A recent earthquake caused historic damage to some of Washington D.C.’s most famous sites. The earthquake, which registered a 5.8 on the Richter scale was centered in Virginia but could be felt in Washington as well. As a result, Washington D.C. cleaning services and other maintenance crews closed down the Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and the Old Post Office Tower for inspection and repairs. Though the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials reopened shortly after, the 555-foot-tall Washington Monument remained off limits for quite some time as a result of a crack that was found on the structure. While the city of Washington D.C. employs cleaning and maid services to care for the monument on a routine basis, this is one of the first times it needed to contact structural engineers.