Patton-Fowle House Waterfront City Hall Christ Church. October 2021 a far away escape In the Georgetown years, going to Alexandria was almost like visiting another planet. It took a few years for the "new" metro to reach it and even then it was a longish walk down King Street to the historic town center. When I did finally make it there, I must admit I fell in love with it. Alexandria was Georgetown's twin. The port of Georgetown, Maryland was just a couple of miles up

July 2019 On my final return to Iraq from the USA, my brother was the one to take me to the airport (Dulles, Washington, DC). We agreed it was far more civilized to book a hotel room near the airport and stay one night. Additionally, he really wanted to see the nearby National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center which held a lot of historic aircraft. I have to admit I was only mildly interested, but since my brother was generous enough to take me to the airp

July 2019 In the 6th grade we took a class trip to Washington, DC. We saw the museums, the Capitol, and walked around on the Mall, but what stuck with me about the trip were the stops on the way back: one, at the Franciscan Monastery to see its re-creation of places in the Holy Land; and the other, at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Considering nearly everyone on the school trip was Protestant, I think stopping to see two major Roman Catholic sites was d

Environmental Protection Agency, Constitution Avenue December 2021 An old love affair gone sour In my childhood seeing the Federal Triangle meant we were just a stone's throw from the Smithsonian Museums. Those massive Greco-Roman columns for me as a kid on a trip to the capital from rural Pennsylvania were awe inspiring. In later years as a college student, I continued to love the severity of those facades. They stood for so much it seemed - democracy and order at the v

Gallery Place/Chinatown. December 2021 In 1976, the inaugural stretch of the Red Line ran from Rhode Island Avenue to Farragut North station. By the time I reached Washington as a university student the metro had already been expanded to include 2 more lines, the Orange and the Blue. Much to Georgetown's later regret, it lobbied AGAINST a metro station which meant my taking the metro as a student was a long walk to Dupont Circle, Foggy Bottom, or Roslyn, Virginia. None of

Sackler Gallery, Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Insitution. December 2021 Bringing outside inside Under the Enid Haupt Garden behind the Smithsonian Castle is a museum complex that most people would never think even existed at first glance. One half of it is the Sackler Gallery of Asian Art. The architect, Jean Paul Carlhian, is not a name many people are familiar with and he did not leave behind a huge architectural legacy. Nevertheless, the complex is one of my favo

National Building Museum. December 2020. National Building Museum Interior. July 2018 The Pension Building Exiting the metro at Judiciary Square one is confronted with this huge brick structure which looks industrial save a lovely terracotta ribbon that encircles it. This was the massive "Pension Building" that was responsible for paying out Civil War pensions to veterans and their families in the years following the war. Its size attests to what a massive task it must

Great Hall, Library of Congress. September 2021 My favorite American building The grand design of the library's Thomas Jefferson Building was based on the Paris Opera House and seemed to proclaim America's faith in learning and knowledge as vital strengths in upholding the republic. With its synthesis of architecture, art, decoration and ambition, the Library of Congress's Jefferson Building ranks among America's greatest achievements. When it opened November 1, 1897, writer

Rotunda, Art & Industries Building, Smithsonian Institute: December 2021 Slow and steady The new national museum, the Smithsonian, needed display space. In 1881, with the profit made from the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, Congress had a new Smithsonian exhibition hall built just for displaying its ever-growing collection. The building was purpose-built to display things and, over time, acted as a huge staging ground for future museums - Natural History, American His

Apple Store (ex Carnegie Library), Mt Vernon Square. December 2021 Gutted Andrew Carnegie built libraries across the United States with his wealth, some of which were spectacular monuments to public dissemination of knowledge. The one in St Louis is still as grand as the New York Public Library. Another of them was in Washington, DC on Mount Vernon Square built in 1903. The library was extremely successful and almost outgrew its capacity immediately. Carnegie also funded

Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institute. December 2021 American Indian Portraits, George Catlin , National Portrait Gallery. August 2017 A silencing On a summer visit to DC, TFR and I visited the Renwick Gallery to see a recommended exhibit of famous American painter, George Catlin's, works. I rank it among one of the most impactful exhibits I have ever seen in my life. George Catlin was a fellow Pennsylvanian hailing from Wilkes Barre. Given he was born in 1796, I assume