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Unless otherwise noted, all content and photos are © 2010-2020 Monumental Thoughts.
Tag Archives: Photo by Rick Snider
My favorite places — Korean War Veterans Memorial
Posted in Memorials
Tagged Korean War Veterans Memorial, Photo by Rick Snider, Washington D.C.
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Oscar A. Strauss Memorial Fountain at Reagan Building
The Oscar A. Strauss Memorial Fountain at the Reagan Building along 14th St. N.W. was 20 years in the making. It was time well spent. Strauss was a German immigrant in the 1850s who become one of the top U.S. … Continue reading
Jack Swigert – an American hero
Combat pilot, test pilot, astronaut and elected to Congress – it was quite a life for John Leonard “Jack” Swigert, Jr. A bronze statue of the Colorado Congressman-to-be stands in the Capitol Visitors Center. Made by George and Mark Lundeen, … Continue reading
The longest line in town
With unemployment at the largest levels since the Great Depression, the bread line at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial seems even more relevant. The bread line statues are men waiting in line for food during the Great Depression of the … Continue reading
Posted in Memorials
Tagged bread line statues, FDR Memorial, Photo by Rick Snider, Washington D.C.
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New Tour – Pigskins and Pizza
Whenever we leave lock down and walk the earth freely and safely again, I have a new tour coming – Pigskins and Pizza Tours. Post-corona virus is going to be a different time in Washington. I don’t see normal tourism … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Photo by Rick Snider, Pigskins and Pizza tours, Talking football
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All I am saying . . . is give Peace Monument a chance
I hate when monuments are in traffic circles because 99.9 percent of people passing by can’t take a second to see them. Not if you don’t want to smash into someone. I know some of these monuments were here before … Continue reading
Unfolding a La Nina mystery
I used to make paper planes as a kid. Sometimes they only flew a couple feet, but I could see how the crisp lines made air travel work. “La Nina” provides a chance to see how Christopher Columbus’ ship might … Continue reading
Lincoln’s hands – Urban legend or truth?
Tourists love stories. I could tell them the date, cost and weight/height of statues and they’d forget it as soon as I said it. But the stories, that’s different. Sometimes I’ll tell a PG tale if there is no one … Continue reading
Posted in Memorials
Tagged Abraham Lincoln, deaf, hands, Lincoln Memorials, Photo by Rick Snider, sign language
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Rawlins rides on Grant’s coattails
General John Rawlins’ best move was living next to Ulysses Grant when the Civil War started. Grant returned to uniform and took Rawlins with him. Rawlins was a former gold prospector and attorney who managed to keep Grant largely sober … Continue reading
Posted in Monuments and Statues
Tagged Civil War, John Rawlins, Photo by Rick Snider, U.S. Grant, Washington D.C.
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Have a drink, kill a president
Lincoln Assassination What did John Wilkes Booth do the hour before killing Abraham Lincoln? Why, have a drink. Hey, if you’re going to assassinate a president you might want to drink some courage first. Booth spent one hour nursing … Continue reading
Jose Artigas – The Gaucho Statue
He stands on a spit of land at 18th and Constitutional Aves., but Jose Artigas is another of the giants of South American revolution that dominate the blocks around the Organization of American States building. Artigas was a gaucho, typically … Continue reading
The Lone Sailor is hardly alone
For someone who’s supposedly alone, The Lone Sailor usually has plenty of tourists around him. Part of the United States Navy Memorial at 7th and Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., The Lone Sailor is a tribute to all the personnel of the … Continue reading
St. John’s – “Church of the Presidents”
Every president since James Madison has attended the “Church of the Presidents” just a short walk (if they could do so nowadays) from the White House at 15th and H Sts. N.W. Madison started the tradition of the “President’s Pew” … Continue reading
Chinese Community Church has something old, something new
It took modern science to make the Chinese Community Church look like 1852. Founded by U.S. Capitol architect Thomas Ustick Walter as a Presbyterian church, it was later a Jewish temple and Baptist church before purchased by the Chinese Community … Continue reading
Posted in Attractions
Tagged Chinese Community Church, formstone, Photo by Rick Snider, Washington churches
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Remembering Jane Delano, founder of American Red Cross nurses
Jane Delano loved nursing so much that on her deathbed in France while inspecting hospitals during World War I, her last words were, “What about my work, I must get back to my work.” Born on March 12, 1862 near … Continue reading
John Paul Jones Memorial lost in traffic
One of the feistiest American admirals of all time has been marooned on a traffic island. John Paul Jones is on a spit of land at the intersection of 17th St. and Independence Ave. SW just a few yards from … Continue reading
Native Washingtonian 101 – It’s “War-shington”
Want to sound like a local? Here’s the first clue – we say “War-shington.” Yes, we sneak an “r” in there. I don’t know why. It’s not because this town makes war on other countries. It’s just something we say … Continue reading
Lafayette urns have their mystery
Much like the urns in the gardens of the Versailles Palace, these two Lafayette urns were forged in the same furnaces that created Union cannons in the Civil War. They were used for flowers in the late 1880s, but now … Continue reading
