Culture, Museums and Memorials

Sunday morning in the Federal Triangle of DC: pretty quiet. It was even hard to find an open coffee shop in the morning in our neighborhood. And, we almost started missing L.A. traffic (just kidding!). The city is clean, immaculate, with well-dressed people hustling and bustling, (almost) no homeless to be seen and far less dog owners. That was at least our first impression after our recent visits to Vegas and L.A.

First stops this morning were the new WWI Memorial (photo above) - in front of our hotel - and, then, opposite: the White House Visitor Center (below). Not much has changed there, but wanted to check it out. Also, it gave us a chance to get used again to strict security procedures in DC when entering museums and sights. Fortunately, we were so fortunate and had a tour in the White House some time in the 1990ies. They terminated public tours in 2001, after Sept. 11.

Our first tour this morning was scheduled at the National Children's Museum, just a stone's throw away from our hotel. We got to know that it's a childrens' museum and a science center in one, focused on sparking curiosity and creativity and creating dreams. It was founded in 1974, but closed in 2003. In 2020, the National Children’s Museum reopened newly in the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center. 

 

Next: the Old Post Office Tower, part of National Park Service, constructed 1892-99 in Richardsonian Romanesque Style. It's the third-tallest construction in DC and, not too long ago, reopened for visitors, for free. The building was used as the main post office till 1914, then became a federal office building and underwent a couple of renovations. In 2016 it became "Trump International Hotel," but this closed in May 2022 and reopened newly as the Waldorf Astoria Washington DC about a month later. Beautiful hotel, as to be seen from the elevator which leads up to the tower (315 ft/96 m).

On via City Center DC Mall (left photo) to  "Planet of Word" next, another new attraction in town. Planet Word is located in a historic school and devoted to language arts using immersive language experiences. It works with interactive galleries and exhibits (photos below) and tries to bring words and language to life. It's a real unique museum with state-of-the-art technology, though the books being seen in the photo far below weren't really reading material. Pages couldn't be opened!

Lunch (or, rather breakfast) break at the Western Market, after a quick stop to say "hello" to the President in the White House (left). 

Western Market is a new food hall in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood (photos far below). Closeby the George Washington University - a prestigious private university, founded in 1821 - it offers (comparably) affordable food - "world cuisine" -  at different stands with a public seating area. We had falafel sandwich with Za'atar fries and an apple-flavored soda. 

 

Foggy Bottom and Western Market (above), meal (below)

We took the Metro (subway) afterwards (left photo) to get to the Mall closeby the Capitol and stopped to see the new Eisenhower Memorial. (photo below) 

Afterwards, we visited one of our fav museums in DC: The National Museum of the American Indian. The superb new exhibition called "Americans" - showed the reception of Indians and corrected some strange views about Indians and events like Little Bighorn, the Trail of Tears or Pocahontas. Most interesting: the little sign about terminology. Wish, we Germans wouldn't be so overly and wrongly politically correct in this regard!  

Towards the direction of the Capitol there is a new Memorial connected to the Indian Museum: National Native American Veterans Memorial (photo below).

 

Crossed through the Botanical Garden and walked, and walked, and walked ,,, towards the Riverfront (Potomac River). Again, something new and exciting was awaiting us: The Rubell Museum. Mera and Don Rubell started collecting contemporary art 58 years ago and founded a museum in Miami. End of 2022 another branch opened in DC, dedicated exclusively to contemporary art, mostly African American artists. It is located in the 1906 building of the former Randall Junior High School, a historically Black public school in Southwest DC, where famous black singer Marvin Gaye graduated in 1954. The family's focus always was finding artists early in their careers and those who have been overlooked. What a fantastic collection!

 

Checked out the Riverfront neighborhood (also called H Street corridor or Atlas District) closeby the Nationals (baseball) Stadium, with all its newly built, fancy modern apartment buildings and appropriate infrastructure, and, found Atlas Brew Works - a solar-powered brewery founded by a guy from Tennessee and called it a day with a beer and a pizza before taking the metro back to our luxurious hotel and the "Oval Office".