The milestone intended to mark every American road

A small granite block sits at the north edge of the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. This is the Zero Milestone. It was built to be the initial milestone from which all road distances in the United States should be reckoned when it was built.

S. M. Johnson had the idea, inspired by Rome's Golden Milestone. He raised donations for the design and construction. Congress authorized the monument to be installed at no expense to the government. It was dedicated in 1923.

Horace Peaslee designed the monolith. It is made of Milford granite from Massachusetts, a light pinkish to greenish gray stone with spots of black biotite mica. A bronze compass rose sits on top, modeled after an ancient portolan chart. A tiny worn-down pyramid at the center serves as a National Geodetic Survey benchmark.

The stone is located in President's Park and carries engravings on four surfaces. One side marks a 1919 motor convoy to San Francisco. Another marks a 1920 convoy over the Bankhead Highway. This monument serves as a permanent point for the measurement of distances from Washington on highways of the United States.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons