Washington, D.C. - Day 1, The National Mall
2019 Road Trip, Stop #3
Washington D.C.
Day 1
The National Mall of Washington, D.C. has more things to see than you could possibly manage in a week - let alone 2 days! Monuments, memorials, and museums galore! But I tried my best to see as much as possible in my short time with the sure intention that I'd be back again in the near future to more thoroughly explore this beautiful city in more detail.
In front of the Eastern side of the building below the plaza lies the visitor entrance and shop. I didn't really have a plan ahead of time for my wanderings that day, and thought I might mosey over to check it out - maybe take a tour. But even on a Tuesday, Capitol Hill was buzzing with tourist and big groups of students on field trips. The line to get into the building went all the way to the top of the stairs. I didn't feel like starting my excursion of the day standing and waiting in the sun for an hour, so off I went heading West to continue my journey and left a tour of the inside of the Capitol for another time.
More than half of the National Mall fills the space between the US Capitol Building and the Washington Monument. To walk from one to the other is 1.6 miles and takes about 30 minutes! The walk is lined with the majority of the Smithsonian Museums, and hundreds of tourists milling and scootering across the Mall.
(There are electric scooters for rent all over the city, and they're very popular seeing all these monuments are so far apart!)
The Washington Monument stood majestic against the clear, blue sky, but it was gated off so that no one could approach closer than the pictures above. I remember coming to Washington D.C. when I was younger - we were able to go right up to the base of the monument and tilt our heads back to gawk at its height. However, severe weather conditions such as earthquakes and hurricanes in the past decade have damaged the structure and made it unsafe for visitors. The National Park Service has had the monument closed since December of 2016, with reopening hoped for sometime 2019.
Next down the way, just across 17th Street as we head west (one of the few streets to pass through the Mall), is the World War II Memorial - a beautiful oval formation of structures marked for each of the states, with a fountain at it's center. The signature ritual of tourists here is to find the pillar with your home state to pose in front of for a picture, which I of course participated in as well.
Once again, the picture perfect weather had followed me along my trip. The clear sky and bright sun made my photos beautiful and kept me warm in the late March weather on my walk around the Mall.
Finally at the East end of the mall lies the Lincoln Memorial. Lying between it and the WWII Memorial is the Reflecting Pool, around which many crowds have gathered for countless famous speeches and moments of history. The walking distance between the "center" of the mall at the Washington Monument and the East end at Lincoln Memorial is just under a mile and takes about 18 minutes (without detours or stops).
Of course the well known statue of President Lincoln sits inside the memorial. The shape of this statue can also be seen in between the pillars of the imprint on the back of the penny, as well as the back of the $5 bill (for both of which Lincoln himself is on the front).
Located in the paths around the Reflecting Pool end of the National Mall are several other beautiful wartime memorials. To the north lies the reflective walls of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, through which from certain angles you can see the Washington Monument standing on the horizon.
To the south lies the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the most famous part of which depicts a field of steel soldiers - a platoon on patrol.
As you continue to walk south east en route towards the Jefferson Memorial, you'll pass through the majestic, chiseled stones of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. The towering depiction of this incredible man stands looking out across the waters of the Tidal Basin, on the side of which is etched "Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope."
Around the south side of the tidal basin stands the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial, a maze of stone walls etched with 21 quotes of this president's inspiring words and dotted with bronze statues. In the summer time it is also run with water in different sections creating pools and waterfalls.
From the edge of water in front of the FDR memorial, a panoramic photo will show a bit of the Capitol Hill and downtown D.C. skyline including the towering Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial.
About 1.2 miles and a 25 minutes walk from Lincoln Memorial lies another presidential memorial: the Jefferson Memorial. Dedicated to the memory of the 3rd President of the United States: Thomas Jefferson. His face is on the front of the $2 bill and the nickel, but on the back of the nickel is his famous residence of Monticello rather than this memorial.
As the sun was starting to set, I knew I only had time to see one more building if I wanted to make it back to where I was staying before sunset. So I walked the 1.5 miles from the Jefferson Memorial, about 30 minutes, to see the White House - the historic and current residence of US Presidents.
The more famous angle of the house, from the south side is blocked off and guarded heavily - only visible across the barricades from very far away. The north side of the house can be seen a little closer, still with a ton of security set up and watching. In front of the north end of the White House is Lafayette Square which was bustling with small groups of protesters, performers, and activists handing out pamphlets and looking to talk to people about their cause.
After seeing the White House, I made my way to the nearest subway station and headed back to my friend's apartment in District Heights, MD. In total I spent about 6 hours exploring the outdoor views National Mall that day and 11.5 miles! A new record for the trip. Below you can see the approximate path I walked, including a detour to get a coffee from Starbucks.
Washington D.C.
