Monument sights in Washington, DC
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Washington Monument
Oldest joke in DC: ‘So, what part of Washington is his monument modeled on?’ Yeah, that’s right, America has a bigger…obelisk than you. At 555ft the monument is not only the tallest building in DC (by federal law no structure can reach above it), it is also the tallest masonry structure in the world. Construction began in 1848 but a lack of funds during the Civil War kept building in a quagmire and the 90,854-ton, brick-and-marble structure was not completed until 1888. The original marble was drawn from Maryland, but the source dried up about a third of the way through construction and contractors had to turn to Massachusetts for marble. If you look closely there is a vi…
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Ellipse
That elliptical road that circles the expansive park on the south side of the White House? It’s imaginatively known as the Ellipse. The park is studded with a random collection of monuments, such as the Zero Milestone (the marker for highway distances all across the country) and the Second Division Memorial. But the more important function of the Ellipse is hosting sporting events, parades and festivals – from lighting the national Christmas tree, to military drill performances to Lance Armstrong’s final ride.
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Vietnam Veterans Memorial
This simple memorial is the most powerful in the city, if not the nation. A black granite ‘V’ cuts into the Mall, just as the war it memorializes cut into the national psyche. The memorial eschews mixing conflict with glory. Instead, it quietly records the names of service personnel KIA and MIA (killed in action and missing in action) in Vietnam, honoring those who gave their lives and explaining, in stark architectural language, the true price paid in war.
Originally planned to reconcile a divided nation, the memorial was conceived by Maya Lin, a 21-year-old Yale architecture student, following a nationwide call for proposed designs in 1982. The two walls of Indian g…
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Supreme Court
The highest court in the land is also the head of the least prominent branch of government: the United States judiciary. As such, the actual Supreme Court building, one of the last Greek classical structures built in DC, isn’t as iconic as the Capitol or the White House (the respective centers of the legislative and executive branches). This suited a few folks just fine in the past. When the building came up in 1935, some justices felt it was too large, and didn’t properly reflect the subdued influence of the nine justices within. The design scheme was to create, in typically Federal government style, a Greek Temple of Justice. The seated figures in front of the building …
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Lincoln Memorial
In a city of icons, the inspiration for the back of the penny stands out in the crowd. It’s the classicism evoked by the Greek temple design, or the way the memorial so perfectly anchors the Mall’s west end, or maybe just the stony dignity of Lincoln’s gaze and the power of his speeches engraved in the walls. Whatever; a visit here while gazing over the Reflecting Pool is a defining DC moment. These are the steps where lovers kiss and schoolchildren lounge, protestors gather and Martin Luther King Jr’s dream seared itself into the national conscience. To add to the civil rights record, read the words of the Emancipation Proclamation and Lincoln’s Second Inaugural speech, …
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Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
Only good memorials manage to capture the essence of their subject, but the FDR Memorial takes it a step forward, encapsulating the longest-serving president in US history and the era he governed.
On the Tidal Basin’s west bank, this landscaped 7.5-acre space is composed of four red-granite ‘rooms’ that narrate FDR’s presidency, from the Depression to the New Deal to WWII. The story of both the man and the 1930s and ’40s is told through statuary and inscriptions, punctuated with cascades and peaceful alcoves.
The irony is, FDR didn’t want a grand memorial. In fact, when asked about a more traditional memorial, he reportedly responded ‘If any memorial is erected …
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Lafayette Square
The land north of 1600 Pennsylvania was originally deeded as part of the White House grounds. However, in 1804 President Thomas Jefferson decided to divide the plot and give half back to the public in the form of a park, now known as Lafayette Sq. A statue of Andrew Jackson astride a horse holds court in the center, while the statues anchoring the four corners are all of foreign-born revolutionary leaders, a nice reminder that non-American freedom fighters helped ensure American independence. In the southeast corner check out the likeness of the Marquis de Lafayette, a revolutionary war general by the age of 19. Although Lafayette was branded a traitor in his native Franc…
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Constitution Gardens
Constitution Gardens is a bit of a locals’ secret. Quiet, shady and serene, it’s a reminder of the size of the Mall – how can such isolation exist amid so many tourists? Here’s the simple layout: a copse of trees set off by a small kidney-shaped pool, punctuated by a tiny island holding the Signers’ Memorial, a plaza honoring those who signed the Declaration of Independence. At the northeast corner is an elegantly aged stone cottage, a remnant of the days when the Washington City Canal flowed through this area. The 1835 C&O Canal Gatehouse was the lock-keepers’ house for the lock that transferred boats from the City Canal onto the C&O Canal, which begins in Ge…
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Washington DC Martin Luther King Jr Memorial
The newest potential memorial on the Mall, and the first one to honor an African American, has been mired in funding difficulties for the past few years. Ground breaking started in the fall of 2006, with completion set for 2008, but as of this writing the memorial foundation was still trying to secure its final construction permits. Once built, the MLK memorial will occupy space along the Tidal Basin, near the Jefferson and FDR Memorials, and will convey themes of democracy, justice and hope. The design includes a crescent-shaped wall with sermon inscriptions etched onto its stone surface. The centerpiece of the memorial will be a Stone of Hope, featuring a 30ft-tall like…
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National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial
The memorial on Judiciary Sq commemorates US police officers killed on duty since 1794. In the style of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, names of the dead are carved on two marble walls curving around a plaza; new names are added during a moving candlelight vigil each year in May. Peeking over the walls, bronze lion statues protect their sleeping cubs (presumably as law enforcement officers protect us). The nearby visitor center houses several exhibits about the history of the memorial and the law enforcement officers it honors. Plans are underway for a National Law Enforcement Museum, which will open across from the memorial on an as-yet-to-be-determined date.
