It's too soon to say, according to the National Park Service.  The 555-foot-tall Monument took a hit from the earthquake that startled Washington, D.C., Aug. 23. Initially it was believed to have suffered little damage. But it has been closed ever since, and here's what William Line, the National Capital Region tourism spokesman for the National Park Service, says of the imposing obelisk:  "The National Park Service has hired a structural engineering firm that has extensive experience with earthquake damage that is and has beenworking on damage assessment at the Washington Monument," he responded to a query via e-mail late Wednesday. "That firmcontinues its work, and they will need to have more time to fully complete their analysis, complete their engineering computations and then prepare a written report that details the damage and which may recommend repairs oralternatives for repair.  RELATED: Did the earthquake tilt the Washington Monument?  "We do not have a solid time frame in which the structural engineering firm will respond, as it is much more important for the analysis to be correct, complete and accurate rather than to rush or hurry the engineering firm's evaluation and analysis. Once the NPS receives the structural engineering firm's report and has time to evaluate the engineering firm's recommendations, the NPS will then move to begin repairs."  He added: "We have no idea how long those repairs may take to complete. Once the repairs are finished, the structural engineering firm will need to then inspect and certify that the repairs have been successfully made before the Monument would reopen to the public."  Another Washington icon damaged by the earthquake is due to reopen for a 9/11 remembrance at which President Obama is set to speak. While suffering some harm to its spires and more, the cathedral has been closed and has put up netting to protect passers-by from falling bits of stone. But a crane collapsed at the Cathedral Wednesday morning, and no word yet if that will affect the schedule. An Associated Press report said the decision whether to continue with events, which include a concert and interfaith vigil, had not been made as of late Wednesday.
There's no timetable for reopening the earthquake-damaged Washington Monument for Visitors. The National Park Service must first receive the results of a structural assessment and then make repairs.