Washington Monument visible color band from construction hiatus

The Washington Monument's exterior shows a distinct color change in its marble roughly 150 feet above ground, marking a 25-year construction pause between 1854 and 1879. Different sources of stone and interruptions in work during that period produced the noticeable band of contrasting stone. The National Park Service documents the color variation as evidence of the monument's interrupted 19th-century construction. The band is visible on the monument's exterior to visitors and in many photographs.