Issues with the recently renovated elevator at the Washington Monument had some visitors spending a lot more time at the top than they expected Saturday afternoon.
At about 1 p.m., the elevator stopped working for about an hour.
The elevator was only servicing between the 490-foot and 500-foot level and was not returning to the ground level, according to National Park Service Public Affairs Specialist Mike Litterst.
No one was on the elevator when it malfunctioned, he said.
“We were able to reset the system and everyone who had been at the top was able to take the elevator back down,” said Litterst.
The elevator resumed regular operations at 2 p.m. and tours are back on schedule.
Litterst said experts will try to figure out what caused the elevator issue on Monday.
The popular D.C. attraction had been closed to visitors since August 2016, when it was shut down by elevator problems.
Just a day after the Washington Monument reopened to the public on Thursday, the National Park Service announced that the 555-foot tall obelisk’s exterior lighting is getting a boost that should make nighttime viewing even more impressive.
WTOP’s Mike Murillo contributed to this report.
