How did they lift a 220-ton star to the top of a 522-foot-tall column? The answer is they didn’t. The star was built in place, more than 500 feet above the ground.
Builder W. S. Bellows was concerned that construction of the star would be difficult, so he and architect Alfred Finn came up with a plan.
The first step was to build a one-inch scale model of the star and place it on a water tower to test the perspective. Second, a full-sized wooden model was built on the ground and used to create a precise set of plans. Then, once the tower of the Monument was complete, a construction platform was built at the top. Twelve by twelve-inch stone blocks were brought to the top of the tower where workers cut them to fit within the steel framework of the star.
Despite all the logistical challenges, the star was completed in only twenty days.
Contrary to popular belief, the star wasn’t secretly added to make the San Jacinto Monument taller than the Washington Monument. The original plans for the Monument submitted to Washington DC included the star. They didn’t, however, include the two terraces the Monument sits on, which give it the extra fifteen feet needed to top the Washington Monument.
After all, everything’s bigger in Texas!