10 World Famous Landmarks That Were Almost Destroyed

10. The Washington Monument Was Ravaged By An Earthquake and Hurricane

The obelisk that is the Washington Monument dominates the skyline of the capital of the United States - even though the White House is only yards away. The structure, completed in 1884, is both the world's tallest stone structure and tallest obelisk at 169metres - yet it very nearly didn't even get off the ground. Interestingly, it was George Washington himself who did not want the monument to be constructed - he thought it a grand waste of money, and instead hoped to be commemorated by having the capital (Washington DC) named after himself. Construction did eventually begin in 1848, long after Washington's death, but it was halted between 1854 and 1877 due to a lack of funds and the onset of the American Civil War. Due to the cheap materials and substandard base structure used for the monument, it almost collapsed in 2011 when a 5.8-magnitude earthquake - followed soon after by Hurricane Irene - struck Washington DC. Extensive structural damage occurred as a result, and several marble stones were smashed beyond repair. It took 32 months to repair the monument - it was splintered in many places, right up its 169m height - and it did not reopen to the public until May 2014.