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Tag Archives: best DC walking tours
It’s a regular Tool De Force
It looks like odd tools in my collection, and it is. Tool De Force is a 12 1/2-foot sculpture at the National Building Museum representing some of the tools used in the industry. It was donated to NBM by … Continue reading
Finding Boss Shepherd’s tomb
Alexander Shepherd was one of the key people responsible for Washington being what it is today, but few know who “Boss” Shepherd was even if his statue is to the right of City Hall’s steps. Indeed, Shepherd is known as … Continue reading
The general of them all – Alexander Macomb
It’s not often you’ll see a monument with Greek, Roman and Egyptian markings, but Gen. Alexander Macomb’s 14-foot marker at Congressional Cemetery has them all. The general is surrounded by four lions paws. A sword for his military career, cross … Continue reading
Rock Creek Cemetery markers for memories
Wandering through Rock Creek Cemetery is a lesson is historic architecture. It’s probably the best cemetery in Washington for angels alone. The rich and famous from former Washington territorial mayor “Boss” Shepherd to president Teddy Roosevelt’s iconic daughter Alice are … Continue reading
Cross of Sacrifice at Arlington National Cemetery
It’s often called the “Canadian Cross” but technically the large cross behind the Tomb of the Unknowns and near the memorials to astronauts is called the “Cross of Sacrifice.” The bronze sword atop the 24-foot gray granite cross was dedicated … Continue reading
Here’s a bar bet you can win
Washington, D.C. is named after two people. Name them. I ask this of every group I take out and maybe 10 percent has someone who can answer it. OK, we all should know that George Washington is the Washington part. … Continue reading
Taking green energy in stride
Sidewalks – they’re not the friendliest of places around Washington. I once fell face down on the sidewalk when kicking a raised section near OPM. I wasn’t badly hurt, but that people actually walked around me without helping angered me … Continue reading
Daniel Webster offers the highest of relief panels
Normally, the high relief art complements the statue, but the two beneath the statue of Daniel Webster are the coolest ones I’ve seen around town. They are nearly lifelike, showing none of their 110 years. The scene in the front … Continue reading
Thomas T. Gaff isn’t so scary after all
From the street it looks like a member of the Walking Dead has emerged in Rock Creek Cemetery. Walking up the steep incline makes the grave marker a little less scary and a little more impressive. What once looked like … Continue reading
Sky Landscape is for the 99 percenters
For everyone who was told they’re not good enough, those who spent years trying to make it, that sacrificed everything for their dream — Sky Landscape is for you. Louise Nevelson struggled for many years after arriving from Kiev, Russia. … Continue reading
Alfaro: Old Warrior of Ecuador
In the row of bronze busts outside the Organization of American States along Constitution Ave. is Eloy Alfaro, the former president of Ecuador whose full name was José Eloy Alfaro Delgado. Alfaro (1842 –1912) was the president from 1895 to … Continue reading
Anton Hilberath: The German soldier in Arlington National Cemetery
Anton Hilberath is an enigma surrounded by children. Hilberath’s the only German soldier from World War II buried at Arlington National Cemetery. The First Sergeant of the Wehrmacht was among 830 German prisoners of war that died in the … Continue reading
Remembering the unknown dead of the War of 1812
So much attention is given the Tomb of the Unknowns, but there are actually more than 400 unknowns buried throughout Arlington National Cemetery. Fourteen soldiers and sailors from the War of 1812 are buried together in Section 1 not far … Continue reading
Under the spreading Lincoln oak tree
An old stump is all that’s left of one of the older trees ever around Washington. The Lincoln Oak, named for president Abraham Lincoln meeting under its expansive branches with local military leaders during the Civil War, was destroyed by … Continue reading
DAR pediment is simple enough
We’re going with an easy one here. I don’t care if you’ve never seen a pediment in your life (and you may have not) you’re going to know what this one means. High above the western entrance into the … Continue reading
Senator Cushman Kellogg was a renaissance man
In the very back corner of Arlington National Cemetery, and I’ll give you a special merit badge for finding this memorial under a tree by the superintendent’s residence, lies one of the special politicians of the post-Civil War era. Cushman … Continue reading
Cavalry Baptist survives throughout the years
I once took a church group around Penn Quarter from Cavalry Baptist that wanted to know more about their neighborhood. I wanted to learn more about Cavalry Baptist. I’ve seen the brown brick venue peek out along 8th and H … Continue reading
Joseph Henry was no ding-dong
The statue of the man who invented the doorbell stands before a building that has none. Then again, how many castles do? Joseph Henry was a 19th century scientist whose work in electromagnets led him to become the first Secretary … Continue reading
Posted in Monuments and Statues
Tagged best DC walking tours, doorbell, Joseph Henry, Photo by Rick Snider, Smithsonian, statue
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Juarez points the way
My first thought was “Oh great, another person telling me which way to go.” But as I sat at a red light near the Watergate I realized here was another of the Latin American liberators. Former Mexican President Benito Juarez … Continue reading
Horse and Rider trots along
It looks like me ready to fall off, but sculptor Mario Marini’s Horse and Rider is considered an example of a man in control. Sure, if you say so. The seven-foot tall sculpture outside the Hirshhorn Museum is another of … Continue reading
