Towering above Mount Vernon Place is Baltimore’s Washington Monument. The marble Doric column towers 178 feet with a statue of George Washington at its crown. The reward for climbing the steep, winding 228 steps is a bird’s-eye view of Baltimore. The base contains a small museum with exhibits chronicling the architecture and development of the monument, which took nearly 15 years to build (1815-1829).
This column, 178 feet tall, stands as the country’s first major architectural memorial to George Washington. Begun in 1815, it was designed by Robert Mills, who also designed the Washington Monument (begun in 1848) in Washington, D.C. To learn the whole story, have a look at the exhibit inside the building. The physically fit can also climb the 228 steps to the top of the tower and see why this spot has what’s often called the best view in Baltimore.