Category Archives: attraction

Jefferson Memorial

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Back on the bus we basked in the warmth. Tony, our driver, had the heater blasting. A welcome reprieve from the raw, wet cold outside.

Around the Tidal Basin we went pulling up next to an easily recognizable monument; the Jefferson Memorial. When I say we pulled up it was to a bus stop. You can’t get near any of the memorials by car. If you are visiting the monuments you will get plenty of walking.

The Jefferson Memorial

The Jefferson Memorial is a circular, open structure topped by a shallow dome. The exterior is beautiful white marble from Vermont. The interior with Jefferson’s 19 ft tall statue is accessed by a series of granite and marble stepped terraces.

For those of us who might not be in the best physical shape the stairs can be intimidating. There is an elevator if you are handicapped or just not up to stair climbing. Unfortunately it was out of order the day of my visit.

But back to some of the significance of various features. Until my visit I just thought the building was meant to resemble Jefferson’s home of Monticello but I learned that there is much more symbolism than that.

As I mentioned the outer marble is from Vermont, the interior walls are Georgia Marble. These choices symbolize the geographic extremes of the original 13 states. The floor is marble from Tennessee.  The inner dome is limestone from Indiana. This diversity symbolizes the expanding union.

Jefferson’s ties to the Louisiana Purchase are honored by the pedestal of Minnesota Granite and a ring of gray marble surrounding the base made of Missouri stone.

Four quotations from Jefferson’s writings are carved into the walls of the memorial chamber. One of the quotes, from the Declaration of Independence, can be found on the southwest wall.

Location

The monument is located on the south side of the Tidal Basin with a clear sight line of the Washington Monument. President Roosevelt ordered trees cut to make it possible to view the monument from the White House.

In 1912 Japanese Cherry Trees were planted on the site, part of the gift of 3000 trees from the mayor of Tokyo. That was what I wanted to see but sadly, most of the blossoms had been destroyed by the unseasonable cold weather.

In conclusion

Even without the flowers, the beautiful monument is a suitable memorial to our Founding father, an author of the Declaration of Independence, Statesman and Visionary for the founding of a Nation.

Lafayette Square

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The tour bus came to a stop near Lafayette Square. Joey told us we were going to walk across the square and meet the bus  on the other side. Time to hustle because Joey doesn’t let any grass grow under her feet. She couldn’t really. Lafayette Square is a total of  7 acres! I’m kind of glad we didn’t explore the whole thing.

The Square is directly north of the White house on H street, Jackson Place is on the west and Madison Place is on the East. The 4th side is Pennsylvania Ave. The square was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1970.

Like a person who has had  many different jobs, one could say that Lafayette Square has a truly varied history. Over the years it has been used as a racetrack, a graveyard, a zoo, a slave market, an encampment for soldiers during the War if 1812 and many political protests and celebrations.. Some of protests continue to this day.

We stopped at the Statue of the Marquis de Lafayette since the square bears his name. Although Lafayette is singled out the square actually honors all the foreigners that have supported and helped the US, especially in the early days as our country was being born.

Today’s plan contains  five large statues dating from the 1930’s. In the center stands Clark Mills’ equestrian statue of President Andrew Jackson, erected in 1853; in the four corners are statues of Revolutionary War heroes: France’s General Marquis Gilbert de Lafayette and Major General Comte Jean de Rochambeau; Poland’s General Tadeusz Kościuszko; and Prussia’s Major General Baron Frederich Wilhelm von Steuben.

The area around Lafayette Square became one of Washington’s most upscale Neighborhoods. The White House, small and unprepossessing, anchors the neighborhood which includes The Blair-Lee House, Old executive Office Building, the Department of the Treasury, St. John’s Episcopal Church and the Renwick Gallery.

 

 

Major General Winfield Scott Hancock Statue

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There I was…standing in the icy rain. A cold wind was blowing. I looked around for something to do for an hour plus while I waited for the tour. Nothing seemed to be open but as I turned to head back to the subway (where at least it was warm) I spotted a man riding a horse. Well actually a statue of a man riding a horse.

The monument stands next to the elevator to the Metro and across  Pennsylvania Ave from the National Archives.

It’s also very close to the US Naval Memorial.

I looked at the engraving identifying the rider as General Winfield Scott Hancock. I’d never heard of him. General Winfield Scott (Old Fuss and Feathers) was a Civil War general but this fellow had a “Hancock” added onto his name. I looked both Generals up and both served in the Civil War for the Union. This general’s nick name was (“Hancock the Superb”).

