The Top Ten Facts About The Construction of THE SAN JACINTO MONUMENT
by Johnny Stucco
San Jacinto Monument
Aerial View of the San Jacinto Monument
Photo Courtesy Captain Robert L. Sadler, Jr.
The San Jacinto Monument was designed by the prolific Houston architect Alfred Finn to commemorate the Centennial of the Battle of San Jacinto.
There is no particular order of importance to the entries - numbers are provided to save the reader the trouble of counting.
1. Despite what your uncle told you, no one was buried alive in wet concrete.
2. Only 35 of the 150 men hired had construction experience.
3. After completion, the mast and boom were removed by lowering them through the elevator shaft since the taper of the monument wouldn't allow lowering.
4. The shaft rose at the rate of 24 feet per week.
5. The working platform (which rose as the shaft was built) weighted 65 tons.
6. The star on the top weighs 220 tons.
7. The 3 dimensional star is 34 feet from point to point.
8. The sculpted stone panels immediately above the museum weigh 4 tons each.
9. The re-enforcement bars were 2 inches by 2 inches and 110 feet long.
10. The bars were easily bent, but were straightened by a railroad rail-straightening device that the contractor borrowed from a local railroad yard.
San jacinto Monument aerial view
Aerial View of the San Jacinto Monument
Photo Courtesy Captain Robert L. Sadler, Jr.
BONUS FACT: (Bring this up quietly when you visit Washington D.C.) The San Jacinto Monument IS taller than the Washington Monument.