Believe it or not, you see this face every day...just not this close. This is actually a close up view of George Washington atop the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon. If you ask most people about the original Washington Monument, they'll start talking about the one in Washington DC. In our neighborhood, though, we know better. Just around the corner from 520 Park stands the first architectural monument planned to honor George Washington, and the oldest surviving one. However, as you've undoubtedly noticed, it stands shrouded in scaffolding as its renovation continues. In 1815, the statue was designed by Robert Mills, who also designed the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., with construction completed in 1829. Its 178-foot Doric column holds a ground-floor museum offering information about Washington as well as the monument's construction (when open). Once the renovation is completed, visitors will once again be able to climb the 228 steps to the top to enjoy an excellent view of the city from our historic neighborhood. [This birds-eye view of the top of the monument was actually taken by a drone plane that was fitted with cameras. Very unique!] The monument is constructed of white marble brought from Cockeysville, just north of the city, and consists of a low, rectangular base containing the museum, a plain, unfluted column, and Washington's standing figure on top. The scaffolding which currently encloses the monument is part of the $5.5 million plan to repair the pillar, remove mildew and moss, install new electrical and lighting systems, and refurbish the cast-iron fence which will be recast and repainted its original dark green. This month, as you may have noticed, the marble head and body of George Washington atop the monument has emerged from the scaffolding and all exterior renovations are expected to wrap up this month - ahead of schedule. While the official re-opening of the monument is planned for its bicentennial on the 4th of July, 2015, wrapping up the exterior renovation should allow for the annual Monument Lighting to occur in December. Though the monument has been closed since 2010 and has been hidden under scaffolding for the better part of a year, this will make its reopening that much more momentous. Better still, we get to see it all happen in real-time in our very own neighborhood!