_Washington’s Monument._--Next in height to the Eiffel Tower, and being, in fact, the tallest masonry structure in the world, this noble obelisk, by its simplicity, boldness and solidity, challenges the admiration of every visitor, and gratifies the pride of every patriot. It is seen in Fig. 239, and is 555 feet 5½ inches high, 55 feet square at the base, and 34 feet square at the top. The walls are 15 feet thick at the base, and 18 inches at the top, and its summit is reached by an internal winding staircase and a central elevator. At the height of 504 feet the walls are pierced with port holes, from which a magnificent view is had of the capital city and surrounding country. The summit is crowned with a cap of aluminum, inscribed _Laus Deo_. The foundation of rock and cement is 36 feet deep and 126 feet square, and the total cost of the monument was $1,300,000. The corner stone was laid in 1848. In 1855 the work was discontinued at the height of 152 feet, from lack of funds. In 1878 it was resumed by appropriation from Congress, and completed and dedicated in 1885, under the direction of Col. Thomas L. Casey, of the United States Corps of Engineers. _The Capitol Building._--Representing the heart of the great American Republic, and overlooking its Capital City, this grand building, shown in Fig. 240, is a poem in architecture. Massive, symmetrical and harmonious, its highest point reaches 307½ feet above the plaza on the east. It is 751 feet 4 inches long, 350 feet wide, and the walls of the building proper cover 3½ acres. Crowning the center of the building is the imposing dome of iron, surmounted by a lantern, and above this is the bronze statue of Freedom, 19 feet 6 inches high, and weighing 14,985 pounds, the latter being set in place December 2, 1863. The dome is 135 feet 5 inches in diameter at the base, and the open space of the rotunda within is 96 feet in diameter and 180 feet high. The corner stone of the original building was laid in 1793 by Washington. The first session of Congress held there was in 1800, while the building was still incomplete. The original building was finished in 1811. In 1814 it was partly burned by the British. In 1815 reconstruction was begun, and completed in 1827. In 1850 Congress passed an act authorizing the extension of the Capitol, which resulted in the building of the north and south wings, containing the present Senate Chamber and Hall of the House of Representatives. The corner stones of the extension were laid by President Fillmore in 1851, Daniel Webster being the orator of the occasion, and the wings were finished in 1867. Since this time handsome additions in the shape of marble terraces on the west front have added greatly to the beauty and apparent size of the building. [Illustration: FIG. 240.--THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL. LENGTH, 751⅓ FEET; WIDTH, 350 FEET; HEIGHT, 307½ FEET; BUILDING COVERS 3½ ACRES.]