Engineers had to put plans on hold to rappel down the Washington Monument, citing bad weather as the reason. Weather permitting, they intend to go ahead with their plan Wednesday. They will assess the damage caused by the August earthquake that rocked the East Coast, and which left visible cracks in the stone and mortar of the top portion of the monument.
Engineers are looking to see if smaller cracks were sustained on the outside of the structure, and if recent rain has caused further damage. The interior of the monument is structurally sound. The Washington Monument was built between 1848 and 1884, and withstood an even larger earthquake in the late 1800s.
