This Day in History: br Washington Monument br Is Completed.br December 6, 1884.br The Washington Monument br stood as the tallest man-made br structure in the world at the time.br A monument to honor br the nation's first president, br George Washington, had been br a focus of Congress since 1783.br The Washington Monument Society br began raising funds for the structure in 1832.br Though fundraising efforts had br fallen well short of the the $1 million br budget, construction of Robert Mills' br design began on July 4, 1848. .br Construction was br halted in the mid br 1850s and did not br begin again until 1876.br Once completed, the 555 ft. br tall monument utilized more than br 35,000 marble and granite bricks.