The Washington Monument is an obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. , built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and the first American president.tarting with victory in the Revolution, there were many proposals to build a monument to Washington. After his death, Congress authorized a suitable memorial in the national capital, but the decision was reversed when the Democratic-Republican Party (Jeffersonian Republicans) took control of Congress in 1801.