Who designed the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.?

Robert Mills designed the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.

Mills was a prominent American architect whose design for the monument was selected in the 1830s. His proposal called for a tall Egyptian-style obelisk, paired in the original plan with a circular colonnade. Funding problems and design changes later produced the simpler monument seen on the National Mall.

Construction began in 1848 but stopped in 1854 after money ran out and the Washington National Monument Society lost control of the project. Work resumed in 1877 under the direction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the monument was completed in 1884.

The Washington Monument is often confused with the nearby Lincoln Memorial or with L’Enfant’s plan for Washington. L’Enfant designed the city’s broad layout, while Mills designed the monument itself. The obelisk commemorates George Washington, the Continental Army commander and first U.S. president.