DC Like a Local

Ok, we've talked about the Holocaust Memorial Museum in general terms, and we've gone into what we expect to see in the individual exhibits. Let's dig into those little logistical details that can make or break a visit anywhere, so we can dispense with this crap and spend our time focusing on what really matters.

First off, timing is important. No doubt, you're a faithful reader of DC Like a Local, and know to come to DC in the fall. However, perhaps due to circumstance out of your control, you happen to be visiting in the Spring. It's going to make a difference at the Holocaust Memorial Museum. Tickets to the Permanent Exhibit are required from March to August, and if you plan to be here then, try and order them ahead of time. Otherwise, no advance planning is required, other than making sure you have enough time.

Now, if all the tickets are sold out, don't despair. Only a portion of them are given away ahead of time; the remainder are available at the door starting at 10 am. A line will form an hour or so earlier, and if it's a very busy day (Cherry Blossom Festival, Memorial Day, etc.), you may consider joining it. However, I find that tickets are still available to 11, if not noon on most days. After the initial rush, ticket distribution moves indoors to the Information Desk in the main lobby (Hall of Witness on the maps). Either way, ask for the earliest tickets available (as you should do if you get them online as well). The great thing about the timed tickets at the Holocaust is that they're good for any time after the time on the ticket, as long as it's the same day. So if you score 11 am tickets, you can use them at 2 pm. No point on getting 3:45 tickets, then is there.

Now, it's important to note again that your tickets are only for the Permanent Exhibit. The Holocaust Memorial Museum itself does not require tickets, nor do the temporary exhibits, Daniel's Story, museum shop, or the cafe.

To get there, I strongly recommend the Metro, as parking nearby is scarce to nonexistent. The Orange/Blue lines stop a block away at the Smithsonian station. Follow the signs for the Department of Agriculture/Independence Ave exit, and when you get out walk straight along Independence one block (towards the Washington Monument), cross 14th ST, and walk half a block to your left. The general visitors line forms from one of the two entrances on 14th ST (hint: just get in the shorter one).

Tragically, we've all had a reminder as to why we need to go through security to enter. I personally find the security officers at the Holocaust Memorial Museum to be the most professional in DC, both in their thoroughness of ensuring our security and in the courtesy they extend to visitors. Help them out by having all electronic equipment (cell phone, cameras,etc.) out as well as any metal object. I leave change in my pocket and never set off the detectors. Incidentally, video/audio recording is not allowed, and photography is not permitted in the exhibit spaces.

You may wish to bring your camera for the Museum itself though, especially the Hall of Witness. It's an incredible building, and try to catch the presentation the staff puts together in the lobby. Look for the cart with the mock up of the building. It's a great discussion of how the design and architecture complements and reinforces your experience at the Museum. Be warned though, the design of the Museum is intended to jar you from your normal reality and separate you from your experience of walking the streets of Washington. At times, you will feel herded, crowded, and dislocated. This is not accidental, so be ready for it, especially if you are traveling in a group or with kids. Plan on meeting up back in the lobby if you get separated, and give everyone a time to meet.

If you plan on visiting the Museum around breakfast or lunch you have a couple of options. The Museum Cafe is quite good, if a bit pricey. It is vegetarian, and has kosher meals, naturally. To get there, exit the building through the rear entrance, walk across the plaza to the red brick building to your right, and go in. You will have to go through security again, but normally just takes a second. To return to the museum proper, you're supposed to go back to the 14th St entrance, but often a security guard at the rear, group entrance will give you a break. If you're looking for another option, I recommend the Department of Agriculture cafeteria a couple of blocks down C St, across 14th. 

And finally, let's touch on the most asked question of any tour to the Holocaust Memorial Museum: where are the bathrooms? Let me say this. I think James Ingo Freed is a genius. The way he uses architecture to heighten and enhance the telling of a profound story in many ways, both great and subtle, is incredible. No other museum in Washington is so sympathetic and compatible with its subject matter. But, for the love is all that is good, could the man just put a bathroom on the first floor? Would that have killed the art?

It's down the stairs to the left.

In the interests of full disclosure, I should warn you that the chances of seeing me on skates is less than that of catching Lauren at Christmas Mass, but that doesn't mean I'm a total Scrooge. While I'm not a fan of skating per se, I do enjoy the associated experiences: watching others skate and fall on their asses, having a cup of hot chocolate, and retiring afterwards to warm up with some adult beverages.

So it was with great joy that I read yesterday that the National Gallery of Art's Sculpture Garden Ice Rink is to open today, after some technical difficulties. This is Washington, DC's best known skating rink, beloved of those looking for an iconic place to enjoy the winter season, and by college freshmen looking to score on the first date.

