Interesting news out of D.C courtesy of the Business Insider…
Washington Monument is 10 inches shorter – Credit: Wikimedia Commons
The obelisk on Washington’s National Mall is 554 feet, 7 and 11/32 inches tall, smaller than its historical height of 555 feet, 5 and 1/8 inches, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a statement.
The new measurement by NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey is based on standards of the international Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitats and was completed in December, the statement said.
“Today’s elevation reflects the international standards for measurement of a building’s height as well as considerable technological improvements,” said Dru Smith, NOAA’s chief geodesist.
The guidelines call for height to be measured from the level of the lowest main pedestrian entrance to the top of the building, the statement said.
The measurement of 554 feet 7 11/32 inches is accurate to within 1/32 of an inch, or 1 mm, which is the standard deviation.
The previous measurement was done when the structure honoring George Washington, the first U.S. president, was completed in 1884.