I’m not a fanatical cyclist. I'm not a professional writer or photographer either. I’m just a guy who began this blog when I was working in Washington, D.C., and used my lunch break each day to go for a bike ride and discover some of the eclectic sites and events in and around the city. Now I’m retired and I still ride. But now I can ride whenever I want. I take a few snapshots along the way, and then use this blog to post the photos and write about what I see, what I learn, and what I think about while I continue to explore our nation's capital one ride at a time.
During today’s bike ride on the Metropolitan Branch Trail I encountered a large mural on the facade of the Penn Center building at 1709 3rd Street (MAP), in northeast D.C.’s Eckington neighborhood. In addition to its massive size, what initially caught my attention was the realism and unusual yet simple gray tones that give the mural the appearance of an old black-and-white photograph.
The mural is entitled “28 Blocks,” and is the creation of American artist Garin Baker. Baker resides in New York City and is a traditionally trained realist painter, but his professional career spans across artistic disciplines. Baker spent four months hand-painting the 60’ by 160’ mural on 156 sections of parachute cloth in his studio. He then brought the work to D.C., and used a special polymer glue to attach the mural to the facade of the building, followed by a final coating and varnish that add UV and graffiti protection, thus requiring only minimal maintenance for many years.
The mural gets its name from the 28 blocks of marble used between 1914 and 1922 to erect the Lincoln Memorial’s iconic 120-ton marble statue of a seated Abraham Lincoln. But the mural isn’t intended to honor Lincoln. In fact, even the image of the Lincoln statue within the mural is only a peripheral image to provide context to the focus of the work. The mural depicts and is intended as a tribute to the men who are responsible for cutting out, hauling, carving and erecting the iconic Lincoln Memorial statue, which was designed by sculptor Daniel Chester French and planned by architect Henry Bacon. Most of those men were first or second generation black men who were born free, or Italian immigrants.
A quote from Frederick Douglass is also prominently featured on the mural. It reads: “Without culture there can be no growth; Without exertion, no acquisition; Without friction, no polish; Without labor, no knowledge; Without action, no progress. And without conflict, no victory.”
According to Baker, the color scheme of black, white and gray is intentional and carries symbolism. “People see things in black and white, but it’s really not the full story,” he said. “Only through all the shades of gray do we see the full truth.”
The mural is conveniently positioned adjacent to the Metropolitan Branch Trail, which gives cyclists, joggers and walkers a front row seat to view it. But not only that, the trail runs parallel to the train tracks that not only carries commuters and other riders on the Red Line between the Rhode Island Avenue and NoMa-Gallaudet University and New York Avenue stations, but also ferries people from New York to Union Station, allowing them to see the mural out their windows just before reaching the station. Officials with the city’s Department of General Services say 50,000 or more people a day can see the mural. I’m glad I was one of them today.
[Click on the photos to view the full-size versions]
A President’s Surprise Visit to the Lincoln Memorial
During this morning’s bike ride I not only rode by The Lincoln Memorial, but I also rode back in history. As I paused at the memorial, I went back in time as I thought about this day in 1972.
Today is the anniversary of one of the strangest things to happen during President Richard Nixon’s time in office. And that’s saying something when you think about some of the other things that happened during his time as commander in chief, such as the time, when he was still running for president, when he appeared on the politically charged, sketch comedy TV show “Laugh-In” and awkwardly asked, “Sock it to me?” By the way, for the rest of his life Nixon contended that “appearing on Laugh-In is what got him elected.” Other incidents during his presidency include: the time he met in the Oval Office with Elvis Presley, during which the King of Rock and Roll lobbied to be deputized as a federal agent in the War on Drugs, and; the time he declared to a roomful of newspaper editors during a press conference in Disney World at the height of the Watergate scandal, “I am not a crook.”
