There have been many signs in recent years of Washington’s diminished stature.
Congress’ approval rating has steadily declined and is now at a near rock bottom 16 percent, Gallup reports. The IRS and Secret Service have been wracked by scandal and controversy, further undermining public confidence.
After Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) vowed there would never be another government shutdown under his watch, lawmakers of both parties are locked in a controversy over President Obama’s immigration executive orders that could lead to a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.
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Now, in possibly the ultimate sign of the capital’s diminished stature, we learn that the iconic Washington Monument – the historic obelisk honoring the nation’s first president – is nearly 10 inches shorter than the public had been led to believe for the past 130 years.
The NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey used the Presidents’ Day holiday today to announce that it has revised downward the official height of the monument – from 555 feet, 5 and 1/18th inches stated since the monument was completed in 1884, to 554 feet, 7 and 11/32 inches.
Government surveyors made the startling finding while the monument on the capital’s National Mall honoring President George Washington was wrapped in scaffolding for restoration work following a 2011 earthquake that put serious cracks in the historic edifice.
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In making the announcement, officials hastened to add the monument hadn’t shrunk in all these years. Rather, surveyors used a different starting point for measuring the height.
Dru Smith, chief geodesist with the National Geodetic Survey, told the Associated Press that while the original measurement was remarkably accurate considering it was made with far less sophisticated equipment, the new, diminished measurement was taken from the lowest open-air pedestrian entrance.
The original measurement was done in 1884 and was thought to have used four brass markers as a base for measurement. Those markers are still in place nine inches below ground off each corner of the monument.
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Smith said it’s possible the markers were at ground level in the past, according to AP’s report. A new plaza was built around the monument recently, and it’s clear that what was at ground level has changed over time, Smith said.
The National Geodetic Survey measurement was made using measuring certification standards of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitats and was finalized last December. The NGS results were reported to the National Park Service today.
“Although the newly established architectural height differs from the historical height of 555 feet 5⅛ inches, neither the starting point nor the so-called ‘standard deviation’ used for the original 1884 measurement is known, making comparison of the two measurements difficult,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said in a statement today.
“The new architectural height provides baseline documentation that can be easily reproduced for comparison with future measurements and investigations to determine if the height of the monument is changing in any way.”
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