Build Your Own Adventure: Massachusetts Marble

About This Activity

Build Your Own Adventure: Washington Monument is an fun, online activity to learn more about what it took to build the Washington Monument. You choose what to do at each stage and discover the fascinating real-life twists and turns in the history of building this iconic monument to George Washington. 

Start at the beginning or continue with your adventure on this page. 

Washington Monument photographed in the 1960s with an arrow indicating the brownish Lee stone

You Chose: Massachusetts Marble

Using marble from the quarry in Lee, Massachusetts seems like a good choice at first because it saves money. After adding several feet of marble blocks, however, a problem emerges. The difference in color is just too great to ignore. And it turns out that the cheaper price also means stone of lesser quality. Getting the stone delivered from Massachusetts is also a challenge. This just isn’t going to work. Perhaps it’s best switch to the quarry in Baltimore to finish the upper two-thirds. The stone won’t be an exact match, but it’s better than the brown streaked stone from Massachusetts. With the quarry being so close, work can and will proceeded steadily for the next several years.

Activity

Write a journal entry or draw a picture about a time you made a decision that didn't work out as you had hoped. How did you feel? What did you do?

Finish the Washington Monument

Maryland Marble