Zero Milestone

Zero Milestone

NPS / Claire Hassler

Quick Facts

Amenities

1 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

This four-foot-high shaft of pink granite stands on the north and south meridian of the District of Columbia. It is symbolically the official starting point for measurement of highway distances from Washington, DC. On July 7, 1919, the first transcontinental military motor convoy, destined from San Francisco, California, started from this spot. On June 5, 1920, Congress authorized the erection of a permanent monument here, and the Lee Highway Association presented it as a gift to the city on June 4, 1923. All four sides of the monument are inscribed, and there is a bronze compass on top.

Architect: Horace Peaslee

Inscriptions
north side
Zero Marker
east side
Starting Point of First Transcontinental Motor Convoy Over the Lincoln Highway VII JVL MCMXIX
south side
Point for the Measurement of Distances from Washington on Highways of the United States
west side
Starting Point of Second Transcontinental Motor Convoy Over the Bankhead Highway
Brass plate in ground
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