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Unless otherwise noted, all content and photos are © 2010-2020 Monumental Thoughts.
Author Archives: Rick
DAR Memorial remembers its founding mothers?
I used to think the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) were a bunch of old bluebloods caught in the past. And then my wife whacked me. No, Lisa just set me straight since she’s a member. Turns out it’s … Continue reading
Police and fire boxes gain new life
I’ll admit not knowing the following story until becoming a tour guide. Like a lot of statues, I’d walk by these call boxes never knowing they were once the lifeline of police and firemen. It’s not often I find superb … Continue reading
Remembering the soul of a poet: Kahlil Gibran
There are plenty of memorials to foreigners that I really don’t understand, and this might be the most perplexing of all. I read two short biographies of the man and still not sure why a $1 million memorial across the … Continue reading
Last Conversation Piece says a lot
I must admit this series of rotund statues makes me laugh. Like it’s a Weight Watchers meeting and a dispute breaks out as one says, “Who you calling fat?” That’s the great part of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden … Continue reading
Simon Bolivar – ‘The George Washington of South America’
I often wonder why other countries send statues of their heroes to our city. I mean, what do … Continue reading
El Maiz is not corny
Sometimes sculptures are like a detective story. Thanks to the fine folks at the Museum of Modern Art of Latin America located on the 18th St. side of the Organization of American States, and a Yahoo translator, I finally figured … Continue reading
Mountain and Clouds will blow your mind
My first thought when entering the lobby of the Senate Hart Office Building – was it this big piece of junk? A few minutes later when viewing it from the seventh of nine floors, my second thought – Oh, I … Continue reading
The Polish general in Lafayette Square
General Thaddeus Kosciuszko was an American hero in so many ways. The Polish-born general of the Revolutionary War is one of four foreign-born general in the park largely for winning the battle of Saratoga, N.Y. The statue reflects Kosiuszko fighting … Continue reading
The woman behind the man – Queen Isabella
We always know Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 14 hundred and 92. But, we rarely talk about the woman who funded the trip to the new world – Queen Isabella. The Spanish monarch is in front of the Organization … Continue reading
Posted in Monuments and Statues
Tagged best DC walking tours, OAS, Photo by Rick Snider, Queen Isabella, statue, Washington D.C.
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Balinese Demons on Embassy Row
As regular readers know, I’m an average photographer. And sometimes it’s hard to get a good shot, especially when the gates are locked at an Embassy Row showstopper. Hence this photo. But here’s one of two Balinese Demons who guard … Continue reading
Monumental Thoughts turns 9
Happy birthday to us once more. Nine years of blogging about the daily sights, sounds and scenes of Washington from a tour guide’s perspective. I haven’t walked 1,000 tours yet, but it’s getting close. I can tell by my poor … Continue reading
St. Ignatius Church in Southern Maryland
Posted in Washington life
Tagged Chaptico MD, Photo by Rick Snider, St. Ignatius Church
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Jefferson in gingerbread
Posted in Washington life
Tagged Jefferson in gingerbread, Photo by Rick Snider, Thomas Jefferson
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