Washington Monument Closed Until 2019; Repair Money Pledged

WASHINGTON, DC — The Washington Monument — closed to the public for possibly three years as officials battle continuing problems with its elevator — will be repaired and its troublesome elevator modernized, federal officials said Friday.

Bethesda businessman and philanthropist David M. Rubenstein, who earlier this year pledged millions to renovate the Lincoln Memorial, has stepped forward again to help repair the crumbling national monument.

This time, Rubenstein is footing the bill to help overhaul the deteriorating Washington Monument, which has been closed since Aug. 17. On Friday, the National Park Service said that Rubenstein has pledged the money needed for the National Park Service to renovate the monument’s elevator structure and ventilation system.

The project, estimated to cost between $2 and $3 million, will correct the elevator’s ongoing mechanical, electrical and computer issues, which have kept it closed for months.

“The monument has become a symbol of our country, and reminds everyone of the towering strengths of our first president,” Rubenstein said in a statement. “I am honored to help make this symbol safely accessible again to all Americans as soon as practicable.”

The Park Service is waiting on federal money for a new security screening entrance that it wants to build at the same time before work begins, reports The Washington Post. Renovations should take 12 months to complete once work begins. So the monument is unlikely to reopen until the “cherry blossom season in 2019,” the newspaper says.

Rubenstein’s gift will allow the National Park Service to replace the computer system that controls the elevator and to add a remote diagnostic system, which will permit technicians to more quickly determine the cause of problems when they occur. It will also pay to refurbish the existing elevator machine and gear; replace existing hardware and the elevator cab ventilation system; install audio/visual screens in the elevator cab; and install code compliant landings every 30 feet in the elevator shaft.

“The Washington Monument is one of our nation’s most iconic structures. It is one of many monuments in Washington, D.C., that is important in telling the story of America’s rich and diverse history,” said Jonathan B. Jarvis, director of the National Park Service. “Mr. Rubenstein’s continued support for the Washington Monument will ensure generations of visitors can safely enjoy this historically significant monument for years to come.”

The elevator has had to shut down repeatedly in recent years, often stranding tourists at the top of the monument who must then walk hundreds of feet down the stairs.

The monument was damaged during the 2011 earthquake, causing a huge crack in the top of the structure and necessitating repairs that have been completed since then. However, the elevator has continued to prove problematic for the National Park Service.

Rubenstein, co-chief executive officer and co-founder of private equity firm Carlyle Group, was No. 290 on the Forbes magazine annual list of the 400 richest Americans. The editors put his net worth at $2.4 billion.

In February, the National Park Service announced an $18.5 million gift from Rubenstein.

Rubenstein’s gifts of patriotic philanthropy benefiting the National Park Service are:

• January 2012 - $7.5 million to restore the Washington Monument after the earthquake
• July 2014 - $12.35 million to restore Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial
• September 2014 - $5 million endowment for the White House Visitor Center
• April 2015 - $5.37 million to improve the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial
• February 2016 - $18.5 million to restore the Lincoln Memorial
• April 2016 - $1 million to fund critical repairs to Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument

»Patch file photo by Greg Hambrick