National Museum of African American History & The Whitehouse
National Museum of African American History
This is a very new museum that claims one of the last few spots on the nation mall in Washington, D.C. There’s a note in the museum that says, “The journey to open this museum took many attempts and numerous steps to realize. It involved the activism of private citizens and organizations, passage of federal legislation, construction of an inspiring new building, and collecting thousands of artifacts.“ The building certainly makes a statement and is located on the mall near the Washington monument.
It was decided that the building should be distinct from other buildings around it, and that it is. I feel there should be continuity in architecture, or at least pull elements from the surroundings. The architects were told that the building should not compete with the Washington monument. There has always been a limitation on the height of buildings in Washington. The building was also not allowed to be taller than building around it. The exterior of the building is covered in huge triangular panel that have an “abstract pattern based on the intricate ironwork created by freed slaves in New Orleans and Charleston, S.C.“ There is a reflection pond to keep the patio cool in the summer, but it was empty in November. The pond would have made a nice reflective image at night.
The museum curation is exquisitely done. I was in the museum for about 5 hours and didn’t get to see the entire museum. It’s an extremely moving experience in many places. You find yourself running through so many emotions when experiencing the years of torture, lynchings, and suppression to the uplifting contributions of politics, music, food, and art. The role that African American played in all our wars is documented and discusses the expectation by those that served that things would change at home when they returned, only to find thing remained the same. The fact that there is a National Museum of African American History on the Mall in Washington, is testament to the fact that there has been a shift and that there is still more work to be done.
If you are in Washington, do not miss the opportunity to visit this museum.
Washington Monument
On the Mall directly across from the National Museum of African American History is the Washington Monument.
Treasury Building
The Treasury building is around the corner from the Whitehouse. I’m not sure why I was so surprised by the number of blockades and police surrounding the Whitehouse, but it was significantly more than I had ever seen when I lived there.
I was standing on a corner near the Treasury building listening to a black guy shredding Jimi Hendrix. He was really good, but the staffers waiting to get through the barricades were unfazed.
A woman with a badge hanging around her neck was explaining to someone on the other end, why the woman with her needed to get through the barricade to meetup with a group of people all ready at the Whitehouse.
As I listened to all the conversations around me serenaded by Jimi Hendrix, I captured a few photos of our Treasury Building. I was leaning over the wall, so that I didn’t get the wall in the photograph. A Whitehouse guard had come over to make sure I didn’t do anything like jump over the 20 foot wall.
Whitehouse
I walked around the corner to towards the Whitehouse and was surprised again that I couldn’t walk up to the wrought iron fence at the front. I walked down to see people handcuffed to the fence back in the 70’s. There are now double-wide barricade on the opposite side of Pennsylvania.
The Marine Color Guard had just marched off the Whitehouse grounds and were packing up. I asked them what the event was and the the guy told me he didn’t know. Clearly it had something to do with a French diplomat because half the flags they were carrying were French.
I just finished taking a few photos of the Whitehouse from a distance and noticed to clergy men asking some people if they could take a photo of them in front of the Whitehouse. The people just ignored him. So, I offered to take a photo. They both handed me their iPhones. Afterwards, I asked if they would mind if I took a photo as well. The obliged me and told me they were Orthodox Christian Bishops from Egypt. They were in Washington for a conference.
Lafayette Square
I walked around Lafayette Square across from the Whitehouse and read all the plaques. The most interesting plaque was about how Jacqueline Kennedy had gotten involved in saving Lafayette Square from developers that wanted to build on the property.
The Preservation Leadership Forum as a web page that documents Jacqueline Kennedy's role in preservation. It states the following:
By drawing attention to Lafayette Square, Jacqueline Kennedy was in a unique position to focus the national spotlight on historic preservation. Saving Lafayette Square served an important end because it was a very visible example of historic buildings that were saved as a group.
It was a long day and I took the Silver Line from Metro Center back to Reston.