In 1892, Frederick Prentice, president of the Prentice Brownstone Co. of Wisconsin, gave Washburn the title "The Monolith City" when he offered to supply a huge brownstone monolith for the Wisconsin Exhibit at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. He proposed a one-piece structure 110 feet high, 10 feet wide at the base, and tapering to an apex of 2½ feet, which he said would surpass the 105-foot, 7-inch Egyptian Obelisk. The stone was to be quarried from one of the Prentice operations and shipped by barge to Chicago, and the Houghton quarry was chosen because its brownstone was considered best for the purpose, free from clay pockets, tints, and streaks. A gala banquet celebrated the moment the stone was broken loose, but the cut stone never left the quarry. Prentice withdrew his offer, and the huge stone was cut and reshaped for use in other buildings.