Washington, D.C.’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library recently underwent a $210 million three-year renovation by Netherlands-based Mecanoo and New York firm OTJ Architects. The library, which originally opened in 1972, now boasts expanded and updated spaces. The renovation included a dramatic staircase, depicted here, that winds up the library’s six stories. The library is just a mile from the White House.
You can learn more about the library and its beautiful renovation in Architectural Digest.
U.S. News Travel has recognized the Four Seasons Washington, DC as one of the best hotels in Washington, DC in its 2023 evaluation of hotels that offer high-quality amenities and exceptional experiences.
I’ve been to this hotel many times over the years and can attest to the gracious staff, great food and lovely decor.
The Four Seasons is the only hotel in Washington to be awarded Five Stars by Forbes, and Five Diamonds by AAA.
The Washington Open is the only professional tennis tournament in the nation’s capital. It takes place every summer at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park, a venue chosen at the urging of Arthur Ashe, an early supporter of the event.
As one of the key lead-up tournaments to the US Open in New York City, the Washington Open holds an important place on the tennis calendar. It is an ATP 500 event on the ATP Tour and a WTA 500 event on the WTA Tour.
The tournament dates back to 1969, when it was called the Washington Star International. It was played on clay courts until 1986, when the surface changed to hard courts. In 2011, the event added its first women’s tournament, held separately in College Park, Maryland. The following year, the men’s and women’s events were consolidated at the Washington venue. In 2023, with the discontinuation of the WTA’s Silicon Valley Classic, the event merged into the Washington Open — creating the first and only joint-500-level event on the ATP and WTA tours.
Notable men’s singles winners include Ken Rosewall, Jimmy Connors, and Andre Agassi. Agassi (1990–91, 1995, 1998–99) holds the records for most titles (five) and most finals (six, including runner-up in 2000). He also shares the record for most consecutive titles (two) with Michael Chang (1996–97), Juan Martín del Potro (2008–09), and Alexander Zverev (2017–18).
On the women’s side, champions have included Sloane Stephens, Jessica Pegula, and Coco Gauff. Magdaléna Rybáriková (2012–13) holds the record for most titles (two) and co-holds the record for most finals (two) with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (runner-up in 2012 and 2015).
I began attending in 2016 as my interest in tennis grew. Over the years, I have watched and photographed many outstanding players at the Washington Open. They are all remarkable athletes and a joy to see compete in person.
The French Embassy in Washington is demonstrating France’s long historic ties to the United States and its support for Ukraine. A replica of Statue of Liberty is on the lawn in front of at the French Ambassador’s Residence in Washington.
The bronze statue, dubbed “Lady Liberty’s Little Sister,” was crafted from the original 1878 plaster model that French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi used in his designs for the Statue of Liberty in New York. The replica stands at 9 feet and weighs nearly 1,000 pounds. It is one-sixteenth the size of the original.
Following the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine “Lady Liberty’s Little Sister” has been sporting a Ukrainian flag. It’s a bold symbol of support.
The 50-acre park was originally beneath the Potomac River. Near the end of the nineteenth century, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers initiated a dredging project that created the land that became Potomac Park. The U.S. Navy built the Main Navy and Munitions Buildings as temporary offices on the land during World WarI. The buildings were demolished in 1971. President Nixon later ordered that a park be established on the land, and in 1976, Constitution Gardens was dedicated as a “living legacy American Revolution Bicentennial tribute.” Constitution Gardens has been a separate park unit since 1982.
In 1868, a statue of 16th President Abraham Lincoln sculpted by Lot Flannery was erected on the south side of the former District of Columbia City Hall building (“Old City Hall”) at Judiciary Square. This became the first public monument in Lincoln’s honor. The monument appeared just three years after Lincoln’s assassination on April 15, 1865, at the age of 56.
The Washington Post reports that 20,000 people gathered to witness the monument’s dedication. All federal and municipal offices were closed. Flags flew at half-mast and cannons boomed every half-hour. Many consider this monument to be the best likeness of Lincoln.
The building itself was built in 1820. It was designed by George Hadfield, who supervised construction of the United States Capitol from October 1795 to May 1798. Hadfield was born in Livorno, Italy in 1763.
The building now houses the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the highest court of the District of Columbia. Established in 1970, it is equivalent to a state supreme court, except that its authority is derived from the United States Congress rather than from the inherent sovereignty of the states.
I visited Washington for the first time as part of a weekend trip organized by my high school’s French club in the 1970s. We ate at Maison des Crêpes. I enjoyed it. The restaurant is long gone but I remember it and my trip when I pass by its former location in Georgetown.
The Streets of Washington blog recently shared this photograph of the Maison des Crêpes on Flickr and explained its history:
Maison des Crepes originally opened as La Crepe in 1967 at 1305 Wisconsin Avenue NW in Georgetown. It was the creation of Paris-born Jacques Vivien (1925-2010), who began his Washington career as the maitre d’ at The Jockey Club. Vivien was riding a fashion craze for creperies when he opened Washington’s first. He decorated the restaurant in French provincial style and had his waitresses decked out in Breton costumes. Eventually two other locations would open, and all would remain popular, especially with tourists, despite sometimes poor reviews from local dining critics. The original restaurant in Georgetown closed in the early 1980s.
This brought back nice memories. That weekend trip was wonderful.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the official memorial of the United States to the Holocaust. The Museum provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history. It is dedicated to helping people confront hatred, prevent genocide, promote human dignity, and strengthen democracy.
Since its dedication in 1993, the Museum has welcomed more than 47 million visitors, including 100 heads of state and more than 11 million school-age children. The Museum’s Holocaust Encyclopedia is the world’s leading online authority on the Holocaust. It’s available in 19 languages and was visited in 2021 by more than 21 million people representing 238 countries and territories.
[T]he museum presents human nature’s noblest as well as vilest manifestation. *** Located just off the Mall, one of the world’s most pleasant urban spaces and the epicenter of American politics, the museum inflicts an assaultive, excruciating knowing: Nothing — nothing — is unthinkable, and political institutions by themselves provide no permanent safety from barbarism, which permanently lurks beneath civilization’s thin, brittle crust. This is why the Holocaust is the dark sun into which this democracy should peer.
Admission to the museum is free. However, timed-entry tickets are required to enter the permanent exhibition. If you can’t book in advance, same-day tickets are available in limited quantity online each day at 7 a.m. ET.
The Museum is open every day except on Yom Kippur and Christmas Day.
My father, Abram Enzel, survived the Holocaust. His oral history is available online through the Museum.
I was born and raised in Pittsburgh. I attended the University of Pittsburgh, which is an urban campus. After moving to Washington, I always liked the George Washington University (GW) campus. I could relate to it as an urban campus in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington.
For years I enjoyed the burgers and fries at Lindy’s Red Lion (“The Best Little Carry-Out in Washington”). It was an institution on the GW campus. It was rumored that President Gerald Ford liked Lindy’s burgers and as President would send Secret Service agents to pick up burgers for him from Lindy’s. In 2008, The GW Hatchet confirmed this rumor with the owner of Lindy’s. I sure hope it’s true. I have fond memories of Lindy’s and the friendly people who worked there.
Lindy’s closed in June of 2018 and was then vacant. It is now a barber shop.
