Washington Monument

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Six months after the Aug. 23 earthquake and the Washington Monument is still closed, awaiting repair. What's up with that? "It's good for D.C. because I still have a reason to come back. This is my third trip and I still haven't gone up the Washington Monument." Kevin Barnes, 39, Birmingham, Al., logger

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Six months after the Aug. 23 earthquake and the Washington Monument is still closed, awaiting repair. What's up with that? "I had heard it was fractured. However long it takes to get fixed, we need it." Stacey Barnes, 34, Birmingham, Al., dietician

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**FILE** The Washington Monument. (Associated Press)

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Demonstrators hold up placards during a Jobs and Justice rally at Washington Monument in Washington on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

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With the Washington Monument behind them, protesters, calling for the end of the Federal Reserve, march Oct. 9, 2011, to the Federal Reserve in Washington. (Associated Press)

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Emma Cardini, a civil engineer from Melrose, Mass., right, and a member of the difficult access team, dangles by a rope more than 500 feet above ground, with co-worker Daniel Gach, as they inspect the exterior of the Washington Monument on the National Mall in Washington, Thursday Sept. 29, 2011. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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Dan Gach (left), Erik Shon (center) and Emma Cardini inspect the exterior of the Washington Monument for damage caused by last month's earthquake on Sept. 28, 2011. (Associated Press)

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Dave Megerle, a member of the Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates "difficult-access team," prepares rappelling gear atop the Washington Monument on Tuesday. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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Dave Megerle, a member of Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates' "difficult-access team," shuns fear of heights — in this case, 555 feet — atop the Washington Monument on Tuesday. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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The Washington Monument is pictured at right as a detail of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial is seen ahead of its originally scheduled August dedication in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

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This image released by the National Park Service shows Steve Lorenzetti, Deputy Superintendent of Planning, left, and Robert A. Vogel, Superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks conferring with civil engineer Ned Wallace, right, inside the Washington Monument Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2011, amid debris that fell to the floor after a 5.8 magnitude struck the Washington area on Aug. 23. (AP Photo/National Park Service)

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A 4-foot crack on the west side near the pyramid top of the Washington Monument and other earthquake damage will keep the monument closed to the public for some time. (AP Photo/National Park Service)

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Richard Steele, 4, from Riverside, Ca. cools off in a sprinkler near the Washington Monument in Northwest Washington, D.C. on Thursday, July 21, 2011. (Pratik Shah/The Washington Times)

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Happy Sermsri, from Thailand, and Betty Giarratana, from Fredericksburg, Va. stay cool under an umbrella near the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, July 12, 2011. (Pratik Shah/The Washington Times)

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Spectators watch fireworks highlight the Washington Monument on Monday night. Altogether, 14,000 pounds of explosives were used, including a grand finale of 1,000 fireworks ignited in 30 seconds. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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People watch the fireworks over the Washington Monument during the Independence Day fireworks display on the National Mall in Washington on Monday, July 4, 2011. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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Carlos Rodriguez (right) and his wife, Margaret, of Woodbridge, Va., pose in front of the Washington Monument on Independence Day in Washington. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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Kites soar high above the flags at the base of the Washington Monument during the annual kite festival on the Mall. After 44 years of Smithsonian Institution sponsorship, this was the first year the kite festival was an event sponsored by the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which began March 26 and ended Sunday. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

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Gabrielle Davison of Bowie and her son Dominic try to get their kite airborne during the 2009 Kite Festival, then sponsored by the Smithsonian, on the grounds of the Washington Monument. (J.M. Eddins Jr./The Washington Times)