San Jacinto Monument

La Porte, Texas, United States

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The San Jacinto Monument is a 567.31-foot tower on an octagonal base, walled in Texas Cordova shellstone and topped by a 34-foot, 220-ton star, at One Monument Circle in La Porte, Texas. Ground was broken on April 21, 1936, a century after the Battle of San Jacinto, and it was dedicated April 20-21, 1939. The San Jacinto Museum calls it the world's tallest war memorial and says it stands taller than the Washington Monument; Guinness World Records lists it as the tallest monumental column.

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San Jacinto Monument

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Site-level location · 29.7505° N, 95.0824° W

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Built to commemorate Sam Houston's 1836 defeat of the Mexican army at San Jacinto, the monument is a concrete tower topped with a star, and it rises higher than the Washington Monument.

The San Jacinto Museum, which occupies the base, gives the height as 567.31 feet and calls it the world's tallest war memorial. It says the design was conceived by Houston architect Alfred C. Finn and engineer Robert J. Cummins, and describes the carved panels around the octagonal base as Art Moderne. The walls are Texas Cordova shellstone. The 34-foot star at the top weighs 220 tons; the museum says it was built in place over twenty days, and that not one of its stones is plumb or level.

Ground was broken on April 21, 1936, a century to the day after the battle, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers, which calls it the world's tallest free-standing concrete tower at the time of construction. The museum says the base used 5,700 cubic yards of concrete poured over 57 hours, and that the monument was dedicated on April 20-21, 1939. It describes the tower as nearly 15 feet taller than the Washington Monument.

Guinness World Records lists it as the tallest monumental column, at 570 feet, so published heights vary slightly. Visitors can stand beneath the star for a 360-degree view of the battlefield, according to the museum's website, and the museum in the base covers more than 500 years of history.

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