The Washington Monument was closed Monday while repairs were made after a lightning strike early on Sunday morning. The celestial intervention damaged the key-card system that allows National Park Service staffers to get into the building and call or send elevators, NPS spokesperson Mike Litterst tells Washingtonian. Late Monday afternoon, the Park Service announced the monument would be closed on Tuesday as well.
UPDATE: The Washington Monument will be closed today as we repair damage to the electronic access system caused by Sunday morning’s lightning strike. #WashingtonDC https://t.co/HD6U35C66n
— National Mall NPS (@NationalMallNPS) August 16, 2021
The monument is hit often by lightning—check out these dramatic images of strikes from 2021 and 2020.
This post has been updated.
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