It all began days earlier, on April 30, 1972. The anti-war movement was shocked when President Richard Nixon announced a major new escalation in the Vietnam War – the U.S. invasion of Cambodia. It took many people by surprise inasmuch as he had addressed the nation just ten days earlier, outlining his plan for the withdrawal of 150,000 troops from Vietnam, seemingly signaling that he was serious about his promise to get America out of the war. Near the end of his announcement about Cambodia, Nixon appealed for calm, especially on America’s college campuses. He nonetheless expected blowback. And that is exactly what he got.
Campuses across the country exploded in dissent, culminating on May 4th when National Guardsmen unleashed a 13-second, 67-shot barrage of gunfire toward student demonstrators at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine, one of whom was paralyzed from the waist down with a bullet lodged in his spine. In the tense days following Kent State, more than 450 U.S. colleges, universities, and even high schools were disrupted by strikes.
Locally, impromptu rallies erupted all over the D.C. region, and a major demonstration was planned for May 9 on the National Mall. Law enforcement entities went on alert, mobilizing all available resources including the entire D.C. police force and 5,000 military personnel from the 82nd Airborne Division who were stationed in the Old Executive Office Building next door to the White House, which was encircled by D.C. transit buses parked bumper to bumper as an additional security barrier.
The above information is provided to give a sense of what a highly-charged and volatile atmosphere existed nationally, and especially here in D.C., at that time. Because it was within this setting that one of the most bizarre moments of Nixon’s presidency took place when, in the early morning hours of May 9, 1970, the president made an impromptu visit to The Lincoln Memorial.
At approximately 4:00 a.m., Nixon was awake and listening to a composition by Rachmaninoff as he took in the majestic view that The White House affords of the Lincoln Memorial. He also observed students protestors beginning to gather for the protest planned for later that day. Inspired to visit the hippie contingent, Nixon asked his valet, Manolo Sanchez, if he wanted to take in the Memorial up close at night. The Secret Service was astonished but adhered to the orders of their commander in chief to take the impromptu trip. Nixon, Sanchez and approximately four agents took the presidential limousine to the foot of the Lincoln Memorial.
It was there that Nixon engaged a small group of students. He began by acknowledging that most surely thought of him as a real “S.O.B.” Irregardless, he explained that they all shared the same goal – stopping the killing in Southeast Asia. And despite varying interpretations of his recently announced invasion of Cambodia, his overall actions proved this contention as he did more to extricate the U.S. from that conflict than his predecessors. During his discussion with the protestors, he also spoke about his views as a pacifist, given his Quaker background. Nixon explained that he changed after WWII to a view war as only useful as long as it was necessary.
The discussion also vacillated with lighter subjects, which was the socially awkward Nixon’s attempt to communicate with young people on their terms. He spoke about the benefits of traveling and dating while young. Nixon discussed the Syracuse football team with students from New York, and surfing with a student from California. This was a leader not naturally at ease with people. Yet it was Nixon who was willing to open a dialogue with individuals naturally opposed to him in a manner few with such power have ever attempted.
As the sun began to rise, Nixon, having exhausted both himself and his welcome, began walking back to the presidential limousine. As he did, a student Nixon describes as “a bearded fellow from Detroit” rushed up and asked if he could have his picture taken with the president. Nixon instructed the White House doctor to take the student’s picture with the president. “He seemed to be quite delighted,” Nixon says of that bearded fellow from Detroit. “It was, in fact, the broadest smile that I saw on the entire visit.”
The president along with Sanchez and his entourage, including the Secret Service agents, whose numbers had increased during the course of the visit, then departed. But they did not return to the White House. Not yet. Sanchez had never seen the famous “well” of the House of Representatives, either. Having roused security there, the President was sitting at one of the House desks as his valet took to the same podium used for State of the Union addresses. From there, and now also with press secretary Ron Ziegler in tow, the presidential entourage proceeded to the Mayflower Hotel on Connecticut Avenue for breakfast, before heading back to the White House.
There were no news crews or fanfare. There was no prepared speech, talking points, or plan on what to do when Nixon arrived. And all that remains are a few photographs and the recollections of those involved, including Nixon’s, as can be heard on the video below.