There were a few similarities : both Generals ran for president and both were defeated. But more specific to General Hancock was his reputation for integrity which was rare in the corruption of the era. Hancock was only narrowly defeated by James Garfield in his run for president in 1880.

General Hancock lived a storied life with much of it committed to the service of the country. He served as  a second lieutenant in the Mexican War, joined the Union Army and was rapidly promoted to brigadier general. He was a new corp commander at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Hancock’s corp was crucial in the battle at Cemetery Ridge (Pickett’s Charge). Hancock himself sustained wounds in that battle that continued to plague him for the rest of his life.

The Memorial that stands on Pennsylvania Ave was dedicated  May 12, 1886 right after his death. President Grover Cleveland commissioned the memorial at a cost of $50,000.00 which was a lot at that time. The statue is a dedication to the Civil War as well as the General.  Before his life ended on Feb 9, 1886, General Hancock had dedicated forty years of his life to the United States Army.

Seems to me he earned that statue!

 

 

 

The #1 Vacation

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It’s so hard to chose one vacation as the best. Every vacation has a high point, a sight or event that makes it special. Some have several but as I sit back and review the places I’ve been so far I keep going back to one particular vacation. It may come as a surprise to you when I tell you that my #1, absolute favorite vacation so far was our trip to South Dakota.

Maybe it was because I had no expectations for it so it couldn’t fail to live up to anything.

 As Sandy and I prepared for the trip my friends all asked me, What’s in South Dakota? What could I say at that point? Mount Rushmore? I really had no idea.

 We stayed in Rapid City. I remember that even though we were tired from the time zone changes and plane travel, I insisted we start exploring right away. We were burning daylight and thus started a jaw dropping adventure where each day was better than the one before.

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 Our first view of the Badlands was as an afternoon sun was dropping toward the horizon. The lower angle brought out the colors and made the whole scene surreal. Throw in some animals, deer, rabbits, pronghorns and it was magical.

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Wait, was that a Unicorn?

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The vacation continued like that.

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Buffalo herds in Custer State Park along with some silly wild “beggin'” burros.

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More pronghorns, prairie dogs, wild horses, big horn sheep even dinosaurs.

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We laughed ourselves silly on what we named “the longest dirt road in the world” when we got lost on the reservation looking for a Pow Wow.

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We passed through beautiful land and saw more animals and very few people.

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We road an 1880’s steam train and went deep underground in Wind Cave National Park.

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And oh yes, we did see Mount Rushmore. That was pretty awesome too but not the main event by any means.

Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore

So you see, I get excited just reliving that vacation. Even though I love Hawaii and Florida and so many other places I’ve been,  this one is still the #1 Vacation.

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The Last 5

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I thought I should finish what I started. Of the top 10 things to do in Boston, I only got to 5 yesterday. Now I’m sure everyone has different things on their top 10 list. This is just the one Trip Adviser suggests So here we go. Starting with number 6.

#6, North End

               A pretty cool neighborhood especially in the summer  when they have all the Italian Festivals like the Feast of St Anthony’s.

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#7 Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum

               I haven’t been in to visit this attraction although I have walked past it. It’s my understanding that the tour guides are in period dress and walk you through the events of the Boston Tea Party.

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#8 John F. Kennedy Presidential Museum & Library

               Ok everyone knows the Kennedy’s in Boston. They are like a Dynasty. John, Bobby, Teddy, Joe, Patrick. The Mom, Rose, has a stretch of “Greeenway” named after her. Yes they are a Dynasty. And Thanks to JFK we have a Presidential Library.

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#9 Boston Public Library

               This is  an amazing building and that’s just the outside. Inside there are statues, Marble work and Murals. They have a lovely courtyard where you can find a spot to just curl up and sit. (once again a summer activity) A nice break from the usual rush , rush , rush.

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#10 New England Holocaust Memorial

               This is a pretty unique memorial. I’ve walked through it and around it many times. It’s not a large Memorial but a lot of thought went into it. It has 6 tall glass towers. Each tower has 1 million numbers etched into the glass, each number representing a person who died. By the time you have walked past all 6 towers you realize that they represent the 6M people that perished during that horrible genocide. It really makes you think.

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Maybe if it’s nice this weekend I’ll make a trip into town. Then I can tell all of you what I think of the list. Have you been to Boston? What do you think should be on the list? The Old North Church? The TD Garden? Old Ironsides (In dry dock right now)? Don’t forget the “Cheers” Bar!

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