Art on Call
by Tom_Fields
Starting during the 1860s, the city of Washington began installing call boxes for emergencies such as police and the fire department. These boxes were obsolete by the 1970s. So a group of artists and community activists pooled their know-how and resources to turn these would-be eyesores into works of art.
The bronze carvings in these boxes illustrate different stories from Washington's local history. Most are not about famous historic events, but instead humble scenes of daily life from ages past.
They are all over the Adams Morgan, Kalorama, Mt Pleasant, and Dupont Circle neighborhoods. Here is one of the most uniquely charming, idiosyncratic things about the nation's capital. Look for these along the sidewalks. For more information, visit:
http://www.culturaltourismdc.org/info-url_nocat2536/info-url_nocat_show.htm?doc_id=233137
Smithsonian Institute
by YanetT
This phenomenal museum takes more than a day to go through and I have been a couple of times and still need more time.
The Castle, as it is best known, is the oldest building of the Smithsonian Institution and one of America's finest Gothic Revival structures (by the architect of New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral, James Renwick, 1849). Its reddish color and irregular shape made up of turrets, spires, parapets and towersmake it immediately recognizable, a welcome anachronism in an orderly city. It houses the Smithsonian Visitors Information Center (open 7 days a week, 9am-5:30pm) and the Crypy Room housing the tomb of the institution's benefactor, James Smithson. One of my favourite parts of the museum was the Museum of Natural History and the Air and Space Museum..
Washington D.C. Tip
by melody129
My favorite memory is of my friend laying down on a crowded sidewalk, while wearing a suit, to get a picture of me with the sign for the Holocaust Museusm behind me! I had wanted to get the picture, but since I'm only 5' tall, you couldn't see me and the sign unless you stood in the middle of traffic, so he shocked me and laid down and took it!
See Pocohontas' purse at the...
by MsKree
See Pocohontas' purse at the Smithsonian. :) My grandmother always used to tell me from the moment I got off the plane that she was going to show me 'something very special' and it was always pocohontas' purse. I still remember when I was little that I would get so excited about this purse who belonged to 'some lady who must have been pretty important.' I now know the importance of Pocohontas, and that her purse wasn't exactly a national treasure, but in my heart, this little purse is quite a sentimental treasure to me. The one thing I miss the most about DC is sitting on the mall and feeding all the pigeons with my sister. They used to come right up and sit on our laps to eat our delicious popcorn from the guy selling it on the corner.
National Christmas Tree
by DEBBBEDB
The lighting of the National Christmas Tree is the beginning of a three week Washington, DC Christmas tradition. Nationally known entertainers and a military band perform. The National Park Service distributes free tickets on a first-come first served basis, beginning at 8:00 a.m. at the Ellipse Visitor Pavilion near the corner of 15th and E Streets, NW, just southeast of the White House grounds. A maximum of four tickets are issued per person. Tickets are required for every attendee, including children.
After the Lighting, you don't need tickets. The National Christmas Tree and the Pathway of Peace is illuminated each evening from dusk until 11 p.m. through January 1st. Musical performances by volunteer choirs and dancers, are held nightly on the Ellipse stage. Weeknight performances are from 6-8:30 p.m. Weekend performances -from 4-8:30 p.m. In 2003, we went to visit the National Christmas Tree layout in front of the White House. There were trees from each of the various states, so I (DEB) took pictures of the trees which we had some family connection to. The trees look similar because tree decorations are encased in a protective plastic globe to shield them from the weather.
The best way to get to the area is by metro. The closest stops are Metro Center, Federal Triangle, and McPherson Square.
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Jefferson's Memorial through the cherry blossoms
at Natural History museum
dollar bench
Rugby Café