[Click on the photos to view the full-size versions]
Sadly, despite having worked in downtown D.C. for the past 30 years, I had never visited the United States Botanic Garden during the Christmas holiday season before this year. I’ve been there many times but not during the holidays. But a friend who only lived here for a year before moving out of the area knew about the Botanic Garden’s annual holiday display, entitled Season’s Greenings, and the sights, smells, and sounds that accompany it. When she asked me about this year’s display, it prompted me to go check it out. And I’m so glad I did.
This year’s display is a multifaceted one that stretches throughout the Botanic Garden. First, it includes the return of a series of D.C. landmarks made out of plant materials. The holiday display also includes thousands of blooms throughout the Conservatory, from exotic orchids to a showcase of heirloom and newly developed poinsettia varieties in the seasonal Poinsettia Room. Lastly, this year’s holiday decorations include a showcase of model trains chugging around, below, through, and above plant-based recreations of iconic sights and roadside attractions from across the United States.
I will be covering the Poinsettia display, and the model train and roadside attractions showcase in the near future. Today’s blog post focuses on the collection of D.C. landmarks, all made from a myriad of plant and other natural materials, which is displayed in the Garden Court. There are a dozen local landmarks and memorials on display this year. The White House swing set, which had been included in previous years, was not present this year because the actual swing set is no longer at the White House. In it’s place is the Albert Einstein Memorial. Also new this year is the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened a little over a year ago. All of the landmarks would be incredible in and of themselves. But knowing that they are made of plants adds to the experience.
For added holiday cheer at the Botanic Garden, there are concerts on Tuesday and Thursday evenings in December, when hours are extended until 8pm. If you can, I highly recommend going on one of these days for both the music and to see the exhibit and plant collections illuminated by colorful lights. One of my first thoughts after seeing Seasons Greenings was wishing that I had known about it and gone in previous years. So do yourself a favor and go so you don’t have the same thought years from now.
[Click on the photos above to view the full size versions]
In northwest D.C., near the Petworth and Park View neighborhoods (MAP), there is a Gothic Revival-style residence known as President Lincoln’s Summer Cottage. And there is a statue of its namesake resident on the grounds. On this lunchtime bike ride I rode there to see it.
The 2,500-pound sculpted bronze statue of President Lincoln and a horse, presumably his favorite horse named Big Bob, was created by sculptor Ivan Schwartz of StudioEIS, who spent months conducting research to ensure the historical accuracy and visual aesthetics of this portrayal of Lincoln and Big Bob. The statue was financed by Robert H. Smith., and dedicated in February of 2009.
The statue depicts President Lincoln standing next to his horse, who he was seen riding around the grounds of the cottage on April 13, 1865, the day before he was assassinated. He is presumably either about to embark on or returning from his commute to The White House. Every morning from April or May through November, Lincoln would make the three-mile, 30-minute commute on horseback down the hill into D.C. , and back again in the evening. In 2011, staff from the summer cottage tried to reenact his horse ride and it took two hours due to traffic and lights. That’s typical of D.C. traffic.
In comparison to The Lincoln Memorial, the summer cottage statue’s portrayal of President Lincoln is a much more intimate and personal one rather than a strong, serious figure elevated and looking down at the viewer. The lifelike statue of a standing Lincoln is exactly six feet four-and-a-half inches tall, which was the actual height of the 16th President. So visitors are at eye level with Lincoln. So step right up to it to get an idea of what it might have been like to stand toe-to-toe with Honest Abe. The hat brings him up to seven feet tall.
1 – A Metro train inbound from Alexandria to D.C. as it passes over the Potomac River
Back in May of this year I wrote a post about meeting my original goal for this blog, and what my future goals would be. Along with that post I also published a couple of dozen miscellaneous photos that I had taken during my lunchtime bike rides, but had not previously used for other posts on this blog. As this year is rapidly coming to an end, I decided to post some more miscellaneous photos. So below I have included a couple of dozen more photos that I took at different times over the past year, but have not used for this blog. Be sure to click on each of the photos to view the full-size versions.
