Washington DC – Page 2

Construction of Enhanced Exhibit Space at Lincoln Memorial

August 12, 2025June 23, 2024

This construction project at the Lincoln Memorial will create 15,000 square feet of exhibit space that tells a more complete story of the Lincoln Memorial and provides a look at the structure’s foundations in a cavernous area known as the undercroft. New museum exhibits and multimedia presentations will highlight the construction history of the memorial and discuss how the Lincoln Memorial has become the nation’s foremost backdrop for civil rights demonstrations. The project also includes new restrooms, a larger bookstore, and replacement of the existing elevator as well as the addition of a second elevator.

The undercroft of the Lincoln Memorial is a tall grid of concrete columns surrounded by large expanses of open space. Floor-to-ceiling glass walls will provide a view of the undercroft, and an immersive theater presentation will project images of historic events onto the foundations. Visitors will also learn about the significance of the site as an international icon dedicated to the achievements of Abraham Lincoln and individuals such as Marian Anderson (1897-1993) and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968), who have shaped the history of the memorial.

The project will cost $69 million ($26 million from the National Park Service and $43 million in private donations to the National Park Foundation). It is scheduled for completion in July, 2026.

The Lincoln Memorial, including the the 120-ton statue of Abraham Lincoln shown above, remains open during the project. The basement area exhibits, restrooms and elevator will close during construction, however temporary restrooms, bookstore and a handicapped accessible lift will be available for the duration of the work.

And here’s a glimpse from The Washington Post of how the undercroft will be transformed. It looks great.

Sources: National Park Service | The Washington Post.

Bikers Honor Fallen Heroes on Memorial Day 2024

August 16, 2025May 27, 2024

On May 26, 2024—Memorial Day weekend in the United States—thousands of bikers rode past the Lincoln Memorial and other monuments in Washington, DC to honor fallen service members and to raise awareness for veterans’ needs.

The tradition began in 1988, when Vietnam War veterans organized the first ride. Nearly every year since, riders have gathered in the capital. In 2020, American Veterans (AMVETS) assumed leadership of the event, renaming it Rolling to Remember and expanding its mission to support all veterans.

Memorial Day is a federal holiday dedicated to those who died while serving in the U.S. armed forces. That sacrifice was deeply present in the minds of the riders, many of whom were Vietnam veterans. The gathering was both solemn and celebratory—moving for participants and spectators alike.

More of Washington’s Cherry Blossoms

August 16, 2025March 25, 2024

I went back on Sunday March 25th to enjoy Washington’s cherry trees. It was a cold morning without any clouds in the sky. The blossoms were still beautiful.

Washington’s Famed Cherry Trees in Peak Bloom

August 16, 2025March 17, 2024

Washington’s Cherry Blossoms hit peak bloom today. This was about two weeks earlier than normal. I had the pleasure of being at the Tidal Basin at sunrise to welcome Spring. It was a glorious day.

Exuberance in the Heart of DC: H Street Festival

August 16, 2025February 27, 2024

The H Street Festival began as a modest block party with about 500 participants more than a decade ago. Today, it draws over 150,000 people and stretches across 11 blocks with 14 themed stages. The festival showcases a vibrant mix of music, dance, youth performances, fashion, poetry, heritage arts, and family-friendly activities.

The streets were alive with energy — a joyful, exuberant celebration of community and culture.

Library of Congress

August 11, 2025February 24, 2024

The Library of Congress in Washington, DC is the largest library in the world, with millions of books, films and video, audio recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The Library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office.

Congress moved to Washington, D.C. in 1800 after holding sessions for eleven years in temporary national capitals in New York City and Philadelphia. Also in 1800, as part of an act of Congress providing for the removal of the new national government from Philadelphia to Washington, President John Adams approved an act of Congress providing $5,000 for books for the use of Congress—the beginning of the Library of Congress.

However, in 1814, the British burned Washington, destroying the Capitol and the small congressional library in its north wing. Former President Thomas Jefferson offered to sell his comprehensive personal library of 6,487 books to rebuild the Library of Congress. Congress accepted his offer in 1815. Jefferson’s concept of universality is the rationale for the comprehensive collecting policies of today’s Library of Congress.

The Library of Congress is among Washington’s top attractions. Every Library of Congress visitor must reserve timed-entry pass. Passes are available here. It’s worth planning ahead as slots fill up.

Sources: Library of Congress | Wikipedia

‘Art on Call’

August 16, 2025December 30, 2023

From 2000 until 2009, Cultural Tourism DC led “Art on Call”, a city-wide effort to restore Washington’s abandoned police and fire call boxes as neighborhood artistic icons. Cultural Tourism DC partnered with the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the District Department of Transportation on this initiative. The project is now managed by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

Eisenhower Memorial

August 9, 2025December 30, 2023

The Memorial honors Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II and the 34th President of the United States.

The Memorial is across the street from the National Air and Space Museum and is surrounded by the U.S. Department of Education, the Federal Aviation Administration, Voice of America, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Southwest Washington.

