Existing comment:
Remarkable Monument, Remarkable Restoration:
1815
Baltimore's Washington Monument is the nation's first memorial to President George Washington. As the contents of its cornerstone reveal, it is also a monument to American independence. An account published in the Baltimore American on July 6, 1815 notes the monument was a memorial "in honor of the illustrious Defender of American Independence."
Designed by American architect Robert Mills, the monument has long been the centerpiece of one [of] the most beautifully designed spaces in the United States -- Mount Vernon Place. Baltimorean Robert Gilmor Jr., President of the Monument's Board of Managers, shepherded a three-decade long campaign to fund the construction. By 1843, the total cost reached $203,764.08. The Board of Managers' papers provided valuable guidance for the restoration, including documentation that the wood doors were originally "bronze" finished and that the cast iron railing was originally painted "bronze green." Original documents from that collection are exhibited outside of the H. Furlong Baldwin Library on the second floor of the museum. |