National Park Service Director Johnathan Jarvis, left, greets Steven Avilla, wearing a Washington Monument costume, as the monument is reopened May 12. / Mark Wilson, Getty Images
Visitors could once again set foot inside the Washington Monument on Monday, nearly three years after a magnitude-5.8 earthquake closed it for repairs. Couldn't stick around to see the repairs being made? Don't worry - we've got a super-speedy time-lapse video that shows those 33 months in 80 seconds.
Here are some facts about the iconic District of Columbia obelisk, construction of which started in 1848.
â?˘ The epicenter of the Aug. 23, 2011, earthquake that damaged the monument, situated on the National Mall, was about 90 miles southwest of Washington but caused more than 150 cracks in the monument's marble cladding.
â?˘ Visitors often notice how the marble changes slightly in color about a third of the way up the monument. This is due to a construction hiatus between 1854 to 1877, when a lack of funds and the Civil War halted work. It was completed in 1884 and dedicated in February 1885.
â?˘ The renovation included the installation of new attractions on the top floor of the 555-foot structure, including an exhibit telling the story of Gen. George Washington, the United States' first president.
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