Helmet Cam of Scaffolding Workers, High Atop the Washington Monument

May 16, 2013

Originally posted on the National Mall and Memorial Parks Facebook page, this helmet cam video shows a group of construction works setting up scaffolding high atop the Washington Monument.

Full screen recommended (although I had to look away more than once).

In addition to the dizzying heights, the guy who puts his foot up on the monument and yanks the scaffolding backwards totally freaked me out (0:25). Good lord.

Here’s a pretty interesting mention, from the people maintaining the FB page, about the spikes at the very top of the monument:

The spikes at the top are part of the lightning rod assembly for the monument. The actual tip of the monument is the symbolic feature. It is made of aluminum, at the time it was one of the rarest metals in the world. That particular part was the largest casting of that rare metal at the time.

While watching this, I kept wondering how awesome it would be to be a part of this crew. Not because of the heights (though if I could still my terror for a moment, I’m sure the view was phenomenal). But because of how few people I think have ever seen or touched the top of the monument. And how few ever would, in total.

There are jobs, and there is this job. Pretty cool stuff (even if it makes me clutch my chair, and a little sweaty).

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Related:
Helmet Camera: Free Climbing a 1768 Foot Guided Tower
Such Great Heights: Wicker Park
Such Great Heights: Rob’s Studio
Washington DC: First Day

This Post Has 1 Comment

  1. Holy moly. Normally heights don’t bother me that much. (The trick is not to believe in them.) But this, for some reason, whenever the camera would lean out over the edge, ai yi, the vertigo feeling would shoot through me.

    Juliet Williams (May 20, 2013 at 12:10 am) Reply


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