• TheTechnician27@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    Fun fact non-Americans (and some Americans) might not know: it’s a different color partway through because they had to stop construction for over 20 years due to budgetary problems and other factors (like, eventually, the Civil War). So it began in 1848 and was completed in 1884.

    • stickly@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      Other fun facts:

      • It was originally supposed to be Washington on a horse
      • At its completion it was the tallest man made structure in the world
      • It remains the largest free-standing masonry structure in the world
      • The 2.85kg aluminum cap cost about $7500 in 2026 USD. At the current price of aluminum it would be about $10

      Source

    • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      4 days ago

      other factors (like, eventually, the Civil War)

      Speaking of, wasn’t it built by slaves? I imagine that they switch to carceral slavery after chattel slavery was outlawed rather than going with something as woke as voluntary labor 😛