Community Corner
Washington Monument Shut Down Thursday by National Park Service
A cable broke loose the day before, trapping an employee and forcing dozens of visitors to walk 500 feet down stairs.
WASHINGTON, DC — The Washington Monument will remain closed Thursday due to a malfunction the day before that trapped an employee and forced dozens to walk down from the top.
"The Washington Monument will remain closed on Thursday, August 18 for repairs to the elevator's compensating cable," National Park Service spokesperson Mike Litterst said in an email. "The cable broke loose from the car Wednesday morning, causing the elevator to stop between the 490' and 500' levels. The compensating cable is connected to the bottom of the car and the bottom of the counterweight and helps control the car while it is in motion by compensating for the differing weight of cable between the hoist and cab."
The employee was eventually freed from the elevator car.
Find out what's happening in Washington DCfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The Washington Monument was also closed over the weekend after a problem with the elevator, but Litterst said that had to do with power issues and it was unrelated to the broken cable from Wednesday.
Image via Wikimedia
Find out what's happening in Washington DCfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
