The National Park Service has released security camera footage taken during the August 23, 2011 earthquake; the footage is from the 500 foot level of the Washington Monument. According to The Washington Post, “the Washington Monument will be closed indefinitely.”
Officials said a “debris field” had been found at the base of the monument made up mostly of mortar that had fallen out during the quake, and more substanial pieces of stone had fallen loose inside the monument.
[…]
The elevator system was damaged and is operating only to the 250-foot level of the 555-foot monument, the Park Service said, adding that the mechanism is believed to have been damaged by its counterweights during the quake.
In addition, the park has brought in a mountaineering and rope-rigging ranger, Brandon Latham, from Denali National Park in Alaska, to assist engineers in rappelling down the sides of the monument to conduct closer inspections.
Known for gnawing at complex questions like a terrier with a bone. Digital evangelist, writer, teacher. Transplanted Southerner; teach newbies to ride motorcycles. @kegill (Twitter and Mastodon.social); wiredpen.com