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Nope, The Washington Monument Isn’t Leaning After The Earthquake

Nope, The Washington Monument Isn’t Leaning After The Earthquake

WASHINGTON — Sorry Twitter, the Washington Monument isn’t leaning. And tourists: that discoloration isn’t a crack, and it’s always been there.

TPM caught up with Park Police spokesman David Schlosser a safe distance from the Washington Monument as camera crews set up their post-earthquake liveshots. He rolled his eyes when speaking about reports that the Monument wasn’t fully upright.

Park Police did, however, send a crew up in a helicopter to take up-close photos of some minor damage done to the landmark.

Schlosser said there were tourists in the Monument during the earthquake and that they were able to take the elevators down when it ended.

[Late update: We’ve video video of a Park Police helicopter circling the Washington Monument as a photographer takes photos of the damage.]

Earthquake
Ryan J. Reilly

Ryan J. Reilly is a D.C.-based reporter for TPM. Prior to joining TPM, he worked for a news website covering the Justice Department and was a researcher for Bloomberg News. His email address is ryan(at)talkingpointsmemo.com.

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