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Thomas Jefferson Memorial
Set on the south bank of the Tidal Basin amid the cherry trees (check it out in late March or early April when the blossoms are blazing pink), this memorial honors the third US president, political philosopher, drafter of the Declaration of Independence and founder of the University of Virginia. Designed by John Russell Pope to resemble Jefferson’s library at the university, the rounded monument was initially derided by critics as ‘the Jefferson Muffin.’ We think the circular shape is a nice contrast to the angles jutting out from so many other monuments. Inside is a 19ft bronze likeness, and excerpts from Jefferson’s writings are etched into the walls.
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District of Columbia War Memorial
This small Greek-style temple commemorates local soldiers killed in WWI, making it the only local District memorial on the Mall. The circular structure is supported by 12 Doric 22ft-high marble columns; inside are the names of the 26,000 Washingtonians who served in the war and the 499 DC soldiers killed in action. In 2008, Representative Ted Poe of Texas put forward HR482, the Frank Buckles WWI Memorial Act (named for the last living US veteran of WWI). If passed, the law would expand the site into a national WWI memorial. As of writing the bill was referred to subcommittee; to follow its progress, see www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h482/show.
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Theodore Roosevelt Island
This 91-acre wooded island, in the Potomac off Rosslyn, is a wilderness preserve honoring the conservation-minded 26th US president. A large memorial plaza and statue of Teddy dominate the island’s center, and trails and boardwalks snake around the shorelines. The island’s swampy fringes shelter birds, raccoons and other small animals, and there are great views of the Kennedy Center and Georgetown University across the river. The island is accessible from the Mt Vernon Trail and is a convenient stop on a long bike ride or jog, but note bikes aren’t permitted on the island itself; lock them up in the parking lot.
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National Japanese American Memorial
During WWII, thousands of West Coast Japanese American citizens were held in internment camps as suspected ‘enemy aliens.’ Even as this discrimination occurred under government mandate, hundreds of their relatives enrolled in the all Japanese American 442nd Infantry Regiment, which would go on to become the most decorated American combat unit of the war. Both soldiers and interred civilians are honored in this plaza, centered on a statue depicting two cranes bound with barbed wire.
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Korean War Veterans Memorial
Nineteen steel soldiers wander through clumps of juniper past a wall bearing images of the ‘Forgotten War’ that assemble, in the distance, into a panorama of the Korean mountains. Best visited at night, when the sculpted patrol – representing all races and combat branches that served in the war – takes on a phantom cast. In winter, when snow folds over the infantry’s field coats, the impact is especially powerful.
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African American Civil War Memorial
Standing at the center of a granite plaza, this bronze statue depicting rifle-bearing troops is DC’s first major art piece by black sculptor Ed Hamilton. The sculpture is surrounded on three sides by the Wall of Honor, listing the names of 209,145 black troops who fought in the Union Army, as well as the 7000 white soldiers who served alongside them. You can use the directory to locate individual names within each of the regiments.
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George Washington Masonic National Memorial
Alexandria’s most prominent landmark features a fine view from its 333ft tower, where you can see the Capitol, Mount Vernon and the Potomac River. It is modeled after the lighthouse in Alexandria, and honors the first president (who was initiated into the Masons in Fredericksburg in 1752 and later became Worshipful Master of Alexandria Lodge No 22). Artifacts of Washington’s life and a striking bronze statue do the job.
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George Mason Memorial
This little oasis of flowers and fountains honors the famed statesman and author of the Commonwealth of Virginia Declaration of Rights (a forerunner to the US Bill of Rights). A bronze sculpture of Mason sits (literally; his legs are crossed and the man looks eminently relaxed) under a pretty covered arcade, amid wise words against slavery and in support of human rights.
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National Air Force Memorial
Overlooking the Pentagon and adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery, this new memorial is (somewhat oddly) especially attractive from the highway. It pays tribute to the millions of men and women who served in the air force and its predecessor organizations via a series of twisting metal arcs, meant to represent flight in motion.
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Freedom Park
Paying tribute to a free press, Freedom Park features a memorial honoring journalists killed on the job. You’ll also find icons from political struggles around the world on display, including chunks of the Berlin Wall. It’s a nice spot to sit for a while and contemplate.
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