Wikipedia:POTD column/December 24, 2006

The Washington Monument at dusk. The monument is a large white-colored obelisk at the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C.. It is a United States Presidential Memorial constructed for George Washington, the first President of the United States, and is made of marble, granite, and sandstone. Construction began in 1848 but did not complete until 1884, due to lack of funds and the intervention of the American Civil War. Upon completion, it became the world's tallest structure at 558 ft (169 m), a title it inherited from the Cologne Cathedral and held until 1889, when the Eiffel Tower was finished.