Photo by Angela Pan

Update: The monument will reopen on Sunday at 9 a.m. From NPS:

The problem was traced to a faulty power supply that caused occasional elevated electrical current levels. The system functioned as it is designed to, sensing the over current limit and shutting down for the safety of visitors and staff, as well as the equipment. The same problem was responsible for Tuesday’s service interruption as well.

Original:

The Washington Monument is closed today because of, you guessed it, an elevator interruption for the second time this week, and the sixth time since it reopened in 2014 after extensive repairs following the earthquake.

The malfunction happened this afternoon after an elevator unloaded passengers at the observation level, according to a release. Park rangers had to walk 86 visitors, who were on the observation level at the time, down the stairs.

Earlier this week, the site closed after one park ranger and 18 visitors got stuck on an elevator about halfway up to the top of the building. They were all safely evacuated, along with another 23 people or so who were at the observation deck.

After the closure on Tuesday, D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton announced that she had a conversation with National Park Service Superintendent Gay Vietzke. “Securing reliable elevator service for the most important elevator in the nation’s capital, and the only elevator in the Washington Monument, must be a top priority for NPS,” she said in a release. Vietzke said that NPS is looking at the 20-year-old mechanical system that controls the elevator, which wasn’t upgraded during the 2014 repairs.

In February, a contractor inadvertently damaged the elevator control box, leading to a four-day closure, and a series of failures last spring and summer.

As technicians assess the cause of the problem, the monument will be closed for at least the rest of today and all day tomorrow.