A Day in DC: Taking in the Memorials

View Memorials to White House in a larger map

Some time ago, I sketched out a sample itinerary for a day in DC focused on Capitol Hill that combined a bit of the National stuff that you’ve come to see with a little of the local color that humanizes the experience and makes your visit more memorable. So in that vein, let’s lay out another day, taking in the Memorials in the morning and a little of DC the rest of the day.

We’ll kick off at the Foggy Bottom Metro Stop on the Orange and Blue lines. We got a lot of walking to do this morning, and I don’t know about you, but I can’t do it without a cup of coffee. DC has some top notch coffee shops, but as we’re not near any of them now we’ll make do with the Starbucks at the GWU Hospital. We’re heading south on 23rd (downhill) towards the Lincoln Memorial. As we head down 23rd, you may want to swing by the Columbia Plaza shopping center (just past Virginia Ave) and pick up some water or other supplies. We’ll be walking a good chunk of the morning and pickings are scarce on the Mall.

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Thanksgiving: a Day of Reckoning

Those of us who live in DC are used to the ebb and flow of tourists coming to our fair city. I, for one, welcome it, and not just because of the dozens of dollars I earn from showing folks around. It's easy for us to get jaded at the grandeur of the buildings and the hustle and bustle of government going on around us as we go about our daily lives. I truly enjoy the enthusiasm and fresh perspective of visitors, and not just to chuckle at when they gaze upon the Capitol and ask "do you think the President is home?" My visitors often teach me as much as I show them.

But that being said, if you live around here, get your Mall time in now. With the cherry blossoms coming at us like a freight train, we're in for six months of tourist season. Maybe the economy will keep some of them at home, but I've got to warn you: I'm not seeing a drop off in my bookings for the spring. So after we hunker down for half the year, fall is a great time for us locals to get reacquainted with our home town. The humidity has lifted and we can actually stop and look at an exhibit or two without being crushed. Except for one day...

As my good friend Susan L asks:

We have the whole family here for Thanksgiving. We swear that we will not go shopping on the Friday after T-day. Therefore, we have to come up with an event to do all together. I have a large family… probably 15+ adults. And, then there are kids too. But, sometimes the kids are not included. So the question is, what is fun to do the day after Thanksgiving that not 1 million others will be doing. This can include kids or not.

I feel your pain, Susan. We've done our part and welcomed the hordes. Now we just want to show our relatives the freaking Hope diamond. So I'm going to throw out a few ideas but this is really a topic where I could use some audience participation. Please post some ideas in the comments or send them to me. Please! If I don't get a good answer Susan might hurt me. She scares me.

1. Obviously, you've got no business being at the Natural History, Air and Space, or American History museums on this day. But this can be a good day to check out the Freer, the Sackler, the National Museum of African Art, or some of the less loved museums. And someone out there should show some love for the Hirshhorn, but even I have my limits.

2. Avoid the Mall entirely and head to the White House. Beyond showing the folks the obligatory White House, there are three excellent museums right there: the Renwick Gallery, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and the Decatur House. And not a terribly far walk away is the White House Visitors Center and the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum. So, while there might not be something for everyone, you can at least take the crowd to Lafeyette Square and let them see whatever interests them.

So folks, I need your help on this one. Enough freeloading, send me your suggestions. Because if Susan shows up on my doorstep with 15 relatives on Black Friday, I'm blaming you.

All Lincoln, All The Time

Ok, I admire President Lincoln as much as the next guy, and even more so if the next guy hails from south of the Rapahonnock. He's one of those rare historical figures where the mythology undersells what he accomplished. His Memorial is a fitting counterweight to the Capitol on our National Mall. And certainly, no President better supports the Great Man theory of history.

But isn't it all getting to be a little much? Yeah, yeah, I know it's the bicentennial of his birth. I know there is more than a casual overlap between Lincoln's life story and our new President's. I'm sure those of us in the DC area have noticed the phenomenon; maybe our friends from Illinois can back us up here. Is it possible that we give the man who was arguably our greatest President too much attention?

It all started innocuously enough. Ford's Theater closed down a few years ago for a long awaited restoration, to reopen on the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth. Team of Rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin's fascinating look at Lincoln's political machinations during his Presidency, came out around that time. Then, the National Trust for Historic Preservation restored the Lincoln Cottage at the Soldier's Home in NE DC. Ok, these seemed to be, and were, positive developments. The Cottage, in particular, is a welcome addition, very well done, and truly adds something to our awareness of President Lincoln.

But it all went off the rails at some point. For me, it was when I attended a meeting about the re-opening of Ford's Theater and saw that DC's greatest little museum was becoming our latest infotainment center; a 1865 version of the Spy Museum. I'll have more on that later, but for know it just kind of got me noticing what was going on around here. Every new museum exhibit, every new symposium, every new lecture was about Lincoln.

Some of these look cool. Certainly, the National Museum of American History is a natural venue for a retrospective of Lincoln's life. And the Library of Congress, continues it's track record of being, in my opinion, the best American History Museum in Washington with it's exhibit that includes the contents of Lincoln's pockets the night he was assassinated. And I was terribly moved to see the Gettysburg Address on display when the American History Museum re-opened. But Lincoln Stamp Collecting? Random Lincoln Art? And this one really takes the cake (for a look at some craziness near you check it out here). Nothing wrong with any of this individually, but in total it's a bit overwhelming. Even the Economist is noting the trend.

So, all in all, President Lincoln, I ask you not to leave us in peace, but in moderation. It's all just too much. Maybe you could nudge your wife to visit some curators, writers, and lecturers from beyond the grave and let them know that Lincoln has been done. On the off chance they find a new angle, it's going to be lost in the shuffle. And hey, we got some other history to look at here as well.