DC and its new waterfront

What a day! Last full day in Washington! We had an early start, left the hotel at 8 am to get to the new U.S. Park Police Horse Stables & Education Center on the Mall. We met with Lieutenant Anna Rose (in her official, military-influenced outfit), Commander of the Horse Mounted Patrol, and with a representative of the Trust for the National Mall to get a pre-view of the new facility. The Trust was working with the National Park Service on the National Mall to create this state-of-the-art, environmentally sustainable home for the U.S. Park Police Horse Mounted Patrol Unit. It’s supposed to open in June.

Horse mounted patrols are assigned to Federal Parks in Washington, DC, New York City, and San Francisco. It is one of the oldest equestrian units in the U.S., established in 1934. Horses, in addition to being attractive for display in parades, were found to be highly effective in crowd and traffic management.  Most horses are donated to the Unit and they train them themselves. What we didn't know at all was that applicants for this unit have to be dedicated and advanced  police officers, but, they don't need to be experienced riders. During a 10-week crash course they learn how to ride and handle a horse!

On the way to the new stables we already passed the Museum of African-American History (photo above) and took photos of the Lincoln Memorial in the sun. Afterwards, we walked around the Reflecting Pool (that’s where all the cherry trees bloom in spring), passing Martin L. King and F.D. Roosevelt (below), towards the monumental Jefferson Memorial, which is under renovation at the moment.

 

The International Spy Museum, our next stop, holds the largest collection of international espionage artifacts. It opened in 2002 in the Penn Quarter neighborhood, relocated and expanded with all-new exhibitions at L'Enfant Plaza in 2019. The Museum deals with the hidden world of intelligence, exploring its successes and failures, challenges, and controversies, with two packed floors of exhibitions, lots to „play“ and to read and see.
 

The Wharf opened it Phase 2 in 2022, lots of new fancy buidings (apartments, condos, hotel), a marina, attractive restaurants and a nice promenade, which really adds a new exciting aspect to DC.: an orientation towards the waterfront! Architecture is brilliant, from master planner/architect Perkins Eastman DC, I especially liked the new Pendry Hotel (photo). We had a fantastic business lunch at Mi Vida (modern Mexican cuisine), too.

Pendry Hotel (left) and The Wharf promenade

We continued our walk along the waterfront until we reached historic Fort McNair, still in military use, and into a neighborhood called Capital Riverfront. At Audi Field (soccer stadium) the river came back into view. Across the street, a second gigantic stadium: the Nationals Baseball Stadium. 

 

    

Nice riverfront promenade here, plus nearby a good brewery, famous for their hazy New England IPAs: the Bluejacket Brewery. Walked back passing a third stadium, the "Capital One Arena" (hockey), through Chinatown and called it a day then.







 


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