Loss of joint mortar and interior cracking above the 460-foot level were among the reasons for the latest repairs to the Washington Monument. Contractors from WJE had to make heart-quickening rappels down the monument on Sept. 28, 2011, to assess the exterior damage.

At 1:00 p.m., May 12, 2014, the Washington Monument officially reopened to visitors after a two-year, eight-month closure.

The 555-foot white marble obelisk suffered widespread damage to mortar joints and displayed interior cracking near the top of the monument, some of that caused by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake in Mineral, Va., August 23, 2011. It's reported more than 150 cracks were repaired. Previous restorations occurred in the 1930s, 1960s, 1990s and into the early 2000s.

David Rubenstein, co-founder and co-chief executive officer of The Carlyle Group, a private equity investment firm in D.C., matched the $7.5 million in public funds allocated by Congress to restore the monument.

The lighting of the monument was restored last year. There are 488 lamps; light sensors automatically turn on the lights at dusk.

To go inside the monument you need a ticket, but like all government attractions in D.C., there is no entrance fee. Elevators whisk passengers to the museum level at 490 feet. The observation deck is at 500 feet, where visitors can take in the view at their leisure.

Construction of the monument was done in phases, beginning in 1848, but not completed until 1884. It was the tallest man-made structure in the world until Gustave Eiffel doubled its size with his iron lattice tower in 1889.