Washington, D.C., is full of monuments. This shouldn't be a surprise. As the nation's capital it makes sense we'd make it the place to commemorate our past. Of course, this makes it a problem for those of us that are intent on seeing all these monuments in a short period of time. Here's a quick review of the monuments we saw in our week in D.C.
We started with the Washington Monument. Unfortunately, the interior is closed until 2019, but that didn't bother us outside. The obelisk is 555 feet high (higher than the natural high point of Washington, D.C.) and was the tallest building in the world when it was completed in 1884. It's surrounded by a ring of flags that fluttered in the wind against a mostly blue sky and tons and tons of people that somehow add to the experience rather than detract. For our entire trip the Monument acted as a sort of focus. It's visible in most parts of the city. (Before you go make sure you read about the Monument's history.)
From the first president to the third, the Jefferson Memorial is across the Tidal Basin. Unlike the Washington Monument, this structure feels more personal. It was completed in 1943 on the 200th anniversary of Thomas Jefferson's birthday. The bronze statue of Jefferson looks through the neo-classical columns toward the Mall and the White House and holds the Declaration of Independence. (The original statue was plaster because the use of metal was restricted during World War II. This and more history and cool facts on the NPS site.)
The Jefferson Memorial was built during the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt so it was fitting that his was the next monument we visited. Rather than being a single building it's a series of open air "rooms" corresponding to each of FDR's four terms as president. Throughout, there are sculptural reliefs, waterfalls, quotes, and statues. Because it told a story, I found this to be a very impactful visit. (We visited from the Jefferson Memorial to the MLK Memorial so it was chronologically backward. It would have been better to do it the other way around.)
A short walk away was the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. A statue of MLK looks out onto the Tidal Basin. He holds his Dream speech and has a stern look on his face. It serves to remind us he and history are watching what we do. The walls behind him are engraved with quotations and should be required reading whether you visit or not.
Nestled in a copse of trees behind the MLK Memorial is the Korean War Veterans Memorial. A group of soldiers make their way through knee deep juniper. Their eyes are haunting as they climb the hill toward a flag surrounded by high trees. That the war ended without a real victory and the Korean Peninsula is again on the brink of war makes their expressions all the more meaningful.
When we flew into D.C. at night the first thing we saw was the Lincoln Memorial glowing in the darkness. In the daylight the Memorial is even more impressive. Unlike just about every movie I've seen set here, the Memorial and steps were crawling with people. It was a challenge to get inside to see the huge statue of Lincoln, but worth it. If it stood upright, the statue would be 28 feet tall. Even seated, it's 19 feet tall and 19 feet wide. It looks out on the reflecting pool and the Washington Monument with calm, tired eyes and a tension that suggests he could leap out of his seat at moment's notice.
Heading back toward the Washington Monument led us to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. I was surprised at the way the wall was built into the ground. Rather than standing above, creating a barrier, the path descends along the wall. The Vietnam War is a subject in history for me, but older visitors were clearly moved by their personal connections reinforced by the 58,000 names engraved on the wall.
Between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument is the World War II Memorial. More than the others, this memorial seemed like a place of both remembrance and life. On this hot day people lined the edge of the fountain cooling their feet. Along the circumference are columns for each of the states and territories during the war. More personally, a wall with over 4,000 gold stars representing the 405,399 Americans that died.
All those monuments are part of the National Mall. But that's not all of them. Smaller monuments like the George Mason Memorial, the DC War Memorial, and the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence are scattered throughout the Mall.
That's a lot of monuments, huh? There are more.
Arlington National Cemetery is not a monument to any single person. Instead it's a monument to all those that have made the ultimate sacrifice. The best way to understand the scope of the cemetery is to take the interpretative tour on the tram. There are many elaborate gravestones, but the ones that meant the most to me are the simple white marble headstones laid out in perfect rows. We saw the Tomb of the Unknowns and were reminded that some have given up their names in addition to their lives. Remember that when you go this is the final resting place of our nation's finest and show them the respect they deserve.
In the midst of the cemetery is a National Park Service site called, "Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial." The NPS formerly described it as a place that "honors Lee's military and public leadership in pre- and post-Civil War America." Since Charlottesville the NPS has recast the Arlington House as a memorial to Lee "including his role in promoting peace and reunion after the Civil War." Arlington House presents a fuller picture of Lee than a single statue might and allows the visitor to visit the slaves' quarters as well as the main house.
On the way back to D.C. from Arlington Clara and I visited Theodore Roosevelt Island in the middle of the Potomac River. The memorial consists of a plaza surrounded by pillars engraved with Roosevelt quotes. A large statue stands above everything making his point forcefully. Although he was all about speaking softly and carrying a big stick the sculptor certainly wasn't speaking softly. There are a few miles of trails around the island. Not much elevation gain, but it's a nice walk in a metropolitan area. Just what Teddy would have liked.
The last monument we saw celebrated 100 years of the Forest Service. It's a simple 12" disk that looks a lot like a large benchmark you might find on a mountain summit. The Forest Services does a lot of good for our country, but they don't really compare to all the others memorialized in this list. I had to include it, though, since Moosefish is mostly a hiking site.
And you can guess there are many, many more monuments than we visited even in a full week in Washington, D.C. Don't try to see them all. You're probably better off looking at maps and this list and then planning a route that gets you to the ones you find most important. And if you want to have some fun use an app like Strava to track your route.
(What happened between the Mall and Jefferson Memorial? I paused the recording when we jumped on a bus. Relive, the tool that makes the video helpfully connected the dots.)