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[Click on the photos above to view the full size versions]
1 – A Metro train inbound from Alexandria to D.C. as it passes over the Potomac River.
2 – A hauntingly beautiful abandoned mansion located on Cooper Circle in LeDroit Park.
3 – A demonstration by Native Americans on the steps of The Lincoln Memorial.
4 – A musician taking a mid-afternoon nap in the park at DuPont Circle.
5 – A young girl admiring a mounted Park Police officer’s horse on the National Mall.
6 – An old farmer and his family selling watermelons out of the back of a truck on Rhode Island Avenue.
7 – A bike repurposed as a planter on the front porch of a home in LeDroit Park.
8 – A book sale at Second Story Books at the corner of 20th and P Streets in DuPont Circle.
9 – A mural interplaying with the shade of the leaves of a nearby tree on Capitol Hill.
10 – The First Street protected bikeway connecting Union Station to the Metropolitan Branch Trail.
11 – A merging of protests in front of The White House and Lafayette Square Park.
12 – A view of the Anacostia River through the thick growth of vegetation on Kingman Island.
13 – Chocolate City Bar mural in a alley near 14th and S Streets, NW
14 – Demolished buildings on 14th Street making way for new Downtown construction.
15 – A ping pong game in the Farragut Square Park sponsored by the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District.
16 – Statues outside Bar Rogue in the Kimpton Rouge Hotel on 16th Street.
17 – The former Addiction Prevention and Recovery Administration headquarters building on First Street in northeast D.C.
18 – Boats docked on the Southeast Waterfront just west of the Maine Avenue Fish Market.
19 – A homeless woman who spends her days on a bench in DuPont Circle Park.
20 – A news reporter broadcasting live from in front of FBI Headquarters.
21 – Chinese zodiac signs adorn the crosswalk at 7th and H Streets near The Friendship Archway in Chinatown.
22 – A bee pollinating a flower in The Smithsonian’s Butterfly Habitat Garden.
23 – An Organic Transit ELF vehicle parked at a bike rack on the National Mall.
24 – A street musician playing for tips outside the Farragut North Metro Station during the morning rush hour.
25 – A bench with a view on the southern side of the Tidal Basin.
NOTE: Come back tomorrow for Part 2 of my year-end collection of various photos.
During this lunchtime bike ride as I was riding across the Duke Ellington Memorial Bridge in northwest D.C.’s Adam’s Morgan neighborhood, I saw a mural on the side of a building on the eastern end of the bridge. So I rode over to get a better look at the mural. I discovered it was on the side of Mama Ayesha’s Restaurant, located at 1967 Calvert Street (MAP), and depicts the restaurant’s namesake standing in front of The White House. She is flanked on either side by eleven different presidents standing in chronological order, starting with Dwight D. Eisenhower and ending with Barack Obama. The content of the public artwork is so unusual that I just had to find out more about it.
The mural was funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and private donors. It was created in 2009 by Karla Rodas, also known as Karlísima, who is a native of El Salvador but moved with her family as a child to nearby Alexandria. After graduating from Annandale High School and Washington University, she returned to D.C. and has since become one of the capital city’s most well-known and respected muralists.
The initial concept for the mural was planned by Mama Ayesha’s family members, who have run the restaurant since its opening in 1960. However, the original plan did not have Mama Ayesha as the centerpiece of the work. Instead, the family wanted Helen Thomas, a renowned White House reporter and regular customer at the restaurant, to be at the center of the mural. She was envisioned to be seated at a desk with pen and paper in her hand. However, Thomas politely declined the family’s request, opining that Mama Ayesha should be portrayed instead.
The final design depicts Mama Ayesha in traditional Palestinian garb standing in front of the White House. With six presidents on her right and five on her left, she stands in the middle between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, with their arms interlocked. Interspersed throughout the mural are other symbols and additional scenes and landmarks from the national capital city. They include a bald eagle, the city’s famous cherry blossoms, as well as the Lincoln Memorial and its Reflecting Pool, the Jefferson Memorial, the Washington Monument and the United States Capitol Building. And representations of the U.S. flag appear on the sides of the painting.
