Did you know there’s a second Washington Monument in D.C. that hardly anyone ever gets to see … that’s because it’s underground.
In today’s episode of “Matt About Town,” WTOP’s Matt Kaufax heads to the National Mall for a rare glimpse at an obscure marker that most people have no idea exists.
Technically known as “Benchmark A,” it was built in the 1880s, right as the actual Washington Monument was being completed.
It’s called “Benchmark A” because of its primary function. The Mini Washington is what’s called a “geodetic survey point,” a marker of which there are thousands, used by professionals across the country to help with surveying and mapmaking.
This particular survey marker, though, is the only one of its kind in the entire country — an homage to the father of America, George Washington.
On the surface, this marker looks like an ordinary maintenance hole. Only about 30 yards from the base of the Washington Monument, millions walk by the patch of grass surrounding its massive lid every year without any idea of what’s right beneath their feet.
At one point, the Mini Washington was above ground before an artificial hill, which the Washington Monument now sits on, was engineered around it.
Come along with Matt, and a familiar National Park Service ranger making his triumphant “Matt About Town” return, to unearth this rare piece of history!
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