On December 6, 1884, in Washington, D.C., workers placed
a nine-inch aluminum pyramid inscribed with "Laus Deo,"
meaning praise (be) to God, atop a tower of white marble,
completing the construction of an impressive monument to
the city’s namesake and the nation’s first president, George
Washington (below).        
        
        

A city law passed in 1910 restricted the height of new buildings
to ensure that the monument will remain the tallest structure in Washington, D.C.—a fitting tribute to the man known as the
“Father of His Country.”

On December 6, 1884, in Washington, D.C., workers placed a
nine-inch aluminum pyramid inscribed with "Laus Deo,"
meaning praise (be) to God, atop a tower of white marble,
completing the construction of an impressive monument to
the city’s namesake and the nation’s first president, George
Washington. 

Aluminum apex showing inscriptions on its east (left)
and north (right) faces.

On May 10, 1869, the presidents of the Union Pacific and Central
Pacific railroads met in Promontory, Utah, and drive a ceremonial
last spike into a rail line that connects their railroads. This made transcontinental railroad travel possible for the first time in U.S.
history. No longer would western-bound travelers need to take
the long and dangerous journey by wagon train.

On December 14, 1909, workers placed the last of the 3.2 million
10-pound bricks that pave the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana (a town surrounded by the city of Indianapolis).
Since then, most of that brick has been buried under asphalt, but
one yard remains exposed at the start-finish line (below). Kissing
those bricks after a successful race remains a tradition among Indy
drivers.

On December 6, 1884, in Washington, D.C., workers placed a nine-
inch aluminum pyramid atop a tower of white marble, completing
the construction of an impressive monument to the city’s namesake
and the nation’s first president, George Washington. As early as
1783, the infant U.S. Congress decided that a statue of George
Washington, the great Revolutionary War general, should be
placed near the site of the new Congressional building,
wherever it might be.

After then-President Washington asked him to lay out federal
capital on the Potomac River in 1791, architect Pierre L ‘Enfant
left a place for the statue at the western end of the sweeping
National Mall (near the monument’s present location). It wasn’t
until 1832, however–33 years after Washington’s death–that
anyone really did anything about the monument.