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It has long been one of the USA's most recognisable landmarks. But for the past three years, it has been closed to the public due to significant structural damage.

So there is a sense of jubilation today in America's capital city, as the famous Washington Monument reopens to the public.

Grand opening: The Washington Monument has been closed for three years

Preparing to meet its public: The Washington Monument will reopen to visitors later today

This giant 555ft-tall (169m) obelisk stands almost at the heart of Washington DC.

Built between 1848 and 1884 in tribute to George Washington, the first US president, it has been shut to visitors for the last 32 months – thanks to the cracks that emerged in its stonework as a result of the earthquake that struck the city on 23 August 2011.

The 5.8-magnitude quake was followed by a series of tremors that were as strong as 4.5 on the Richter scale.

Inimitable: The Washington Monument is one of the key landmarks of the city whether it is winter or summer

These problems were compounded by Hurricane Irene, which swept into Washington DC four days later – adding to the architectural stress on the near two-century-old edifice.

Visitor access to the observation deck – which sits at 500ft and offers widescreen views of America's bureaucratic hub – was closed off immediately after the earthquake.

Public tours will begin again today (12 May) at 1pm local time (6pm in the UK) – after a short ceremony to mark the Monument's return.

Some 150 cracks appeared in its masonry, mainly as a result of the initial earthquake.

Good times and bad: The Washington Monument pictured during 4th July festivities, and with flags at half mast

The necessary repairs have cost $15million (£9million).

Half of this sum has come from public funding, with another $7.5million (£4.5million) provided by US billionaire philanthropist David Rubenstein.

Rubenstein says that he offered the donation after realising how much the Washington Monument means to a lot of Americans.

'It became clear to me that the Washington Monument symbolises many things for our country – the freedoms, patriotism, George Washington, leadership,' he said.

Cracking up: Damage caused to the Monument by the earthquake is visible in this image from June 2013

'It has been moving to see how many people are affected by it.'

Although it is now an unmistakeable part of the Washington DC landscape, the Monument's construction was not without its issues.

Its 36-year gestation was a drawn-out affair, with delays – caused by a lack of funding, as well as the interruption of the American Civil War – leaving it, at one point, half finished.

This start-stop process is visible in the two shades of stone that make up the obelisk.

Builders returning to the project in 1879 were unable to source granite of the exact same hue as the blocks which make up the Monument's lower third – and were forced to continue construction with material of a slightly darker colour.

Patched up: Bob Vogel, the Superintendent of National Mall and Memorial Parks, points out a repaired crack

Despite its woes over the last three years, the future of the Monument was never in doubt.

'It's structurally sound and not going anywhere,' Bob Vogel, Superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks emphasised in September 2011.

By the time it was completed, the Washington Monument was the tallest structure on the planet – although it would lose that title to the Eiffel Tower within four years.

It is still the world's tallest stone structure.