Washington Monument

Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Landmarks and monuments

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

A 178-foot white marble Doric column topped by a statue of George Washington at Mount Vernon Place, Baltimore, designed by Robert Mills and built 1815 to 1829. The Mount Vernon Place Conservancy calls it the first monument to Washington in the country; visitors can climb 227 steps.

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Washington Monument

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39.29876° N, 76.61571° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

Baltimore’s marble tribute to George Washington was designed by the same architect as the Washington Monument in the capital, and it still opens to visitors who want to climb it.

According to the Mount Vernon Place Conservancy, private Baltimore citizens came together in 1809 to erect the first monument to George Washington in the country, in the woods of John Eager Howard’s Belvidere estate. Its construction then shaped the growth of the surrounding squares, Mount Vernon Place. Visit Baltimore says Robert Mills designed the monument in 1815, before going on to design the one in Washington, D.C., and that construction ran from 1815 to 1829. Baltimore Heritage notes that financial constraints forced design compromises that simplified it.

The result has three parts: a low rectangular base housing a gallery, a plain column, and a standing figure of Washington on top. Baltimore Heritage gives the height as 178 feet and the stone as white Cockeysville marble; Visit Baltimore gives 178 feet 8 inches and a 14-foot statue showing Washington as Commander-in-Chief. The Conservancy says it is marble over a brick and stone rubble core, and that some finishes, including the plaster walls, doors and surrounding fence, are decorative finishes made to look like stone or bronze.

The monument closed to the public in 2010. Visit Baltimore reports that during a restoration begun by the Conservancy in 2014, workers found the original 1815 cornerstone and a 1915 time capsule.

Accounts differ on small points. The Conservancy and Visit Baltimore count 227 steps; Baltimore Heritage says 228. Baltimore Heritage calls it the first architectural monument planned to honor Washington, and Visit Baltimore says “arguably the first major” one.

The Conservancy lists Wednesday to Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm. The gallery is free, climbing costs $6 for adults and $4 for children, and there is no air conditioning or restroom.

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PRACTICAL

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WHAT TO EXPECT

Free ground-floor gallery with interactive exhibits; climbing 227 marble steps to the lookout costs $6 adults, $4 children, bought on site or online. The Conservancy (October 2026) lists Wednesday to Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm. No air conditioning or restrooms.

ACCESS

At 699 Washington Place in Mount Vernon Place, Baltimore. Open Wednesday to Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm per the Conservancy (October 2026); closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and Code Red days. Climbs run every 20 minutes for groups of up to five. Baltimore Heritage lists different hours.

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