Day 1
The National Mall of Washington, D.C. has more things to see than you could possibly manage in a week - let alone 2 days! Monuments, memorials, and museums galore! But I tried my best to see as much as possible in my short time with the sure intention that I'd be back again in the near future to more thoroughly explore this beautiful city in more detail.
I started Day 1 of my explorations at the East end of the National Mall at the US Capitol building. The exterior of the southern half (where the House of Representatives resides) was under construction at the time, but the majestic building still made for a great picture! Above is the Western front of the building and below is the Eastern side.
In front of the Eastern side of the building below the plaza lies the visitor entrance and shop. I didn't really have a plan ahead of time for my wanderings that day, and thought I might mosey over to check it out - maybe take a tour. But even on a Tuesday, Capitol Hill was buzzing with tourist and big groups of students on field trips. The line to get into the building went all the way to the top of the stairs. I didn't feel like starting my excursion of the day standing and waiting in the sun for an hour, so off I went heading West to continue my journey and left a tour of the inside of the Capitol for another time.
More than half of the National Mall fills the space between the US Capitol Building and the Washington Monument. To walk from one to the other is 1.6 miles and takes about 30 minutes! The walk is lined with the majority of the Smithsonian Museums, and hundreds of tourists milling and scootering across the Mall.
(There are electric scooters for rent all over the city, and they're very popular seeing all these monuments are so far apart!)
The Washington Monument stood majestic against the clear, blue sky, but it was gated off so that no one could approach closer than the pictures above. I remember coming to Washington D.C. when I was younger - we were able to go right up to the base of the monument and tilt our heads back to gawk at its height. However, severe weather conditions such as earthquakes and hurricanes in the past decade have damaged the structure and made it unsafe for visitors. The National Park Service has had the monument closed since December of 2016, with reopening hoped for sometime 2019.
Next down the way, just across 17th Street as we head west (one of the few streets to pass through the Mall), is the World War II Memorial - a beautiful oval formation of structures marked for each of the states, with a fountain at it's center. The signature ritual of tourists here is to find the pillar with your home state to pose in front of for a picture, which I of course participated in as well.
Once again, the picture perfect weather had followed me along my trip. The clear sky and bright sun made my photos beautiful and kept me warm in the late March weather on my walk around the Mall.
Finally at the East end of the mall lies the Lincoln Memorial. Lying between it and the WWII Memorial is the Reflecting Pool, around which many crowds have gathered for countless famous speeches and moments of history. The walking distance between the "center" of the mall at the Washington Monument and the East end at Lincoln Memorial is just under a mile and takes about 18 minutes (without detours or stops).
Of course the well known statue of President Lincoln sits inside the memorial. The shape of this statue can also be seen in between the pillars of the imprint on the back of the penny, as well as the back of the $5 bill (for both of which Lincoln himself is on the front).
Located in the paths around the Reflecting Pool end of the National Mall are several other beautiful wartime memorials. To the north lies the reflective walls of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, through which from certain angles you can see the Washington Monument standing on the horizon.
To the south lies the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the most famous part of which depicts a field of steel soldiers - a platoon on patrol.
As you continue to walk south east en route towards the Jefferson Memorial, you'll pass through the majestic, chiseled stones of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. The towering depiction of this incredible man stands looking out across the waters of the Tidal Basin, on the side of which is etched "Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope."
Around the south side of the tidal basin stands the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial, a maze of stone walls etched with 21 quotes of this president's inspiring words and dotted with bronze statues. In the summer time it is also run with water in different sections creating pools and waterfalls.
From the edge of water in front of the FDR memorial, a panoramic photo will show a bit of the Capitol Hill and downtown D.C. skyline including the towering Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial.
About 1.2 miles and a 25 minutes walk from Lincoln Memorial lies another presidential memorial: the Jefferson Memorial. Dedicated to the memory of the 3rd President of the United States: Thomas Jefferson. His face is on the front of the $2 bill and the nickel, but on the back of the nickel is his famous residence of Monticello rather than this memorial.
As the sun was starting to set, I knew I only had time to see one more building if I wanted to make it back to where I was staying before sunset. So I walked the 1.5 miles from the Jefferson Memorial, about 30 minutes, to see the White House - the historic and current residence of US Presidents.
The more famous angle of the house, from the south side is blocked off and guarded heavily - only visible across the barricades from very far away. The north side of the house can be seen a little closer, still with a ton of security set up and watching. In front of the north end of the White House is Lafayette Square which was bustling with small groups of protesters, performers, and activists handing out pamphlets and looking to talk to people about their cause.
After seeing the White House, I made my way to the nearest subway station and headed back to my friend's apartment in District Heights, MD. In total I spent about 6 hours exploring the outdoor views National Mall that day and 11.5 miles! A new record for the trip. Below you can see the approximate path I walked, including a detour to get a coffee from Starbucks.
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