Washington Monument closed indefinitely after rare earthquake
46 replies, posted
[QUOTE]Washington (CNN) -- [b]The Washington Monument was closed indefinitely Wednesday as engineers studied ways to repair cracks at the top of the capital's iconic structure -- one day after a rare 5.8-magnitude East Coast earthquake.[/b]
Among other things, [b]several pieces of mortar fell inside the monument's observation area[/b] during the earthquake, a National Parks Service spokesman said.
An outside structural engineering firm will conduct a more thorough damage assessment, and the monument may not be re-opened to the public until after any necessary repairs are completed, the spokesman added.
Washington's National Cathedral also was closed after sustaining what its staff described as "substantial damage," including numerous cracks in the building's limestone blocks and broken pinnacles on its towers.
Most federal buildings and monuments in Washington, however, had reopened by late Tuesday -- including the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials.
...
Tuesday's incident occurred in a known seismic zone in central Virginia, said Dave Russ of the U.S. Geological Survey. But the strength of the earthquake was a bit surprising. A 5.9 event occurred in 1897 near Blacksburg, Virginia, he said.[/QUOTE]
Source: [url]http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/24/virginia.quake/index.html?hpt=hp_t2[/url]
Really sucks that such an iconic symbol of not just the city but the country is damaged like that. I hope they can repair to perfect conditions.
I hope it's fixed before I go to DC next year.
I knew DC got hit pretty harshly by the quake, but I didn't realize it was this bad. Hope they repair it soon, I've always wanted to go visit.
I heard about this in Math today.. crazy shit yo
Good thing I visited DC and did everything during mid-July.
Some people from my History class were suppose to go visit DC. Sucks for them.
A 5.8 earthquake wouldn't have this much effect on Californian buildings. It's kinda strange to imagine this damage happening since we're used to relatively common earthquakes at the San Andreas faultline.
[QUOTE=aznz888;31926544]A 5.8 earthquake wouldn't have this much effect on Californian buildings. It's kinda strange to imagine this damage happening since we're used to relatively common earthquakes at the San Andreas faultline.[/QUOTE]
Well yeah, because you guys are in earthquake prone areas. It's just like homes in Florida. They are designed to effectively withstand some pretty moderate hurricanes. Homes on the coast in Virginia are a completely different story. It's simply because they aren't expecting hurricanes so they don't prepare. All these structures in Washington are quite a bit older, and they aren't prepared for earthquakes since it simply does not happen.
Hey, I live here. I love it when the news talks about where I live. Makes me feel important.
I hope they fix the monument, it is one of the greatest landmarks of the country.
That just blows
[QUOTE=aznz888;31926544]A 5.8 earthquake wouldn't have this much effect on Californian buildings. It's kinda strange to imagine this damage happening since we're used to relatively common earthquakes at the San Andreas faultline.[/QUOTE]
Obviously it's because most of your buildings are built to be earthquake-resistant. However most buildings on the east coast don't have any sort of earthquake-resistance built into them. Also, the Washington Monument is a rather different sort of structure compared to most others, and is fairly old too. The National Cathedral (visited during my trip, really beautiful!) is also fairly aged, and its intricate architecture obviously wouldn't do very good against earthquakes as well.
[QUOTE=aznz888;31926544]A 5.8 earthquake wouldn't have this much effect on Californian buildings. It's kinda strange to imagine this damage happening since we're used to relatively common earthquakes at the San Andreas faultline.[/QUOTE]
I didn't know buildings in California were all tall obelisks made of stone that are 150 years old.
[IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Washington_Monument_Dusk_Jan_2006.jpg/250px-Washington_Monument_Dusk_Jan_2006.jpg[/IMG]
It's also over 100 years old.
Holy shit... That's really sad.
It's freaking one and a half centuries old.
I've seen it. Shame I never went to the top that day. It was over flooding with tourists. D.C is a great place, the monument is a very big icon to it.
Well, at least the cracks are at the top and not the bottom. I just hope that there isn't any damage that is hidden from sight that could compromise the structure.
I've been at the top before. Pretty amazing.
Also when you're outside right next to it looking up, it's kind of intimidating.
[QUOTE=BackflipHatchetAttack;31927764]I've been at the top before. Pretty amazing.
Also when you're outside right next to it looking up, it's kind of intimidating.[/QUOTE]
it's an accurate representation of washington's boner
[QUOTE=aznz888;31928037]it's an accurate representation of washington's boner[/QUOTE]
It was rededicated as a monument to the Clinton Administration.
It'd be pretty funny if it just fell over.
timmmmmberrrrrrrr
[QUOTE=gamefreek76;31931149]It'd be pretty funny if it just fell over.[/QUOTE]
Thats kinda like saying it would be funny if the great pyramid exploded.
[QUOTE='[sluggo];31931230']Thats kinda like saying it would be funny if the great pyramid exploded.[/QUOTE]
That would be funny as well.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;31928105]It was rededicated as a monument to the Clinton Administration.[/QUOTE]
No, you got it all wrong. In the future, they will build a new, much larger, monument to the Clintons. That is, ofcourse, only true I can consider futurama a reliable source.
[QUOTE=Arachnidus;31926404]I knew DC got hit pretty harshly by the quake, but I didn't realize it was this bad. Hope they repair it soon, I've always wanted to go visit.[/QUOTE]
I went there on a school field trip in 2010 and that was the best trip I've ever done. It's a really awesome place to be.
Let's take a moment to enjoy the Washington Monument as it was in 2010. (I took these two photos, the second one was from a block away from the Holocaust Museum)
[thumb]http://i.imgur.com/yriL7.jpg[/thumb][thumb]http://i.imgur.com/rtpj7.jpg[/thumb]
Maybe I should upload my album for people to enjoy. I took these two off of my Facebook album, I have the larger and better quality ones on a CD.
I knew it was big, but I didn't know it was THAT big.
aww man. I've never been to DC, was planning on going to see the monument pretty soon actually :[
[QUOTE=gamefreek76;31931296]That would be funny as well.[/QUOTE]
How?
[QUOTE='[sluggo];31931230']Thats kinda like saying it would be funny if the great pyramid exploded.[/QUOTE]
yeah, no, bit of an exaggeration
there's no realm of possibility where the washington monument is anywhere near as important as the great pyramids
Looks like it's erection was cracked.
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