Architect Frank Gehry designed the Memorial. Gehry was born in Toronto in 1929 as Frank Owen Goldberg. His father was born in Brooklyn to Russian Jewish parents, and his mother was a Polish Jewish immigrant. Gehry has won major commissions and established himself as one of the world’s most notable architects. For example, his works include the Walt Disney Concert Hall (2003) in downtown Los Angeles.

Gehry’s design features three bronze statues of Eisenhower by the Russian-born sculptor Sergey Eylanbekov, one featuring General Eisenhower with troops from the 101st Airborne the day before the invasion of Normandy, another sculpture depicting President Eisenhower in the White House surrounded by civilian and military advisors, and a third portraying “Little Ike” in his boyhood.

The Memorial highlights passages from notable Eisenhower addresses. Framing the entire memorial is a stainless steel woven tapestry by artist Tomas Osinski , who was born in Poland. The tapestry depicts the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc on the Normandy coastline. Pointe du Hoc was the highest point between the American sector landings at Utah Beach to the west and Omaha Beach to the east. On D-Day, the United States Army Ranger Assault Group attacked and captured Pointe du Hoc after scaling the cliffs.

The Memorial was dedicated on September 17, 2020.

The Hope Diamond

August 11, 2025December 30, 2023

The Hope Diamond is a 45.52-carat diamond originally extracted in the 17th century from the Kollur Mine in Guntur, India. It is blue in color due to trace amounts of boron.

The earliest records of the diamond show that French gem merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier purchased it in 1666 as the Tavernier Blue. The stone was cut and renamed the French Blue (Le bleu de France); Tavernier sold the stone to King Louis XIV of France in 1668.

On September 11, 1792, while Louis XVI and his family were imprisoned in the Square du Temple during the early stages of the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror, a group of thieves broke into the Royal Storehouse—the Hôtel du Garde-Meuble de la Couronne (now Hôtel de la Marine)—stealing most of the Crown Jewels in a five-day looting spree. While many jewels were later recovered, including other pieces of the Order of the Golden Fleece, the French Blue was not among them and it disappeared from history.

In 1812, a deep blue diamond described by John Francillion as weighing 177 grains (4 grains = 1 carat) was documented as being in the possession of London diamond merchant, Daniel Eliason. Strong evidence indicates that the stone was the recut French Blue and the same stone known today as the Hope Diamond.

Several references suggest that it was acquired by King George IV of the United Kingdom. At his death, in 1830, the king’s debts were so enormous that the blue diamond was likely sold through private channels.

The first reference to the diamond’s next owner is found in the 1839 entry of the gem collection catalog of the well-known Henry Philip Hope, the man from whom the diamond takes its name. Unfortunately, the catalog does not reveal where or from whom Hope acquired the diamond or how much he paid for it.

Following the death of Henry Philip Hope in 1839, and after much litigation, the diamond passed to his nephew Henry Thomas Hope and ultimately to the nephew’s grandson Lord Francis Hope. In 1901 Lord Francis Hope obtained permission from the Court of Chancery and his sisters to sell the stone to help pay off his debts. It was sold to a London dealer who quickly sold it to Joseph Frankels and Sons of New York City, who retained the stone in New York until they, in turn, needed cash. The diamond was next sold to Selim Habib who put it up for auction in Paris in 1909. It did not sell at the auction but was sold soon after to C.H. Rosenau and then resold to Pierre Cartier that same year.

In 1910 the Hope Diamond was shown to Mrs. Evalyn Walsh McLean, of Washington D.C., at Cartier’s in Paris, but she did not like the setting. Cartier had the diamond reset and took it to the U.S. where he left it with Mrs. McLean for a weekend. This strategy was successful. The sale was made in 1911 with the diamond mounted as a headpiece on a three-tiered circlet of large white diamonds. Sometime later it became the pendant on a diamond necklace as we know it today. Mrs. McLean’s flamboyant ownership of the stone lasted until her death in 1947.

Harry Winston Inc. of New York City purchased Mrs. McLean’s entire jewelry collection, including the Hope Diamond, from her estate in 1949.

For the next 10 years the Hope Diamond was shown at many exhibits and charitable events world wide by Harry Winston Inc., including as the central attraction of their Court of Jewels exhibition. On November 10, 1958, they donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institution, and almost immediately the great blue stone became its premier attraction. It’s on display at the National Museum of Natural History.

Sources: Wikipedia | Smithsonian)

American Red Cross National Headquarters

August 12, 2025December 30, 2023

The American Red Cross National Headquarters in Washington, D.C was built between 1915 and 1917. It serves both as a memorial to women who served in the American Civil War and as the headquarters building for the American Red Cross. The building was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965.

The American Red Cross was founded in 1881 in the aftermath of the American Civil War as a public-private partnership to provide disaster relief and medical support for military forces.

Free, guided tours are offered Wednesdays and Fridays at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. by reservation only.