Phallic architecture
The Washington Monument in Washington D.C. is often seen as a prime example of phallic architecture and American masculinity. The towering monument, made of marble, granite, and bluestone gneiss, it is both the world's tallest stone structure and the world's tallest obelisk, standing according to the National Park Service. Construction of the monument began in 1848, was halted from 1854 to 1877, and was completed in 1884. In a "Journal" review, dated 17 October 1911, Arnold Bennett said of the monument, "Saw Washington monument. Phallic. Appalling. A national catastrophe – only equalled by the Albert Memorial. Tiny doll-like people waiting to go into it." Dan Burstein says of it, "Speaking of sex symbols, there is no more phallic symbol in existence than the Washington Monument, and the Capitol dome can be viewed as breastlike." James Webb used a metaphor to praise the "uplift[ing]" power of the Washington Monument as a white phallus, "piercing the air like a bayonet". In the futuristic film "Hardwired", set in the United States where everything noteworthy is commercialized, the Washington Monument is used as a giant Trojan condoms billboard.
Washington Downtown Historic District
The Washington Downtown Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Washington, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. At the time of its nomination it contained 122 resources, which included 83 contributing buildings, two contributing objects, one contributing site, 34 non-contributing buildings, one non-contributing structure, and one non-contributing object. The historic district is located in the original town plat, and covers the city's central business district. Washington was platted in 1839 as the county seat for Washington County. Central Park, the town square, is the earliest contributing resource having been platted with the original town. It is the contributing site and contains the two contributing objects: the 1931 Civil War monument and the 1939 fountain. The Washington County Courthouse was located here from 1845 to 1869, when it was relocated to its present location a block away. It is one of the contributing buildings. The oldest extant buildings date to the 1850s.