With President Obama’s successor to be determined in tomorrow’s election, I hope the mural will be updated. There is sufficient space in front of the Reflecting Pool for either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. I very much look forward to the election being over. And I also look forward to being able to come back to see the updated mural at some point in the near future.
[Click on the photos to view the full-size versions]
On this Pre-Memorial Day weekend bike ride, as I was riding through the plaza in front of the The Lincoln Memorial (MAP), I noticed a number of people who were all wearing matching yellow T-shirts gathered on the steps of the memorial. It turns out they were all U.S. military veterans, and they were brought to D.C. by the Honor Flight Network.
The Honor Flight Network is a coalition of non-profit organizations dedicated to transporting as many military veterans as possible to D.C., at no cost to the veterans, to visit and reflect at the national memorials to the respective wars in which they fought. Top priority is given to bringing veterans of World War II to The National World War II Memorial, as well as any veteran with a terminal illness. The veterans are generally escorted by volunteer guardians, who assist them on their flights and while they are here in D.C.
Some of the veterans I saw today were World War II veterans, many of them in wheelchairs, like the ones I saw a couple of years ago at an impromptu parade. Others served during the Korean and Vietnam wars. The veterans had just been dropped off by buses, and were conducting a brief prayer service on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial before visiting The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall and The Korean War Veterans Memorial, and then moving on to the World War II Memorial.
Although the upcoming Memorial Day holiday is for remembering the military members who died while serving in our country’s armed forces, witnessing this inspiring and moving event involving surviving veterans was a good beginning to the holiday weekend.
[Click on the thumbnails above to view the full size photos]
One of the highlights of this lunchtime bike ride was happening upon a street performance artist who had set up and was performing in front of The White House. I have also seen him at the Lincoln Memorial. He is “The Silver Man,” and he has a silver backpack, silver guitar and even a silver bike as well. He stands motionless beside a sign that says he will move if you pay him. He also has a sign that he is running for President, and his campaign slogan is “The best nation is a donation.” Based on what I’ve seen from many of the other presidential candidates, he may have a chance. This kind of street performer is common in other cities like New York and Baltimore. But unlike public artwork, which is prevalent, you don’t see street performers as frequently here in the national capital city. I, for one, would welcome more street performers like him. However, I’d have to see what The Silver Man’s platform is and his position on the issues before he would get my support as a candidate for President.
[Click on the thumbnails above to view the full size photos]
On this bike ride I went to see The Emancipation Memorial in the heart of Lincoln Park. The largest urban park in the Capitol Hill neighborhood in northeast D.C., Lincoln Park is bounded by 11th Street on the west, 13th Street on the east, the westbound lanes of East Capitol Street on the North, and East Capitol Street’s eastbound lanes on the south (MAP). The park is situated one mile directly east of the United States Capitol Building, and four blocks northeast of Historic Eastern Market. It is one of the oldest parks in D.C., having been included in Pierre L’Enfant’s original 1791 design plan for the national capitol city. Lincoln Park is maintained by the National Park Service.
The Emancipation Memorial is also known as the Freedman’s Memorial or the Emancipation Group. It was also initially referred to as the “Lincoln Memorial” before the more prominent so-named memorial was built at the western end of the National Mall almost fifty years later. Designed and sculpted by Thomas Ball and erected in 1876, The Emancipation Memorial depicts President Abraham Lincoln in his role of “The Great Emancipator” freeing a male African American slave. Lincoln holds a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation in his right hand, resting on a plinth. The ex-slave is depicted crouching at the president’s feet, wearing only a loin cloth. The former slave’s broken shackles lie at his side.
The bronze statue is part of a group of statues entitled “The Civil War Monuments in Washington, D.C.,” which are spread out through much of the central and northwest areas of the city. They are listed as a group on the National Register of Historic Places.
