In Brief

Security at the Washington Monument

Since 1998, jersey barriers have ringed the Washington Monument, and recently a temporary security screening post has been added to the site.

By Daintry Duffy

May 01, 2003 — CSO — Since 1998, jersey barriers have ringed the Washington Monument, and recently a temporary security screening post has been added to the site. But a new plan developed by the Olin Partnership design firm headquartered in Philadelphia would do away with the temporary barriers and instead replace them with two sunken stone walkways that would encircle the monument. The three-foot drop in each walkway would prevent a vehicle from approaching the monument, but unlike the jersey barriers and crowd-control fencing, the walkways would be invisible from a distance. Visitors to the monument would enter a nearby lodge to access a 400-foot-long tunnel leading to the monument. The current screening center would be replaced by a skylit underground visitor center where people would go through a security check before accessing the elevator up to the monument.

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