 feet, there was yet another slow-down. By the time there was political will and funds again, the stone used in the monument wasn't available anymore, so they had to switch to a different quarry to mine the stone, which resulted in a visible difference in the monument's color.