WASHINGTON 鈥� The Washington Monument was聽closed Tuesday because of an elevator problem, which forced dozens of visitors to hike down the monument’s stairs.
The elevator stopped at the at the top聽level Tuesday afternoon, says National Park Service spokesman Mike Litterst.聽The 15-20 people on the elevator and about 25 people at the observation level were safely evacuated, Litterst adds.
Elevator technicians were聽inspecting the monument Tuesday afternoon.聽The monument will remain closed until the inspection in complete along with any necessary repairs.
Elevator problems have closed the monument several times over the past year.
滨苍听, an elevator power failure cause a multi-day closure. In , the monument closed to allow for repairs to a mechanical alignment issue with the elevator. The聽park service says the elevator problem was caused by the repeated elevator shut downs in May.
Also, in , an elevator malfunction forced 63聽people 鈥� two of whom were pregnant 鈥� to walk the聽500 feet down to the bottom after being stranded at the top.
In , the monument was closed for several days after the elevator control box聽was inadvertently damage by a contractor working in the structure on an unrelated issue.
