Audiovisual Tour Guides
WASHINGTON D.C. TOURS
WASHINGTON MONUMENT
Following George Washington’s death, Americans immediately began debating how best to honor him. Prominent Federalists proposed building a soaring monument at the heart of the new national capital, then still rising along the Potomac River near Mount Vernon. But when Thomas Jefferson was elected president just a year later—along with the rise of his party in Congress—the plan stalled. It would take two generations for the vision to be revived.
By the 1830s, with tensions over slavery deepening, Americans in both North and South sought unifying symbols of nationhood. Washington—though a Virginian—was universally revered, especially in the North. A monument to him, a 600-foot obelisk that would become the tallest structure in the world, offered a powerful way to bridge the growing divide.
Construction began in 1848 but halted just six years later at 156 feet, a pause still visible today in the stone’s color change. The Civil War brought further delays, but by 1879, in the spirit of national reconciliation, work resumed. When completed in 1884, the 555-foot Washington Monument stood as a towering tribute to the man who placed democratic ideals above personal power.
To step deeper into Washington’s extraordinary legacy—his willingness to relinquish power, not once but twice—listen to Retiring Becomes Him by Pulitzer Prize–winning author Edward J. Larson, a BARDEUM experience at the Washington Monument.
He led a revolution and founded a nation—but his greatest legacy was giving up power. In Retiring Becomes Him, Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Edward J. Larson brings to life the extraordinary moments when George Washington did what no one expected: he walked away.
Step Inside the Story of the only man unanimously elected president, who twice held the fate of a fragile republic in his hands—and twice laid down authority for the sake of liberty. From his emotional resignation before Congress to his farewell from the presidency, this immersive BARDEUM experience, set beneath the soaring Washington Monument, explores how Washington’s greatest strength wasn’t his command—it was his restraint.
More than a history lesson, Retiring Becomes Him is a meditation on character, humility, and the courage to step aside.
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EDWARD LARSON
AUTHOR
Pulitzer Prize winning and New York Times bestselling author.