The Zero Milestone is a

zero mile marker In many countries, kilometre zero (also written ''km 0'') or similar terms in other languages (also known as zero mile marker, zero milepost, control stations or control points) denote a particular location (usually in the nation's capital cit ...

monument in Washington, D.C. intended as the initial

milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...

from which all road distances in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

should be measured when it was built. At present, only roads in the Washington, D.C. area have distances measured from it.

Location

The monument stands just south of the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

at the north edge of The Ellipse, within

President's Park President's Park, located in Downtown Washington, D.C., encompasses the White House and includes the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, the Treasury Building, and grounds; the White House Visitor Center; Lafayette Square; and The Ellipse. ...

. Atop the monument is a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...

16-point

compass rose A compass rose, sometimes called a wind rose, rose of the winds or compass star, is a figure on a compass, map, nautical chart, or monument used to display the orientation of the cardinal directions (north, east, south, and west) and thei ...

with a very small worn-down pyramid at its center whose top serves as a

National Geodetic Survey The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) is a United States federal agency that defines and manages a national coordinate system, providing the foundation for transportation and communication; mapping and charting; and a large number of applications ...

benchmark Benchmark may refer to: Business and economics * Benchmarking, evaluating performance within organizations * Benchmark price * Benchmark (crude oil), oil-specific practices Science and technology * Benchmark (surveying), a point of known elevati ...

(HV1847). * Coordinates: (

NAD83 The North American Datum (NAD) is the horizontal datum now used to define the geodetic network in North America. A datum is a formal description of the shape of the Earth along with an "anchor" point for the coordinate system. In surveying, ...

) * Altitude: 8.382 m (27.50 ft) ( NAVD88)

Description

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Horace W. Peaslee Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his '' ...

, the

monolith A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. For instance, Savandurga mountain is a monolith mountain in India. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often ma ...

is about 2 feet square and about 4 feet high. It is made of

precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of th ...

Milford granite from Milford,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, light pinkish to greenish gray, with spots of black biotite mica. The bronze disk on top of the milestone is "an adaptation from ancient

portolan chart Portolan charts are nautical charts, first made in the 13th century in the Mediterranean basin and later expanded to include other regions. The word ''portolan'' comes from the Italian ''portulano'', meaning "related to ports or harbors", and wh ...

s of the so-called ''wind roses'' or ''compass roses'' from the points of which extended radial lines to all parts of the then known world—the prototype of the modern mariner's compass." . The monument has engravings on four surfaces: * North: Zero Milestone * East: Starting point of Second Transcontinental Motor Convoy over the

Bankhead Highway The Bankhead Highway was a United States cross-country automobile highway connecting Washington, D.C., and San Diego. The Bankhead Highway's beginnings can be traced back to 1916 when the Bankhead Highway Association was organized to promote the ...

, June 14, 1920 * South: Point for the measurement of distances from Washington on highways of the United States * West: Starting point of First Transcontinental Motor Convoy over the

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 191 ...

, July 7, 1919 In addition, a "brass plate placed on the ground at the north base" shown below, contains the following inscription. * The U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey determined the latitude, longitude and elevation of the Zero Milestone authorized by Act of Congress June 5, 1920 dedicated June 4, 1923 Zero mile dc

History

In his plan for Washington, Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant intended a column to be placed east of the

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

, in what is now

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...

, "from which all distances of places through the continent were to be calculated." . Instead, in 1804, the ''Jefferson Stone'' or ''

Jefferson Pier Jefferson Pier, Jefferson Stone, or the Jefferson Pier Stone, (pronounced pie-er, like radials of a pie) in Washington, D.C., marks the second prime meridian of the United States even though it was never officially recognized, either by presiden ...

'' was placed on the meridian of the

due west of the

( WNW of the center of the

Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk shaped building within the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army (1775–1784) in the American Revolutionary War and ...

) to mark the

Washington meridian The Washington meridians are four meridians that were used as prime meridians in the United States and pass through Washington, D.C. The four which have been specified are: # through the Capitol # through the White House # through the old Naval ...

, 77° 02' 11.56". The current Zero Milestone monument was conceived by Good Roads Movement advocate Dr. S. M. Johnson, formally proposed on June 7, 1919. He was inspired by ancient Rome's Golden Milestone located in the Forum. On July 7, 1919, a temporary marker for the Zero Milestone was dedicated on the Ellipse south of the White House during ceremonies launching the Army's first attempt to send a convoy of military vehicles across the country to

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

. On June 5, 1920,

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

authorized the Secretary of War to erect the current monument, design to be approved by the Commission of Fine Arts and installed at no expense to the government. Dr. Johnson took charge of the details and raised donations for the design and construction. The permanent Zero Milestone was dedicated in a ceremony on June 4, 1923.

References

External links

Dept. of Transportation: Zero Milestone

North view with inscription "ZERO MILESTONE" and profile of compass rose

Compass rose atop the Zero Milestone

Many comments from geocachers and more pictures
{{Washington DC landmarks 1923 establishments in Washington, D.C. Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C. Road signs in the United States Kilometre-zero markers Individual signs in the United States

Location

Description

History

See also

References

External links