WASHINGTON, DC (WTVR/CNN) – Fresh off a $15 million, nearly three-year repair job, the Washington Monument is scheduled to reopen officially Monday. One of Washington’s most popular sites, the 555-foot obelisk has been closed since a magnitude-5.8 earthquake in August 2011 caused more than 150 cracks in the structure.
The National Park Service and the Trust for the National Mall are planning to host a reopening ceremony at 10 a.m. ET.
Video of the 13-month restoration process was recently made available on YouTube by EarthCam in the form of a breathtaking time-lapse movie.
The ceremony will include entertainment from “American Idol” winner Candice Glover, the Boy and Girl Choristers of Washington National Cathedral Choir, the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps and the U.S. Navy Band.
Ticketed public tours will start at 1 p.m. ET Monday. Tickets for Monday will be available at 8:30 a.m. at the Washington Monument Lodge on a first-come basis. Tickets for tours on future dates have been available since April 16 at the park service’s reservation page, www.recreation.gov. The park service will offer extended operating hours, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., through the end of summer.
“The construction of the Washington Monument began in 1848 when private citizens raised money to build a memorial to honor our nation’s first president, and now it has been repaired thanks in part to the generosity of another private citizen, David Rubenstein, and the efforts of the Trust for the National Mall,” Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said in an announcement on the park service website.
“This enduring spirit of public-private partnerships has made it possible for visitors to once again enjoy the monument and its unmatched view of Washington, D.C.”
Congress allocated $7.5 million to the restoration project, and philanthropist David M. Rubenstein matched those funds with a $7.5 million donation to the monument’s restoration via the Trust for the National Mall.
Built as a tribute to George Washington’s military leadership during the American Revolution, construction of the Washington Monument was started in 1848 and completed in 1884.
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