Annual Monument Lighting
Among Baltimore, Maryland’s best-loved holiday traditions, the annual Monument Lighting turns one of its signal landmarks into a pinnacle of seasonal cheer.
Lighting Up a Landmark
The event kicks off December by electrifying the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon Place from top to bottom with 16,000-plus LED lights. And while that’s the signature attraction, the ceremony comes with oodles of other entertainment and activities: live music, holiday arts-and-crafts, and an exuberant fireworks display. And the Monument Lighting also happens to be an excellent place to bring an appetite, given the dozens of local food vendors on hand for the occasion.
Iconic Architecture
Built of white marble, the Washington Monument’s an incredible piece of history: Begun in 1815 and completed some 14 years later, it was conceived of by the same architect, Robert Mills, who designed the world-famous Washington Monument in the nation’s capital.
In 2015, a pair of time capsules from 1815 and 1915 unearthed during restoration work on the Washington Monument by the Mount Vernon Place Conservancy went on display at the Walters Art Museum. Among other treasures, both contain vintage newspapers—among them a July 3, 1815 edition of the Federal Gazette that include a printing of the Declaration of Independence.
Affordable Hotel Accommodations for the Annual Monument Lighting
Reflect on some of that history—and of course the great man the monument honors—while delighting in some holiday ambience at the Monument Lighting. And if you need hotel accommodations within a stone’s throw of the ceremony, meanwhile, you’ve got just the thing in the Holiday Inn Express Baltimore at the Stadiums!
