Gabi On The Go: How to spend a full day at the National Mall! (Saturday, Sep. 21)

It was a long walking day with more the 22 thousand steps!

We left the hotel heading down to the National Mall where all the important governamental buildings, national museums and memorials are.

The architecture is amazing, and walking is the best way of appreciating it.

"Mother nature shows us: anything big starts out small"

This sign on the side of a Methodist Church caught my attention: free showers.
What a humane way of treating people in vulnerable situation!
I wish I see more of those services in different places.

We walked through a local market.

I always enjoy community gatherings.

We had an amazing breakfast at Tatte's Bakery and Cafe.

The food was delicious and the servers were super friendly.

Great decor and atmosphere!

https://tattebakery.com/washington-dc/

THE CAPITOL BUILDING

One of the most impressive governmental building in Washington DC is the Capitol, where members of the House and Senators work since 1800.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitol_Hill

Capitol Hill is famed as a center of the United States government, home to numerous important institutions including the U.S. Congress, the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, and more. Apart from government, the neighborhood is largely residential, but maintains notable commercial hubs along Pennsylvania Avenue, such as Eastern Market and Barracks Row.

The American Supreme Court.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Supreme_Court_Building

The Supreme Court Building houses the Supreme Court of the United States, the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. The building serves as the official workplace of the chief justice of the United States and the eight associate justices of the Supreme Court. It is located at 1 First Street in Northeast Washington, D.C. It is one block immediately east of the United States Capitol and north of the Library of Congress. The building is managed by the Architect of the Capitol. On May 4, 1987, the Supreme Court Building was designated a National Historic Landmark.

Designed in the neoclassical style, the proposal for a separate building for the Supreme Court was suggested in 1912 by President William Howard Taft, who became Chief Justice in 1921. In 1929, Taft successfully argued for the creation of the new building but did not live to see it built. Physical construction began in 1932 and was officially completed in 1935 under the guidance of Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, Taft's successor. The building was designed by architect Cass Gilbert, a friend of Taft.

The U.S. Capitol Visitor Centre offers free tours of parts of the building.

We booked online ahead of the time.
Even though they tell you to get there 30 minutes earlier for security checks, the whole thing went super smoothly.

The tour was packed, but we all moved orderly and we didn't feel rushed.

FROM https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/statue-freedom

The model of the Statue of Freedom is a piece of history itself. Since its fabrication, the 15,000-pound plaster model has been segmented, moved and stored numerous times. It even left the Capitol in 1890 and was transferred to the Smithsonian where it was displayed in the Arts and Industries Building from 1900 to 1967. Sawn apart and in storage until 1992, the model made a final return to the Capitol that year thanks to funds donated to the U.S. Capitol Preservation Commission.

This was our smart and funny tour guide.

He made our experience light and richer.

Some people are just born to perform that kind of job!

The magnificent Rotunda!

FROM https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/apotheosis-washington

The Apotheosis of Washington in the eye of the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol was painted in the true fresco technique by Constantino Brumidi in 1865. Brumidi (1805-1880) was born and trained in Rome and had painted in the Vatican and Roman palaces before emigrating to the United States in 1852. A master of creating the illusion of three-dimensional forms and figures on flat walls, Brumidi painted frescoes and murals throughout the Capitol from 1855 until his death.

The Apotheosis of Washington, his most ambitious work at the Capitol Building, was painted in 11 months at the end of the Civil War, soon after the new dome was completed, for $40,000. The figures, up to 15 feet tall, were painted to be intelligible from close up as well as from 180 feet below. Some of the groups and figures were inspired by classical and Renaissance images, especially by those of the Italian master Raphael.

In the central group of the fresco, Brumidi depicted George Washington rising to the heavens in glory, flanked by female figures representing Liberty and Victory/Fame. A rainbow arches at his feet, and thirteen maidens symbolizing the original states flank the three central figures. (The word "apotheosis" in the title means literally the raising of a person to the rank of a god, or the glorification of a person as an ideal; George Washington was honored as a national icon in the nineteenth century.)

Mike watching George Washington being raised to God's status - according to Italian artist Brumidi!

Various large paintings tell some of the most iconic histories of America.

This one shows Pocahontas being baptized.

