The Washington Monument opened again on Monday after nearly three years of repairs due to earthquake damage. Public tours resumed at 1pm.
Members of the US Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps march parade in front of the Washington Monument on Monday. Photo: Getty Images / AFP
The 169m obelisk built 130 years ago to honour George Washington, the first president of the United States, was cracked after a magnitude 5.8 earthquake on 23 August 2011.
The monument normally attracts some 600,000 visitors a year.
But the BBC reports it was closed after the earthquake which cracked marble along the obelisk and in the pyramid at the top. Mortar was also shaken loose inside and outside the monument.
Engineers evaluated the damage by abseiling from the top, dangling from ropes.
Since then more than 150 cracks have been repaired, rainwater leaks have been sealed and a lift to the top of the monument has been repaired.
Stone was used from the same Maryland quarry as the monument's original marble, saved from the steps of old Baltimore row houses.
The US Congress allocated half the budget for the project and a businessman in Washington DC pledged another $US7.5 million to complete the work.
