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Unless otherwise noted, all content and photos are © 2010-2020 Monumental Thoughts.
Category Archives: Monuments and Statues
Joseph Darlington fountain makes you sneak a peak
Occasionally, statues make me feel like a voyeur. Why is that man or boy naked I’m sometimes asked. It happens all too often say at the Boy Scout or Von Steuben statues near the White House. I say I don’t … Continue reading
A little statue in the corner has a story to tell
I love the Organization of American States building. It is absolutely fascinating and filled with overwhelming art projects both inside and out. One is tucked away from the front view, but you shouldn’t miss this one. Just to the right … Continue reading
Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?
I wish my flowers grew this big. The Federal Triangle Flower is 10 feet tall and 13 feet wide. Created in 1997 as part of the Ronald Reagan Building and International Center, the courtyard art was sculpted by Stephen … Continue reading
Czech leader Masaryk stands tall on Embassy Row
Tomas Masaryk stands tall – like 12 feet tall. It’s a good lifelike figure despite Czechoslovakia’s first president really only half that size. The bronze statue at the corners of Massachusetts Ave., Florida Ave. and Q St. N.W. remembers Masaryk, … 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
Oh angel, why so sad?
I love statues in cemeteries. Angels intrigued me, especially when memorializing someone forever. Richard Rothwell and his wife Emma lie beneath a sighing angel in Congressional Cemetery. Rothwell was once paid by Congress for creating 20 centographs that remember late … Continue reading
Albert Gallatin – the man in front of the Treasury
After taking their zillion photos of the north side of the White House, many tourists walk to 15th St. to catch their bus. They pass the Treasury Building along the way and always ask who’s the statue. When I say … Continue reading
Ascent soars outside Udvar-Hazy Center
One of the more interesting items at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles International Airport may be outside. Ascent is a 75-foot polished, stainless steel artwork that means, well I’m not good at interpretative … Continue reading
No bowing, she’s not the queen
You never know what kids will say. I asked some youngsters who I was standing next to and “The Queen of England?” was the first response. Well, I must admit she does look a little like Queen Elizabeth, but it’s … Continue reading
Finally, an honest man in Judiciary Square
How many statues are there of Abraham Lincoln around town? That’s a good question. And, I don’t know the answer. What’s special about this one in front of the D.C. Court of Appeals (Lincoln was a lawyer, after all) is … Continue reading
Grant lamp posts return
Something old is new again at the Grant Memorial by the U.S. Capitol. Eight bronze lamp posts were erected as replicas of the original design of Edward Pearce Casey dedicated in 1921. The posts have 16 separate castings plus the … Continue reading
Winston Churchill – man of two worlds
Winston Churchill does an international game of hokey pokey outside the British embassy on Massachusetts Ave. Embassies are technically foreign soil so the 186 in town form quite an international landmass. But the late British prime minister, who led England … Continue reading
Sphere No. 6 is . . .
Sphere No. 6 is: a) What was left of the Death Star after Luke Skywalker blew it up. b) The remnants of Earth after a nuclear explosion. c) A bronze sculpture by Italian artist Arnaldo Pomodoro. d) I have no … Continue reading
