The Washington Monument has closed until further notice to protect staff and visitors from the spread of COVID-19, the National Park Service announced Saturday.
The closure-prone monument has been off-limits to visitors since Jan. 11, when federal officials made the decision to lock its doors as part of the security measures surrounding President Joe Biden’s inauguration. The Park Service will reopen the monument “as soon as it deems it is safe to do so,” it said in a release.
All other attractions that are part of the Park Service’s National Mall and Memorial Parks division will cease indoor operations as well, including the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument, Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site, and tours of Old Post Office Tower.
Outdoor memorials and public restrooms on the National Mall are still open.
To many locals, Washington Monument closure announcements are about as common as broken escalators on Metro. The monument closed during the early days of the pandemic in March, as did a number of other D.C. landmarks. It reopened in October but was forced to shut down again in December, after Department of the Interior Secretary David Bernhardt gave a private tour of the monument then tested positive for coronavirus shortly after. It reopened shortly after.
A 2011 earthquake led to a two-year closure and $15 million in repairs. It closed again in 2016 for three years of renovations to its security facility and elevator system. Prior to the renovations to its elevator system, it was known for frequent elevator service interruptions and visitor evacuations down the monument’s 897 steps.
The obelisk was open to visitors for a glorious six months before the pandemic forced it to shut down… again.
Mikaela Lefrak