DC #3 - Everything else

Tuesday, 10/16

Easy drive to DC and not too much trouble finding a parking place about 10 minutes walk away from the National Mall. We went there first so Jeff could have his first view (Serena was here briefly 30ish years ago). We wandered the mall in the direction of the White House and discovered along the way the White House Visitor Center. It was never in our plans to tour the house; the Visitor Center was a good alternative and presented a view of the usage and residents of the house over time.

Front of the White House. There was only one anti-Trump protester. However, we did see one person taking a selfie of their middle finger with the White House in the background.

Back of the White House

Eisenhower Executive Office Building

The Renwick Gallery is right next door to the White House and that was our other stop today. They were between exhibits on the main floor but the “No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man” exhibit was very well done. There was actual art as well as information (guiding principles), explanation (origins, Black Rock Rangers, City Planning, etc), and memorabilia.

It was super convenient that our parking lot was right next to a Safeway. We got stocked up then it was a short drive to our AirBNB. It’s a nice flat with plenty of space, street parking, and laundry. Also very close to a Metro station so we have easy and direct access to the National Mall and Smithsonian Museums.

Wednesday, 10/17

First thing this morning we had a tour booked at the National Archives building so we could see the official “engrossed” copies of our founding documents. Our tour started 15 minutes before the building was open to the public which meant we didn’t have to battle a crowd. The Declaration of Independence is the most faded; it travelled through the territories quite a lot and was frequently on display in sunshine, smoky rooms, or other adverse conditions. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are in much better shape.

What is an engrossed copy?

It is the officially hand-written cursive version of the document. When discussing the Declaration it is also the version that was signed. The Declaration was read out to the public as soon as it was adopted. The text was also provided to a Philadelphia printer who made roughly 200 copies for distribution throughout the colonies. So the printed Declarations predate the engrossed & signed Declaration. There were also printed versions, after signing, that included all the names of the signers. And, the first printed versions weren’t unanimous since New York initially abstained in the voting.

Another possible reason the Declaration is so faded is due to a process that might have been used to create the copper plate engraving. That process involved applying a damp paper to lift some of the original ink which could then be transferred to the metal plate that was being engraved. The engraver had possession of the Declaration for three years in order to achieve the final product. After the engraving was completed then copies of the Engrossed Declaration could be printed.

We booked the tour because of the founding documents but it turned out to be a real 90-minute tour and the National Archives were remarkably interesting (They have an official copy of the Magna Carta too).

The rest of our day was mostly spent with art. There were a couple of sculpture gardens. Jeff enjoyed the extensive Asian art collection in the Freer & Sackler Galleries. Serena explored the Freer but then moved on to the Hirschhorn which is the National Gallery of Modern Art.

Please do not touch or climb on the artwork

“Terminal” by Subodh Gupta - https://www.si.edu/exhibitions/subodh-gupta-6191

Most of the museums we are visiting in DC are part of the Smithsonian Institution which means they are free and open daily (except Christmas) from 10:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. At the very tail end of today we went to the Smithsonian Visitor Center and learned of the unlikely origin of the Smithsonian Institution.

The Institution was founded in 1846 with funds from an Englishman James Smithson. Smithson had never been to the states but his will stipulated that his estate be used "to found in Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men." You can google James Smithson for more info. The institute receives ⅔-¾ of its funding from the federal government; the remainder comes from donations/bequests/grants, and interest still accruing from the trust that was established from Smithson’s estate.

Thank you James Smithson.

The “Castle” is the original Smithsonian building. It now houses their Visitor Center.

Thursday, 10/18

Today we spent the entire day in the National Museum of African American History & Culture. It is a fantastic museum but also very taxing. There are three floors underground:

• the lowest and largest covers the history of slavery
• the next deals with emancipation and reunification
• the final and smallest discusses the Civil Rights era

Above ground are three more floors which encompass the “culture” aspect of this museum. There was a special exhibit about Oprah Winfrey which we had zero time to see. The other culture galleries included a range of topics: sports, TV & film, music, dance, art, and theater.

The museum is intensely popular and therefore requires a timed ticket for entry. They are free and not difficult to obtain. But because people can’t simply wander in like they can for all the other Smithsonian Museums there is a perception that getting a ticket is difficult.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture is beautiful.

Friday, 10/19

This morning we toured the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court. Those are chronicled in a separate blog post.

In the afternoon we visited the Postal Museum. The top floor was stamp collecting - the obvious thing that everyone expects. That was interesting and the collection is naturally quite impressive - if you understand and appreciate what you’re seeing.

The upstairs also had a small Hamilton exhibit (surprised that the Library of Congress didn’t). But, here it made sense. When the Postal Department was formed it was placed by Washington under the Treasury Department which was overseen by Hamilton. And, Revenue Stamps were a means of certifying that taxes and fees had been paid. Of course that would be in the Treasury area.

The downstairs covered all the ways - both governmental/postal/official and private - that mail has been delivered in the US. They showed stuff about: Pony Express, Wells Fargo, Railroads, Airplanes, and modern “star routes”. They also had displays about mail fraud & crime, the history and technology of sorting the mail for delivery, and John Lennon’s childhood stamp collecting book.

Photo of Alexander Hamilton from the exhibit at the Postal Museum

Saturday, 10/20

Today we did not have any tour appointments in the morning. It was lovely to sleep in and relax over coffee and breakfast.

Today was the day we did the Monuments and Memorials walk in the afternoon. That blog was posted previously. Before we did that we popped in briefly at the Museum of Natural History. They have a major renovation underway (finishing in 2019) but we were able to see enough to know we want to come back. We focused on dinosaurs and gems.

Don Pedro Aquamarine

Sunday, 10/21

Few photos and not a lot to say. In the morning we revisited aspects of places we had already been. We spent the afternoon in the Air & Space Museum.

Monday, 10/22

We toured Congress in the morning (see separate blog)

In the afternoon we went to the National Gallery of Art.

The National Gallery of Art entry hall

Today is our last day in DC; we head to Indiana tomorrow to visit friends. We enjoyed DC very much and have at least a week more activities we want to do. Hopefully we can return.

Given all the US history we’ve been learning about on our trip we found the DC license plates pretty funny.