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Prawet J wrote a review Oct 2017
Washington DC, District of Columbia13,391 contributions683 helpful votes
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Looking for less tourist things to see in the National Mall, the Jefferson Pier came up. It is also known as Jefferson Stone or Jefferson Pier Stone. According to the history, small stone was place as the plan to make a triangle of the President House (White House), the Congress House (Capitol) with the Grand Avenue (Penn Ave line now), The stone is where the Washington's equestrian statue with direct line 400 feet garden to the Capitol. Stop by and take the photo of the historic significance while in visiting the monuments in the National Mall.…
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Date of experience: October 2017
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I came across the stone as I walked the distance between Lincoln Memorial towards the Washington Monument and stopped to pose barefoot in the grass at the imaginary line between White House and Jefferson memorial and then I noticed the stone: it marks the second prime meridian of the United States although never officially recognized. Maybe next I am going to discover a treasure in the Caribbean.... joking.…
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Date of experience: May 2016
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At first I thought this was going to be a sidestep in the Jefferson memorial and then we found out it is marks the second prime meridian of the United States nowhere near the Jefferson Memorial, lol. I wouldn’t recommend going about looking for it but if you are in the area it is worth noting.…
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Date of experience: December 2015
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Another piece of 'forgotten Washington' and 'Forgotten History' about the Monument. In 1783 (6 years before the Constitution and the Country we call home) the Continental Congress voted funds for a statue of Washington. After the Country was born, L'Enfant, the architect of the City, planned the statue to be at this spot, the intersection of a surveying line extending south from the place where the Presidents house was being built and the hill to the east where the Capitol was being built. It was marked, and the statue was to become a 'Centerpiece' in the capital city. But it never happened - for political and geological reasons! First, the Jeffersonians were upset that Washington had become a symbol for their political enemies, the Federalists (You think our political campaigns are tough? Read about the campaign of 1800). Then there was a struggle about funding, control and the type of memorial (statue or obelisk) between members of the group supporting the effort. By the 1840s they had settled on an obelisk rather than a statue. But when the builders and geological scientists actually started examining the ground at the location, they discovered that it would not support the massive weight of this monument. So the foundation area was moved 390 feet southeast to the present location of the monument. But through the years, this small marker, known as the Jefferson Pier (because when it was first surveyed in the 1790s, Jefferson was the Secretary of State and supervised the efforts) has remained here. It is small, only about two feet high, and about 2 feet square, on a small concrete base. If you view the whole monument area as an aerial, top-down 'clock face' view with the monument as the center, stand in with the Monument at your back facing the Capitol Building and the Monument Lodge. OK, you are facing at 12 O'Clock on this dial. Now imagine roughly 7 O'Clock on this dial. This is where the Jefferson Pier is located(pier as in pole or column) about 390 feet away from the present day Washington Monument, down a slope. If you have a timed ticket for the Monument, or are just walking around it, find time to walk over and see where this 'Centerpiece' in honour of Washington the person and the City should have been! Enjoy!…
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Date of experience: July 2015
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