Washington Monument (Mount Vernon)

The Washington Monument at the heart of Mount Vernon Square is a 178-foot Doric column completed in 1829, the first public monument to George Washington in the country. It stands at the top of Charles Street, giving the thoroughfare a formal conclusion, and the neighbourhood that grew up around it — Mount Vernon — became Baltimore's most architecturally distinguished district in the 19th century.

The interior staircase can be climbed for a view of the surrounding neighbourhood. The plaza around the base is used for markets and events. The Walters Art Museum and the George Peabody Library — one of the most beautiful rooms in America, though access is limited — are both within a short walk.

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A story
Baltimore's Washington Monument was completed in 1829 — 36 years before the more famous Washington DC monument, making it the first major public monument to George Washington in the United States. Robert Mills, who later designed the DC obelisk, had nothing to do with this one — it was designed by Maximilian Godefroy. The base of the column houses a small museum about Washington's life. Washingtonians tend to be unamused when told their version is the second one.

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