FROM https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/baptism-pocahontas

This painting depicts the ceremony in which Pocahontas, daughter of the influential Algonkian chief Powhatan, was baptized and given the name Rebecca in an Anglican church. It took place in 1613 or 1614 in the colony at Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement on the North American continent. Pocahontas is thought to be the earliest native convert to Christianity in the English colonies; this ceremony and her subsequent marriage to John Rolfe helped to establish peaceful relations between the colonists and the Tidewater tribes.

This is the old Capitol.

Today, it's a chamber with statues from every American state.
The states choose two statues to be here for at least 10 years.

We were told that in few days, the state of Tennessee will unveil a statue of Johnny Cash here.

Chief Standing Bear from Nebraska.

THE CONGRESS LIBRARY

We didn't plan to visit the Congress Library but realized it was a pleasure addition to our tour.
What a magical place! Wow!

We highly recommend to visit it.

The library doesn't offer guided tours, but you can walk around and admire it's beauty!

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Congress

Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the oldest federal cultural institution in the U.S.^[4] It is housed in three elaborate buildings on Capitol Hill, with a conservation center in Culpeper, Virginia and offsite storage facilities at Fort Meade and Cabin Branch in Maryland. The library's functions are overseen by the Librarian of Congress, and its buildings are maintained by the Architect of the Capitol. The LOC is one of the largest libraries in the world, containing approximately 173 million items and employing over 3,000 staff. Its collections are "universal, not limited by subject, format, or national boundary, and include research materials from all parts of the world and in more than 470 languages"

This is the main room.

Locals can get a reading card to have access to this breathtaking area.

In a permanent exhibition, visitors can see the itens found in Abraham Lincoln's pockets when he was shot and assassinated: glasses, a white linen handkerchief, a leather wallet, $5 bill and a pocket knife.

This is the Thomas Jefferson's personal library.

Streaming live in the monitor located inside Jefferson's Library, was a retired librarian who had worked here and knows everything about this room.

He was calling from his home, "far away" chatting with visitors - about their experiences - and answering very specific questions, like "what's the oldest book in here?"

The old librarian didn't hesitate to answer that the oldest book here was "the 5th book on the 3rd shelf, right across from the monitor. It's that book with the broken spine, on Christianity, dated 1506!"

WHAT AN AMAZING IDEA!!!!!
The retired librarian said he loved doing this because it keeps him connected with the job he used to love.

Mosaics

FROM https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/bibles/the-gutenberg-bible.html

The Gutenberg Bible is the first great book printed in Western Europe from movable metal type. It is therefore a monument that marks a turning point in the art of bookmaking and consequently in the transition from the Middle Ages to the modern world. Gutenberg’s invention of the mechanical printing press made it possible for the accumulated knowledge of the human race to become the common property of every person who knew how to read—an immense forward step in the emancipation of the human mind.

The printing of the Bible was probably completed late in 1455 at Mainz, Germany. Johann Gutenberg, who lived from about 1400 to about 1468, is generally credited for inventing the process of making uniform and interchangeable metal types and for solving the many problems of finding the right materials and methods for printing. This Bible, with its noble Gothic type richly impressed on the page, is recognized as a masterpiece of fine printing and craftsmanship and is all the more remarkable because it was undoubtedly one of the very first books to emerge from the press.

The head librarian's office at the Library of Congress is known as the Librarian's Ceremonial Office.

THE NATIONAL MALL

Tourists at the U.S. Capitol.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Mall

The National Mall is a landscaped park near the downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institution, art galleries, cultural institutions, and various memorials, sculptures, and statues. It is administered by the National Park Service (NPS) of the United States Department of the Interior as part of the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit of the National Park System. The park receives approximately 24 million visitors each year. Designed by Pierre L'Enfant, the "Grand Avenue" or Mall was to be a democratic and egalitarian space—the complete opposite of the gardens of Versailles where only royalty and nobility accessed similar spaces in size and scope.

The core area of the National Mall extends between the United States Capitol grounds to the east and the Washington Monument to the west and is lined to the north and south by several museums and federal office buildings. The term National Mall may also include areas that are also officially part of neighboring West Potomac Park to the south and west and Constitution Gardens to the north, extending to the Lincoln Memorial on the west and Jefferson Memorial to the south.

THE SCULPTURE GARDEN

Walking along the National Mall, we can see many national museums and right beside the National Gallery, there is the beautiful Sculpture Garden.

