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Construction of the Washington Monument began in 1848, and was halted from 1854 to 1877 due to a lack of funds, a struggle for control over the Washington National Monument Society, and the intervention of the American Civil War. Although the stone structure was completed in 1884, internal ironwork, the knoll, and other finishing touches were not completed until 1888. A difference in shading of the marble, visible approximately 150 feet up, shows where construction was halted and later resumed with marble from a different source.

Despite many proposals to embellish the obelisk, only its original flat top was altered to a pointed marble pyramidion in 1884. The cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1848, the first stone was laid atop the unfinished stump on August 7, 1880. The capstone was set on December 6, 1884, the completed monument was dedicated on February 21, 1885, and officially opened October 9, 1888. Upon completion, the Washington Monument is both the world's tallest stone structure and the world's tallest obelisk, standing at 554 feet tall according to the National Park Service (measured 1884), a title previously held by the Cologne Cathedral.