My dear friend, Janice, and I toyed with the idea of going to Washington DC to see Angela Lansbury in Blithe Spirit. It was Angela’s last performance of her career and we felt like we should honor it. Originally, it started as a joke, not really sure if we were financially committed to the idea, but desperately wanting to go. We finally got serious enough about the idea to check out our airline miles and our work schedules; we figured out we could go using our airline miles and keeping the trip short. We decided to just do it and go! We are both big Angela Lansbury fans and knew that it would mean so much to us if we had the opportunity to see her live on stage. We took the plunge, bought the tickets, and couldn’t have made a better decision!
Janice and I started our trip early; Andy dropped us off at the airport around 10 p.m. Our flight wasn’t until 1, so we hung out around the airport, played some card games and waited for our plane to board. Don and Donna weren’t too happy about having to stay up that late, but they were good sports.
We flew from Fairbanks to Seattle to Portland to Washington DC/Reagan International Airport. Us Alaskans are pretty used to multiple layovers to get to our final destination so despite the impressive timeline of flights, it wasn’t too bad. The flights were smooth and uneventful. We made it to DC and took a cab to our hotel, the
Hampton Inn & Suites. It was simple and modern; nothing in particular to write home about, but nice. It had a clean, but very small pool on the lower floor, free coffee and tea 24/7, and a very impressive breakfast spread each morning. The donkeys were pleased, which was enough for me.
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| Donkeys in the lobby |
Janice’s sister, Martha, had arranged to meet us at DC; I’m really glad she came along. She was friendly and fun. Janice and I got our stuff situated in our room and met a good friend of Janice’s who helped us get to the airport to pick up Martha. We walked to the airport (yes the hotel is that close!), had some dinner at Legal Sea Foods at the airport, and picked up Martha. Janice’s friend helped us get tickets for the DC subway which was incredibly helpful for the rest of the trip. We made it back to the hotel and settled in for the night.
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| Checking out the painting in the hotel. Beautiful Capitol Building! |
We got up the next morning, donned some winter gear (the temps weren’t too low but it was incredibly windy!), had a quick breakfast and began our exploration! While we were there primarily to see Blithe Spirit/Angela Lansbury, we figured we’d explore DC as much as we could. It had been a few years since I had been to the Capitol.
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| This is what it has come to. Donkey selfies. |
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| Enjoying their breakfast |
We hopped on the DC subway to make our way to Library of Congress. I remember the DC subways from the few times I had been to DC previously, but it was still a fun part of the adventure.
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| Heading up! They almost got stepped on in this picture |
The Library of Congress was established in 1800. It is a research library directed by Librarian of Congress, James H. Billington. The library officially serves the 535 members of the United States Congress, along with their staff. It is technically the library of the United States, however the library does not publicly circulate, and in order to “check out” books in the traditional sense, you have to go through a rather lengthy application-type process (see below).
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| Library of Congress |
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| Inside the Library of Congress |
The impressive size of the Library of Congress (it stores 23,592,066 books in the main library alone, with 158,007,115 books total) was not always the case, It was not classified as the world’s largest library until 1990. Today, the
entire “Library of Congress” is actually housed in four separate locations: the main Library of Congress on Capitol Hill (three separate buildings, the Thomas Jefferson Building, the John Adams Building, and the James Madison Memorial Building) as well as one off-campus, the
Packard Campus in Culpeper, Virginia, which houses the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center. The main building we know as the “Library of Congress” is the Thomas Jefferson Building.
In order to be able to use the library and check out books, you need to obtain a User Card, complete with your picture on it. This allows you membership to the library and access to the books. They can be obtained in Room LM-140 of the
Madison Building. From a brief conversation Janice and I had with one of the security guards, it’s quite a lengthy process. It’s like your local library on steroids.
The
Great Hall is the first main area you walk into. The interior holds a ungodly amount of art, from roughly 50 different American painters and sculptors.
The ceiling even has a story. There are six large skylight-type windows in the top which are designed to mirror the marble flooring beneath. Up until The 1980’s, everyone assumed that the leaf-like ornamentation was silver. It’s actually aluminum, which makes sense considering that in 1890 when the ceiling was constructed, aluminum was worth more and was considered more precious than silver.
Towards the middle is Minerva, the Roman Goddess of learning and wisdom. Its artist is Elihu Vedder. She is looking at a scroll that lists various types of learning. Nike sits next to her illustrated as a winged woman standing on a globe. An owl sits to Minerva’s left, which obviously represents wisdom. You can see the sun emerging from the clouds above her head. On the floor are Minerva’s shield and helmet, supposedly representing knowledge and learning over brutishness; yet she holds her spear as a sign of ever-lasting vigilance.
Below, the donkeys proudly sit above the Library of Congress Commemorative Arch. Built by Olin Warner, the arch leads to the Reading Room. Below the phrase “Library of Congress” is a sculpture called The Students, which represents the pursuit of knowledge.
Made famous in National Treasure, the most popular area of the Library of Congress is the Reading Room. It is the main focal point of the Library where most of the general collections of books and bound periodicals live. The reading room boasts skilled reference librarians who are subject specialists, many who hold advanced degrees in their respective fields.
While impressive, the Reading Room is difficult to gain access to and most average tourists don’t attempt to. You must be 16 or older and have a current Reader Identification Card which you are required to produce upon entrance to the Reading Room and anytime you check something out. They also heavily restrict the items you can bring into the Room including audio devices, briefcases, cell phones with the ringer on, newspapers, raincoats, scissors, and umbrellas. The website seems to even slightly suggest there’s a casually upheld dress code; under items that “may be brought,” the website indicates you may bring in sport coats, suit jackets, or sweaters.
