Last August, Washington DC experienced a rare 5.8 earthquake which did some serious damage to the Washington Monument, the city's tallest structure at 555 feet 5/18 inches. It has been closed and will remain so likely until 2014,
according to a recent story in the Washington Post. Meanwhile, a damage control team from the engineering firm of Wiss, Janney, Eltsner and Associates have been scaling the surface trying to keep the massive slabs of stone together.
This weekend, the Washington Post Magazine ran some stunning photos of the team at work. They reminded me of scenes from a MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE film as men (and women!) dangle from cables hundreds of feet off the ground with incredibly panoramic views of the cityscape. To view the photos as a slideshow, you have to
click thru to the Post's website. They are really amazing...but then again, I'm an old
DC tourguide so I live for stuff like this!
