The Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument as the world’s tallest structure in 1889.
The Washington Monument is a large Egyptian-style obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Construction began in 1848, stopped for more than two decades because of funding and political difficulties, and resumed in 1877. The completed monument was dedicated in 1885 and opened to the public in 1888.
At about 555 feet, the Washington Monument became the world’s tallest structure in 1884, after surpassing Cologne Cathedral. Its reign ended when the Eiffel Tower was completed in Paris for the Exposition Universelle of 1889. The Eiffel Tower’s iron lattice design reached roughly 1,063 feet including its flagpole, making it dramatically taller.
The Washington Monument remains one of the most recognizable American memorials. Its two visible shades of marble reflect the construction hiatus: the lower section came from a different quarry than the upper section. A modern geodetic measurement gives a height of about 554 feet, while the traditional National Park Service figure is 555 feet, but either measurement leaves the Eiffel Tower as its 1889 successor.