Washington Monument

The Washington Monument is a large, pre-War obelisk at the center of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. It is a United States Presidential Memorial constructed for George Washington.

The battered remains of the monument are still standing, towering above the ruins of the old capital city. On closer examination, it is shown that it is used as a military position and the interior frame is clearly exposed. It is possible to see The Washington Monument from nearly everywhere being the tallest structure in the game.

The top of this is one of the highest locations in the game, and through the cracks, you can see past the Capitol Building.

Washington Monument has been claimed by the Brotherhood of Steel. Although the Brotherhood are somewhat leveled characters, they are often killed off by the more numerous Super Mutants.

There isn't much actually inside the Washington Monument, apart from what's mentioned below. When you enter, you will notice 2 caved in doors to either side of you, and an elevator in front of you. You can only go to the elevator, which prompts a loading screen. At the top there are some machines, probably used for the Galaxy News Radio signal.

Related quests
This is the location of Three Dog's Galaxy News Radio broadcasting dish which was shot to pieces by Super Mutants, thus weakening the signal. After you fix it, you can hear the station all over the Wasteland.

The replacement dish is in the Museum of Technology inside the "Virgo II" lunar lander but beware it is guarded by Super Mutants. After getting it, go back down into the subway station across the street from Museum of Technology and walk across the platform to the Museum of History exit. From there, it is a quick and easy walk to the Washington Monument. (unless you have a low level character, in which case it will be a living nightmare)

Loot
There is no real loot at the top, other than four boxes of 12 10-mm rounds and a Metal Helmet, though the Monument can be considered of some value as a local base for someone exploring the D.C. ruins, due to the bed at the Monument's peak and the guaranteed safety within.

There is a Missile Launcher and 5 Missiles immediately behind the monument (inside the barricade fences). Jump on the bench and jump over the broken window.

Bugs

 * Sometimes quick traveling from the top of the monument will cause the elevator to stay on the top floor, upon re-entering the Monument you are in a room with blacked out hallways and only the elevator is accessible. Entering it causes you to go down to the bottom floor and then have to go all the way up again. (Xbox 360 and PS3 confirmed)

Trivia

 * In its current state, the monument strongly resembles the Citadel from the video game Half-Life 2.
 * The actual Washington Monument is built almost entirely of masonry; there is no steel framework in the interior.