But by no means is this your only opportunity to find out how cold and hard ice is when you fall on it. The DC area enjoys several other skating opportunities:

• Pershing Park - Tucked into a hidden corner of Pennsylvania Avenue between 14th and 15th ST NW, is a small rink near the memorial to Gen. Pershing, of World War I fame. It is entirely possible to walk by this spot and never see it; it's very well hidden. Pershing Park offers a quieter, less intense spot to skate versus the Sculpture Garden. Great for going with small kids, and for fathers that have no business being up on skates. Unfortunately, Pershing Park is closed for now, but we'll update you as we hear about it.
• Ft. Dupont Ice Arena - For a true local experience, the Ice Arena at Ft. Dupont Park offers public skating at selected times on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. This is well off the tourist path, and you will have to take a bus from the closest Metro Stop, but if you just really need to get a skating fix, this may be the place for you. And you will see a part of town that just about no tourists go to. Ever.
• Pentagon Row Outdoor Ice Skating - Tucked into the mixed-use Pentagon Row development is a small but popular skating rink. Among it's many attractions is the very close proximity to a Starbucks. So close, it would even be theoretically possible to duck in and get a coffee before your kids even knew you weren't watching them. Take the Blue or Yellow line to Pentagon City, walk through the Pentagon City food court, through the parking garage, outside and the Pentagon Row development is across the street.
• Kettler Capitals IcePlex - Built as an innovate partnership between the Washington Capitals and Arlington, VA, the IcePlex is the Caps practice rink and open for public events and skating at other times. It is, I kid you not, built on top of a parking garage near Ballston Mall. Take the Orange Line to Ballston, take a right at the top of the elevator, left onto Stuart, walk two blocks and go into the Mall (entrance on Wilson Boulevard). The rink is on the eighth floor of the garage.

I hope folks enjoy their skating. Don't worry about the guy holding a cup of hot chocolate laughing at you. He's just an ass.

So much gets written about the great museums of the Mall, you might think they were the only show in town. Of course the Smithsonian's are unparalleled cultural wonder, unique in scale and accessibility worldwide, but that doesn't mean they're the only show in town. I'm not talking about the National Gallery of Art, so close they're often confused with the Smithsonian. Nor am I talking about the plethora of high quality pay museums that have been popping up like mushrooms after a rain storm the last decade or so. I'm talking about these little, quirky, never heard of museums that would be cultural icon somewhere else but get starved for oxygen in the shadow of the Smithsonian (I like to mix my metaphors, so stuff it).

Therefore, from time to time, I'm going to try to highlight some of these off the beaten path museums. Some are footsteps away from things you paid hundreds of dollars in airline tickets to come visit. Others require more advanced planning to get to. In picking which ones to highlight, I'm asking two questions. Do they provide enough detail that a buff might consider making a special trip here to visit it? And does it provide enough general interest that someone who has never before given a damn about, say, beads, that they will walk out of there with a new found interest?

Without further ado, let's chat about one of my favorite museums in DC, the Navy Museum. My half dozen or so devout fans no doubt remember I have a little Naval experience under my belt, so I certainly fall into the first of my two categories. I first came across the Museum in my college days when I wrote my thesis about the Navy in Vietnam and wandered over from the nearby Navy History and Heritage Command's archives to check out the Swift boat on display. Yes, the very same for those of you with fond (or not so fond) memories of the 2004 Presidential Campaign.

So clearly the Museum is a hit for people who tend to bore their spouses with arcane trivia about the conversion from sail to steam and the relevance of Mahan in today's world. But what about the rest of us, er uhm, I mean, you?

All I can say is that the Museum has quite a bit to offer non-Navy folks as well. The history of the Navy in many ways shadows the growth of the United States and its emergence on the world scene. As the Navy was a principal agent for America to represent itself overseas, much of the exhibits detail this early international role. It's an interesting perspective to take a look at. Naturally, the Navy's role in our wars is documented as well. In particular, take a look at the Civil War section. They have a chunk of the USS Kearsarge's stern post there, with an unexploded shell from the CSS Alabama still in it. An important lesson in keeping our powder dry for all of us.

I strongly recommend spending some time exploring the park and grounds outside, especially for kids. When I give a tour to middle schoolers and they've maxed out their "well behaved" time in DC, I try to schedule a swing by the Navy Yard and give them an hour or so to detox from all these old people (including myself) yelling at them and telling them not to talk. It's a lovely park along the Anacostia river, with the ex-USS Barry open for visits. For being littered with artifacts of death and destruction it's a surprisingly calming place.

The Navy Museum is located in the Washington Navy Yard, and active military installation. Please make sure you bring government issued ID cards if you are over 16, and be prepared to have large bags and parcels checked. The Museum is open from 9-5 on weekdays, and 10-5 on weekends and holidays.

To get there take the Green Line to Navy Yard and walk several blocks up M Street to the 6th ST Entrance, where the guard will give you directions. Alternatively, if you're already on the Orange/Blue line, I'd get off at Eastern Market and walk south on 8th Street about a half a mile. The Circulator picks up right at the Metro stop if you'd prefer not to walk and lets off at the 6th St Entrance (M-F). For more details about security, directions, or, God forbid, parking, visit here.