The Washington Monument: A Long Journey to the Top By Kristi Finefield This photo provides an unfamiliar view of a very familiar structure: Washington Monument as it stood for 25 years. Photo by Mathew M. Brady, circa 1870. https://ift.tt/2V9SGUH Yes, that is the unfinished stump of the Washington Monument, as it looked for about 25 years. In 1856, when funding shortages interrupted construction, the monument stood only 156 feet tall out of a projected 500 feet. During the U.S. Civil War, the site was used for the grazing and slaughtering of government cattle, earning it the nickname Beef Depot Monument, as seen in this engraving (below left) published in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper on Feb. 1, 1862. It was a rather ignominious period for the monument, after the cornerstone had been laid years before ...
