Today Liz had to go into Washington DC one more time for the second of her two teaching certification final exams. Of course, she passed, so we're all very happy for her, and now she can enjoy our holiday. For me, the trip into DC was yet another opportunity for me to see more of that beautiful city (and it really is very beautiful downtown).
Just like our last trip there two days ago, Tom and I walked around the city while Liz did her test, so today we managed to walk at least 4.5 miles (7.2km)... in the heat and humidity... and sunshine... and the gentle uphill/downhill nature of DC... but it was a lot of fun. Our main destination for the day was the US Capitol building, but we saw a bunch of things on the way there and back, so here are a few of the photos I took (and I took plenty):
Franklin School. Not sure exactly what this is (one would assume a school?) but I thought it was a really nice-looking building, so I took a picture of it.
If you aren't a US history buff (and not a US citizen) you might not know the significance of the photo above. President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in this theatre on the 14th of April 1865.
President Lincoln was shot while watching a play. He was rushed into a
nearby house (across the street, shown in the picture above) and died the next morning. This was
only a few days after the official end of the Civil War. You can see a close-up shot of the house where Lincoln died below. As many of you will know, I'm a history buff (any history will do), and so am naturally interested in seeing these historic places. However, this was particularly interesting to me because I had recently watched a movie called "The Conspirator" about the trial of Mary Surratt - the mother of one of Booth's conspirators. The movie showed all these places, so it was really cool to get to see them in real life, as it were.
It's also interesting to think that most of the city looked much like the picture above in those days. Of course it did... but it's cool that some of it is still there, in amongst all the big flashy buildings.
US Department of Justice
National Archives - where Nicolas Cage pinches the Declaration of Independence from the pretty blonde curator in "National Treasure"... the building was still decked out for 4th of July celebrations the day before. They were taking it all down as we walked past, as indeed they were for many buildings and parks we walked past today.
The National Art Gallery
Our main destination for the day draws nearer. Interestingly, it was one of those buildings that just doesn't look all that big from a distance, but the closer you get, the bigger and more impressive it becomes, and then before you know it (well... actually it takes longer than you might expect) you're standing at the base of a massive structure. I guess what I just wrote sounds pretty standard - it's called perspective... but maybe you understand what I mean. I guess the buildings always seems closer than it really is, so you don't assume it's as big as it is. I don't know. Now I'm confusing myself!!
At the foot of the Capitol is a grand statue of General Ulysses S. Grant, who was a Northern General (later became president). He's the guy General Lee (top chap for the South) surrendered to in 1865.
I gave this photo an "antique finish" because the lighting was not great, and the colours didn't come out right. However, it's still a nice photo of the US Capitol.
View from the steps of the Capitol, looking down the Mall towards at the Washington Memorial. The day before (4th July) there was a massive televised concert and fireworks display here, so they were still packing up and cleaning up from that. Sadly the stage tent blocks the view a bit. They were also digging up a big chunk of the Mall, so that's not so pretty to look at either! haha
from the side
from the back
from the other side... I really should have named this blog entry "101 views of the US Capitol". Here's one more:
After queuing up and going through security screening, and then queuing up again, we were able to join a tour of the inside of the Capitol. It was really interesting, and such a beautiful building - both inside and out. Inside the Capitol there were loads of bronze and stone statues of significant historical figures. The one above is of Chief Washakie of the Shoshoni people (1798 - 1900). Don't know much about him, so I'll Google him later. You should do the same if you're interested.
The most stunning room (in my opinion) was the atrium below the massive dome. At the top of the dome is a fresco of George Washington (first president) ascending to glory flanked on both sides by women representing Victory and Liberty. Around the outer edge of the fresco are various (Roman?) gods watching over modern technological advances... or something like that. I forget what the tour guide told us. Again, Google it if you're interested. I think it was called "the Apotheosis of Washington". Below is a close-up of that fresco:
The base of the great dome is adorned with a circular painting which depicts a chronological history of the United States. It starts with the discovery of the Americas, and ends with the Wright Brothers' first flight.
The next room we were shown was the old National Statuary Hall. This room was also very beautifully designed, and filled with statues. This is where US House of Representatives met for almost 50 years, but they built a new room to meet in because this one has terrible acoustic problems due to the arching semi-circular design. The tour guide did a fun little experiment with us, where we all stood at one spot over on one side of the room, and she walked over to the other side and started talking to us as she walked towards us. When she was over on the other side of the room her voice carried really well and we could hear her clearly and loudly, but as she walked towards us she got quieter and quieter until we couldn't hear her at all until she was right in front of us. Not ideal situation for a House of Representatives meeting room... haha!
This is the Supreme Court. Under scaffolding.
Downtown DC is really pretty. I liked it a lot.
This street reminded me of the Christchurch I remember, before the earthquake destroyed many of our brick buildings. This is what parts of downtown Christchurch used to look like.
We walked through a part of Chinatown!
The Hamilton Hotel!!
All in all, we had a thoroughly exhausting day of walking around in the heat and humidity (remember the eastern United States is in the middle of a heatwave!!), but I love Washington DC, and it was great to see more of the downtown and particularly to get to go inside the Capitol. For a history buff like me, today was AWESOME! Thank you Tom for showing me round.
Now just in case you forgot what it looks like, here's one last picture to leave you with.
