The Washington Monument will reopen to the public Thursday after being shut down for six months, the National Park Service announced Monday.
The site will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week with safety and cleaning protocols in place. Tickets will be available online at recreation.gov beginning Wednesday.
No tickets will be sold at the monument. The public can buy tickets starting at 10 a.m. for the next day’s visit. Each ticket can be used for up to four individuals in a group and has a nonrefundable reservation fee of $1.50.
As precautions to the coronavirus pandemic, there will be timed ticketing, limited entries, physical distancing and more cleaning and safety measures at the monument.
The measures include the following:
• Reduced elevator capacity with a limit of 4-8 passengers per trip to allow for physical distancing.
• Face coverings mandated for all individuals while inside the monument
• Touchless check-in and hand sanitizer dispensers throughout the monument
• Time limit at 500-foot observation level of 10 minutes per group
• A daily closure from 1 to 2 p.m. for cleaning and disinfecting using federally approved antiviral disinfectant cleaners
An earthquake in 2011 significantly damaged the Washington Monument, forcing it to close for years, CBS News reported. It had just opened September 2019 before COVID-19 hit, causing it to shut down once again.
• Shen Wu Tan can be reached at stan@washingtontimes.com.
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