*The White House
Washington, D.C. is home to about 35 National Park sites but the most famous is the White House. So at 7:30AM we arrived at the East Wing where about a hundred of us were met by a National Park Ranger whose only job was to turn us over to the Secret Service.
As they began checking our ID's just after eight, a ninja-clad Agent appeared from the south lawn area carrying his assault rifle apparently coming off duty. This was just the first of many indications we saw that the business of Washington D.C. is now security. This was firmly confirmed when we later observed three black Chevy Suburbans, with their discreet red/blue police light bars flashing and tinted glass all around, exiting the West Wing gate. The final vehicle had its rear window open and there was nothing discreet about the Secret Service Agent who had his assault rifle half out the window pointing only slightly upwards. We didn't see the Presidential limo, so I'm guessing this was Vice President Cheney's group.
Back at the White House, after going through the security screening, we began our tour. The public rooms of the White House seemed unchanged since my last visit 45 years ago but that wasn't surprising since the goal is to keep the various rooms true to the period they represent. What was missing from the tour was the white-gloved tour guide. It's a self-guided tour these days.
*The Capital Building
Tickets to the White House are available only from your Representative and so we also scheduled a tour of the Capital Building with a Congressional aide. As a result, our tour actually began in the Longworth Building in our Congressman's office, which was actually quite nice for a freshman. Then we walked through the underground passage to the Capitol itself where we bypassed all of the tour groups to see the two chambers as well as the historic spaces including the Rotunda, the Old Senate Chamber, and the Old Supreme Court Chamber.
One thing that had changed here was the Statuary Hall where a number of the statues were missing. The new Capital Visitor's Center opened a few weeks after our visit and they were in the process of moving a selection of the statues there.
*National Archives
There has been a major change to the exhibits at the National Archives. The famous vertical marble case displaying the Declaration of Independence is gone. Now you walk up to, and look down on, a series of table display cases. They call this the Charters of Freedom and the display includes the Declaration of Independence, the four pages of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
This is not a good change.
First, we celebrate the 4th of July, not the 17th of September or the 15th of December. And while the Bill of Rights is one of our great documents, a lot of people might think the 14th Amendment is just as important. Actually, each of the 27 Amendments has a special story that deserves to be told.
Second, the three documents that actually created the United States of America are the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Paris (1783), and the United States Constitution (all of which were signed, not coincidentally, by Benjamin Franklin).
Finally, and most disturbing, now that the Declaration of Independence is down from its honored display, it is very apparent just how bad of shape it is in. Some of the letters have faded away entirely and the unidentified hand print is garishly obvious.
Presentation is important and this needs to be reconsidered.
*Library of Congress
This was my first visit to the Library of Congress and it deserves its reputation as the most beautifully decorated building in America. We joined the tour group and were very glad we did. There is so much to see, we would certainly have missed most of it on our own.
There is a formal, glassed-in viewing area of the reading room but, of course, anyone can make an appointment to actually use the reading room. And there is a work-in-progress re-creation of the original Jefferson library that was used to rebuild the Library of Congress after it was burned by the British.
There are also a number of other permanent exhibits, including a Gutenberg Bible, but the highlight for me was a temporary exhibit that really deserves to be made permanent. After my disappointment with the National Archives, it was a great surprise and pleasure to see Jefferson's original draft of the Declaration of Independence.
I really couldn't believe my eyes. I thought it was a photograph or some other reproduction or re-creation of this document like you would see in a book, but it was the actual, original item: Thomas Jefferson's paper, ink, and handwriting along with Benjamin Franklin's written changes to create this seminal document in American history. -- It was like being given a glimpse of Creation.
*Old Post Office Tower, U.S. Supreme Court, National Portrait Gallery
The Old Post Office Tower building is Romanesque and fits with the rest of Washington as oddly as the Smithsonian Castle. It certainly has to be the strangest assignment for any National Park Ranger. The first floor is a food court and the National Park consists of the tower, the elevator that takes you up, and the viewing area at the top. Great views though.
The U.S. Supreme Court Building was a disappointment. And lunch in the coffee shop there was a mistake. I hope the Justices brown-bag it.
The National Portrait Gallery was actually a lot of fun. As I walked around looking at the strangely familiar paintings, it took me a while to realize that what I was seeing were the originals portraits used by the engravers for our currency.
*National Mall and Memorials
We waited until Sunday to make our tour of the National Memorials and were surprised to find the Metro subway jammed with people carrying signs and exiting with us at the Smithsonian stop at the National Mall. We thought we were in the middle of some sort of political rally but it turned out to be supporters of the annual Marine Corps Marathon.
We got out of their way and started down the Mall toward the Washington Monument. From there we walked a loop to include the new World War II memorial, the Vietnam Wall, and the Korean War, Lincoln, FDR and Jefferson memorials. We took our time to appreciate each of them and I could say a lot about each of them, but I'll keep this to just a few comments.
We actually contributed money toward the WWII memorial and I was a little disappointed. It's not the blight that critics claimed it would be, but . . . pillars with the names of the states?
The Vietnam Memorial's popularity continues to be right up there with Washington's and Lincoln's and two volunteers were there helping to find names on the Wall. The American Legion-style statues of the three soldiers and the nurses are behind you as you look at the Wall and these are ignored by everyone.
I was greatly impressed with the Korean War Memorial. The South Korean embassy keeps fresh flowers there and the use of realistic but over-sized statues in full combat gear is very well thought out. According to the official description, the juniper bushes that surround the statues "represent the rugged terrain of Korea." If you have seen photos of the site, you might wonder about this.
Well, when we visited, the bushes had grown considerably and even in Washington's mild winters, if there is any snow at all, these bushes will catch the snow in such a way that snow-covered military men will be seen slogging knee-deep through a snow field just as they had to do in life. I'd go back to see that.
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Overall, we had a good visit and actually did a lot more than I've mentioned here, but we could see the changes that were taking place. As I mentioned, The Capital Visitors Center opened soon after we left and the Newseum, a News Museum, was also scheduled to open. You can no longer tour the FBI Building but apparently the famous G-Men exhibits have been moved to the Newseum.The White House Visitor's Center is already in operation and is probably an indication of what's to come. This is where everyone goes who can't get tickets to the White House. While it was interesting, it could easily be a traveling exhibit because there was nothing about it that required it to be in Washington. I know security is an issue, but I think we are seeing the end of an era of openness and that is a little sad.