Roxy Paine, Graft, 2008–2009

Roy Lichtenstein, House I, 1996/1998

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Gallery_of_Art_Sculpture_Gard

The National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden is the most recent addition to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is located in the National Mall between the National Gallery's West Building and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History.

Completed and opened to the public on May 23, 1999, the location provides an outdoor setting for exhibiting several pieces from the museum's contemporary sculpture collection. The collection is centered on a fountain which, from December to March, is converted to an ice-skating rink.

Sol LeWitt, Four-Sided Pyramid, 1965

Barry Flanagan, Thinker on a Rock, 1997

Magdalena Abakanowicz, Puellae, 1992

Louise Bourgeois, Spider, 1996/1997

Alexander Calder, Cheval Rouge, 1974

The cafe unfortunately closes at 4pm on Saturdays, but we were able to get a small croissant, which we shared with our cute friend.

A pause to charge my phone, and for Mike charge his batteries.
Don't ask me HOW he can do do it... like this!!!

THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT

That's another symbol of Washington DC: The Washington Monument.
The obelisk is so tall that it can be seen in many parts of the city.
It's really impressive!

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Monument

The Washington Monument is an obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, a Founding Father of the United States, victorious commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783 in the American Revolutionary War, and the first President of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Standing east of the Reflecting Pool and the Lincoln Memorial, the monument is made of bluestone gneiss for the foundation and of granite for the construction. The outside facing consists, due to the interrupted building process, of three different kinds of white marble: in the lower third, marble from Baltimore County, Maryland, followed by a narrow zone of marble from Sheffield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and, in the upper part, the so-called Cockeysville Marble. Both "Maryland Marbles" came from the "lost” Irish Quarry Town of "New Texas".

It is both the world's tallest predominantly stone structure and the world's tallest obelisk, standing 554 feet 7+11⁄32 inches (169.046 m) tall, according to U.S. National Geodetic Survey measurements in 2013–2014. It is the tallest monumental column in the world if all are measured above their pedestrian entrances. It was the world's tallest structure between 1884 and 1889, after which it was overtaken by the Eiffel Tower, in Paris. Previously, the tallest structures were Lincoln Cathedral (1311–1548; 525 ft/160 m) and Cologne Cathedral (1880–1884; 515 ft/157 m).

THE LINCOLN MONUMENT

It was here that Martin Luther King Jr. stood to make his famous speech "I Have a Dream," in 1963.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial is a U.S. national memorial that honors the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. An example of neoclassicism, it is in the form of a classical temple and is located at the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Henry Bacon is the memorial's architect and Daniel Chester French designed the large interior statue of a seated Abraham Lincoln (1920), which was carved in marble by the Piccirilli brothers.^[3] Jules Guerin painted the interior murals, and the epitaph above the statue was written by Royal Cortissoz. Dedicated on May 30, 1922, it is one of several memorials built to honor an American president. It has been a major tourist attraction since its opening, and over the years, has occasionally been used as a symbolic center focused on race relations and civil rights.

Doric style columns line the temple exterior, and the inscriptions inside include two well-known speeches by Lincoln, the Gettysburg Address and his second inaugural address. The memorial has been the site of many famous speeches, including Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech delivered on August 28, 1963, during the rally at the end of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_Memorial

The World War II Memorial is a national memorial in the United States dedicated to Americans who served in the armed forces and as civilians during World War II. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

The memorial consists of 56 granite pillars, decorated with bronze laurel wreaths, representing U.S. states and territories, and a pair of small triumphal arches for the Atlantic and Pacific theaters, surrounding an oval plaza and fountain. On its short axis is a memorial wall of gold stars representing the fallen, and opposite, a sloped and stepped entrance plaza leading up to the oval from 17th Street. Its initial design was submitted by Austrian-American architect Friedrich St. Florian.

From the Lincoln Memorial, you can see the Washington Monument.

He seats in there grandiosely!

DINNER

We tried a new neighbourhood for dinner: The Dupont Circle.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dupont_Circle

Dupont Circle is a historic roundabout park and neighborhood of Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th Street NW to the east, 22nd Street NW to the west, M Street NW to the south, and Florida Avenue NW to the north. Much of the neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. However, the local government Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC 2B) and the Dupont Circle Historic District have slightly different boundaries.