Zero Milestone

The Zero Milestone is a historic monument in President's Park in Washington, D.C., originally conceived as the central starting point for measuring distances on all roads in the United States. Today it serves only as a reference point for the roads of the District. The monument stands at the northern edge of The Ellipse, south of the White House. It is a 4-foot-tall monolith of Precambrian granite designed by Horace W. Peaslee. A striking bronze compass rose at the center of the stone contains a small pyramid, the tip of which marks the exact point used for land surveying. The four sides carry inscriptions referring to the historic transcontinental military convoys of 1919 and 1920 and to the monument's role as the starting point for distance measurement. The idea for the monument goes back to a proposal made in 1919, inspired by a similar milestone in ancient Rome. After a provisional dedication that same year, the final monument was officially unveiled on June 4, 1923.