The dedication ceremony for this “original Lincoln memorial” was held on April 14, 1876, the 11th anniversary of President Lincoln’s assassination. President Ulysses S. Grant attended the ceremony, as did members of his cabinet, and congressmen and senators. Frederick Douglass, the famed African-American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman, provided the keynote address to a crowd of approximately 25,000 who were in attendance on that day.
The monument has long been the subject of controversy and a source of mixed feelings. According to the National Park Service, the monument was paid for solely by freed slaves, primarily from African American Union veterans. However, despite being paid for by African Americans, some historians condemned it as paternalistic, portraying Lincoln as the savior of a race that couldn’t save itself. Critics claim that it ignores the active role blacks played in ending slavery, and perpetuates racist ideology because of the supplicant position of the freed slave. Others recognize that the imagery of the statue isn’t ideal, but embrace it nonetheless as part of history. They derive its meaning and significance from knowing that it meant something to the people of its time. Perhaps the various thoughts and feelings about The Emancipation Memorial are best summed up by Anise Jenkins, president of an advocacy group for D.C. statehood named “Stand Up! For Democracy.”
In commenting about the statue at a recent Emancipation Day ceremony in Lincoln Park, she stated, “It’s part of our history and it depends what you bring to it. If you’re ashamed of our history of slavery, then that’s what you bring to it. But we have to be honest. Enslaved people loved Abraham Lincoln. They called him Father Abraham. You can question it from a modern perspective, but you can’t ignore its significance.”
Even if you have never been able to visit the Lincoln Memorial in person, you have most likely seen it many times. An image of the monument to the 16th President is on United States currency, appearing on both the back of the five dollar bill and the reverse side of all pennies minted prior to 2009. With five dollars and one cent in my pocket on this ride, I rode to the Lincoln Memorial, located at the west end of the National Mall (MAP), across from The Washington Monument.
The Lincoln Memorial was designed by architect Henry Bacon after ancient Greek temples, and stands 190 feet long, is 119 feet wide and almost 100 feet high, with a cement foundation that is 60 feet deep. It is surrounded by 36 enormous columns, one for each of the states in the Union at the time of Lincoln’s death. By the time the monument was completed, the Union had increased by 12 more states, so the names of all 48 states were carved on the outside of the walls of the memorial. Following the admission of Alaska and Hawaii as states, a plaque with the names of these new states was added. The statue of the President, which was sculpted by Daniel Chester French, is 19 feet high and weighs 175 tons. The original plan was for the statue to be only ten feet high, but this was changed so that the figure of Lincoln would not be dwarfed by the size of the chamber in which it sits. The north and south side chambers contain inscriptions of two well-known speeches by President Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address and his second presidential inauguration address in 1865, the latter of which contains a fairly well-known mistake.
Roughly two years following Lincoln’s death in 1865, the U.S. Congress appointed the Lincoln Monument Association to build a memorial to commemorate the assassinated President. However, the site for the memorial was not chosen until 1901. Another decade later, President William Howard Taft signed a bill to provide funding for the memorial, and construction began the following month, on February 12th, to commemorate Lincoln’s 102nd birthday. The Presidential memorial was finally completed and opened to the public in 1922. On May 30, 1922, Former President and then Supreme Court Chief Justice William Howard Taft and Robert Todd Lincoln, the only surviving child of Lincoln’s four children, lead the monument’s dedication ceremony.
Over the years, the Lincoln Memorial has been the site of a number of famous events, including protests, concerts and speeches. Perhaps the most famous of which occurred on August 28, 1963. The Memorial’s grounds were the site of the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom,” which proved to be a high point of the American Civil Rights Movement. It is estimated that over a quarter of a million people participated in the event. It was then that Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his historic “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps of the memorial. The location where King delivered the speech is commemorated with an inscription carved into the steps.
Today, the Lincoln Memorial receives almost four million visitors per year. Admission is free, and it is open to the public 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – except Christmas Day. The memorial is administered by the National Park Service, and provides Park Service rangers on site from 9:30 am until 11:30 pm each day it is open to address questions about the Memorial.
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