WASHINGTON MONUMENT View from the base of the western face of the monument. Inside the monument a bas relief of Washington is above the elevator. Above Washington is a relief of an ancient Egyptian winged disc. This statue of Washington is across from the elevator. Viewing windows at the top of the monument face each of the cardinal directions. Eastern view of the Capitol. The Library of Congress is behind the Capitol to the right. The Supreme Court building is behind the Capitol to the left. Western view of the Lincoln Memorial in the background and the new World War II memorial in the foreground. Southern View of the Jefferson Memorial. Northern View of the White House (Ellipse in the foreground).

View of the monument from the southwest, facing northeast.

While France and England debated whether the prime meridian should run through London or Paris, Thomas Jefferson argued that the prime meridian should run through Washington D.C., specifically through the north-south axis of the White House. The Jefferson memorial is on this same axis to the south of the White House. The Masonic House of the Temple and Meridian Park are on this same axis to the north of the White House.

The Lincoln Memorial is due west of the Capitol and the Jefferson Memorial is due south of the White House. The distance from the White House to the east-west axis of the Capitol is the same as the distance from the Jefferson Memorial to the east-west axis of the Capitol. The distance from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol is twice the distance from the White House to the Jefferson Memorial. The distance from the Capitol to the north-south axis of the White House is twice the distance from the Lincoln Memorial to the north-south axis of the White House. Originally, the Washington Monument was intended to be built at the intersection of the east-west axis of the Capitol and the north-south axis of the White House, but when construction started, it was determined that the ground in that location was too unstable to support the weight of the monument and the location was moved slightly to the east.

The sides of the monument are aligned with the cardinal directions. At ground level the sides are 55.5 feet (666 inches) long and the monument is 555.5 feet high. The 10 to one ratio between the sidelength and the height was modeled after ancient Egyptian obelisks that have this same ratio.

The 555.5 foot height of the monument converts to 6666 inches.

Given the length of 20.6 inches for the ancient Egyptian cubit, the monument is 323.6 cubits high:

6666 divided by 20.6 = 323.6

323.6 divided by φ (1.618) equals 200.

The height of the monument is equal to 200 ancient Egyptian cubits times φ.

Given that the ancient Egyptian cubit was comprised of one and a half ancient Egyptian feet:

The height of the monument is equal to 300 ancient Egyptian feet times φ.

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