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The GW Hatchet

AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Washington Monument elevator breaks two days after reopening

The Washington Monument’s elevator broke down Wednesday – just two days after it opened for the first time in three years. Photo used under the Creative Commons license.
The Washington Monument’s elevator broke down Wednesday – just two days after it opened for the first time in three years. Photo used under the Creative Commons license.

    Dozens of visitors were temporarily stuck inside the Washington Monument on Wednesday when the elevator’s door broke down, just over 48 hours after the tourist attraction reopened to the public.

    Eighteen elevator passengers eventually exited and 61 other visitors walked almost 900 steps down from the observation deck, the Washington Post reported.

The elevator was out of service from 10:53 a.m. to 12:25 p.m. and all visitors made it down safely, according to the National Park Service.

D.C. congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, who attended the Monument’s opening ceremony Monday, blasted the breakdown, and said the elevator has the potential to disrupt D.C. tourism.

“This elevator is perhaps more important to the city than any other because the Monument is a big draw for tourism and this elevator transports tourists and residents up for D.C.’s best view,” she said.

The Monument reopened Monday after almost three years renovations following a 5.8 magnitude earthquake that damaged the structure in several places.

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