Brushing up with history in D.C.

Stan Frome

It can be argued that Washington, D.C., is America’s most important

city, symbolizing our great history and housing our most precious

buildings and landmarks. Many of our most cherished monuments,

memorials and museums are found in this small city along the Potomac

River.

In April, my wife, Mari, and I took our children -- sixth-grader

Tobin and fifth-grader Madeline -- for a weeklong visit to this

wonderful city. They could always read about our American history in

books or in our local Daily Pilot, but it couldn’t come close to

having the same effect on them as actually being in the places where

history was made.

Our downtown hotel was located in the historic Penn Quarter

district, home to such places as Ford’s Theatre (where President

Lincoln was assassinated) and the International Spy Museum (one of

our favorite places). The hotel was also located kitty-corner to the

Gallery Plaza metro stop, which was our gateway to all the places we

wanted to see in D.C. The metro system is a fun, clean and convenient

way to travel in the city.

On our first day, we came up from the Smithsonian metro stop right

into the middle of the great National Mall, which extends from the

Lincoln Memorial all the way to the Capitol building. The first

building we saw was the famous red-sandstone “castle” that, at 150

years, is the oldest building on the mall and houses the Smithsonian

Information Center, where we not only found information on the 16

different Smithsonian museums but also on anything else we wanted to

know about D.C.

A short walk from there took us to the National Air and Space

Museum where stories of the Wright Brothers, Charles Lindberg and

Neil Armstrong, to name a few, stretch your imagination to its

limits. Seeing the 100-year-old Kitty Hawk, the 80-year-old Spirit of

St. Louis and the 35-year-old Apollo 11 command module, which went to

the moon and back in 1969, was just the tip of the iceberg and

occupied our attention the whole day.

Months before our trip I had contacted the office of Rep. Chris

Cox to arrange for tours of whatever they could get us. His aides

were instrumental in reserving both White House and Capitol tours.

The president’s house was great, but we only were able to see the

east side of the building with its Green, Blue, Red and East Rooms.

The Capitol tour was incredible. We began in Cox’s private office on

the fourth floor of the Rayburn building, where his aide took us

through the amazing underground walkway that leads to the Capitol.

For more than 200 years, the Capitol’s halls have witnessed the

democratic process in all its glory. The many frescoes, statues and

other artwork qualify it as a notable museum, but most of us tourists

come to brush shoulders with history, both remembered and in the

works.

It happened to be cherry blossom time while we were there, so we

decided to rent bikes one day. Our ride included the East and West

Potomac Parks which also took us around the tidal basin and the

Jefferson Memorial. Nearby, we pedaled to the Korean War, Vietnam War

and the new World War II memorial sites.

Washington is a symbol of democracy around the globe. Its many

sights provided us with unparalleled access to the inner workings of

our government, to internationally famed museums with so many

priceless exhibits, and to the cultural and spiritual foundation of

our great nation.

* STAN FROME is a resident of Newport Heights.