Publications [#268067] of Henry Petroski

Papers Published

1. Petroski, H, The washington monument, American Scientist, vol. 100 no. 1 (January, 2012), pp. 16-20, ISSN 0003-0996 [Gateway.cgi]
   (last updated on 2023/06/01)

   Abstract:
   The Earthquake that shook the East Coast in August 2011 has left its mark on some remarkable structures in Washington, D.C. The late-19th-century pension building, now the National Building Museum, was closed until the enormous brick structure with its spectacular interior space could be inspected. It was declared safe, but models of the Empire State Building and the world's latest tallest, Burj Khalifa, part of the museum's exhibit of Lego architecture, suffered the collapse of some of their topmost plastic brickwork. A monument to George Washington in the form of an equestrian statue was proposed as early as 1783, after the War of Independence had been officially ended by the Treaty of Paris. A committee of the Continental Congress reported favorably on the proposal, and Congress resolved specifically to erect a bronze statue of the general in Roman dress and holding a truncheon in his right hand.