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| Good luck getting in here |
After you get over the fact that you will likely never set foot in this room in your lifetime, you start to be more appreciative of what you are looking at. You’ll notice in the above picture two tall marble columns. There are a total of eight in the Reading Room, each one 10 feet high with an allegorical female figure on top of each. The eight women represent characteristic features of civilized life and thought: religion, commerce, history, art, philosophy, poetry, law, and science.
On the ceiling (which is incredibly hard to see, unless you crouch down and smush yourself up against the glass is the dome of the Reading Room. You really can’t see it unless you are in the Reading Room, but there is a painting of a female figure (Human Understanding), painted by Edwin Blashfield, lifting the viel of ignorance and looking forward toward intellectual progress. Two cherubs are at her side; one holds the Book of Wisdom and Knowledge, and the other encourages those below with an outstretched hand to forge ahead in the path towards civilized perfection.
You will notice in the below picture that below the actual dome itself, in a circle, are twelve male and female figures. They represent either countries, areas, or epochs, which at the time of construction (1897) were believed to have contributed the greatest to society. Read more
here.
Egypt: Written Records
Judea: Religion
Greece: Philosophy
Rome: Administration
Islam: Physics
Middle Ages: Modern Languages
Italy: Fine Arts
Germany: Art of Printing
Spain: Discovery
England: Literature
France: Emancipation
America: Science
We exited the Library of Congress and made our way to the
Capitol Building. We were going to take a tour, but the line was probably the longest line in the history of human lines, and we simply didn’t have the time.
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| Look at that! I get agoraphobic just staring at it. |
What was cool about the Capitol at the time we went, however, is that it was undergoing restoration. It made the dome look slightly unattractive, but it was a necessary update.
Called “The Dome Restoration Project,” the updates hope to repair the many years of weather and age, which, since the Dome’s last update in 1959-1960, has caused it to crack and corrode.
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| Looking at the Dome from below. You can see the scaffolding. |
The Dome Restoration Project actually began in September 2012, aimed to continue in a series of “phases.” Phase One updated and repaired the stone and cast iron at the base of the Dome called the “Dome Skirt.” It is my understanding the Restoration Project is now on its second phase, which includes restoring the cast-iron elements, weatherproofing the exterior, replacing broken windows, remove hazardous materials, and removing paint.
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| Gettin fixed up! |
The history of the Dome was pretty interesting. It didn’t always look the way that it does today. The Capitol Building originally began as a very small dome (more like a small circular ceiling) in 1792. It grew and grew, starting with the first real dome-like addition in 1825-1856. Finally in 1865, the final dome we know today was constructed.
After avoiding the line from hell at the Capitol Building, we moseyed our way over to the Supreme Court Building, which I like to refer to as the “lawyer’s mothership.” This was the first time I had seen the Supreme Court after passing the bar and starting to practice law. It was pretty cool to stand outside it as a real lawyer.
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| The Mothership! |
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Left Statue: Female figure, the Contemplation of Justice
Right Statue: Male figure, the Guardian/Authority of Law |
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| Don and Donna on the steps |
The Supremes weren’t even given a building until 1935, the 146th year they were on the bench. Prior to the building of the Court, the justices met in the Merchants Exchange Building in New York City. They later moved to Philadelphia in 1790 when the National Capitol moved. In 1800, when the Capitol finally found its home in Washington, D.C., the Court once again moved with it where they rented space in the Capitol Building. In 1929, Chief Justice William Howard Taft (later President from 1909-1913) persuaded Congress to build the Supremes their own building.
The pictures above is the Court’s main entrance. The building is recognized mostly by the sixteen marble columns that support the pediment. Above them reads “Equal Justice Under Law.” The sculpture at the base of the roof peak represents Liberty Enthroned. Liberty is guarded by Order and Authority, and flanked by figures depicting Council and Research. At the left is Chief Justice Taft as a youth, Secretary of State Elihu Root, and Cass Gilbert. On the right are Chief Justice Hughes, Aitken, and Chief Justice Marshall.
After saying goodbye to the Mothership, we went to the
National Archives. I was really interested in this museum. I’ve seen the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence before, but it’s always so humbling and incredible to see it again. If I lived in Washington DC, I’d go every weekend!
The documents are kept on one of the lower floors in a cooler room with little light (for obvious reasons). You’re herded in there like cattle and they only allow certain people in there at a time. Once you get in, it’s a bit of a madhouse. They tell you not to form lines, but as instinctual creatures, we …formed lines. It’s worth the wait and the crowds.
We made our way down to the National Mall and ended our walk at the Washington Monument. Standing at 554 feet tall, the Washington Monument is an obelisk dedicated to George Washington. The obelisk is made of marble, granite, and bluestone gneiss. It is the world’s tallest stone structure as well as the world’s tallest obelisk. Janice pointed out an interesting factoid to me while we were admiring it; apparently from 1854 to 1877, there were issues with the funding of the Washington Monument, which temporarily halted its progress. As a result, by the time the funding issues were worked out, the old stone had taken on a slightly different shade. If you look up the Washington Monument about 150 feet, you can see the difference in shading.
Last stop for the day before the play was the White House, which needs no explanation. Thanks to some
idiot who jumped the fence in October last year, security was heavy. You could not get even remotely close to the iconic back entrance/grass area to take pictures. The closest you could get was about 20 feet or so from the front, which was blocked off by guard railings. It was fun to get to see it though, even at a distance.
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| President Don and First Lady Donna…or President Donna and First Man Don? |
A dedicated, and presumably angry lady, was protesting outside of the White House. Her point wasn’t quite understood, aside from the large sign that read “BAN ALL NUCLEAR WEAPONS OR HAVE A NICE DOOMSDAY.” Ahh, the first amendment.
What a great start to the day. Next stop: Angela Lansbury!
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