Northeastern Regional #147 from Baltimore to Washington DC
In 1765 Jacques-Louis Macie was born in France as the illegitimate son of Elizabeth Hungerford Keate Macie and Hugh Percy (born Hugh Smithson), the 1st Duke of Northumberland, After leaving France Jacques-Louis anglicized his name to James Louis Macie and studied in Oxford. After his mother’s death he adopted his father's original surname of Smithson in 1800.
Smithson was a wealthy man and became a general scientist who traveled a lot during his life and published papers in the fields of chemistry, biology, mineralogy and natural history. However, the flaw of his life was his illegitimate lineage. Although his father was a nobleman he never was accepted in British aristocracy. He would have his revenge.
National Mall and museum of natural history
Upon his death in Genoa in 1829 he left most of his wealth to his nephew Henry James Hungerford. However, when Hungerford died childless in 1835, the will determined that the estate had to be passed "to the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase & diffusion of knowledge among men". A charitable trust was found and the American diplomat Richard Rush came back from London in 1838 with 105 sacks containing 104,960 gold sovereigns, today probably a value of 200 million $, Smithson’s scientific collection and his library of 213 books.
Smithsonian Institutions along the National Mall
Although he had traveled widely in Europe Smithson had never visited the United States. However, like others of his time Smithson admired the dynamics of the young state. The individual freedom stood in stark contrast to the encrusted hierarchical aristocratic structure of the British Empire. The bequest of Smithson’s fortune to the former colony must have been especially painful for the British after they had lost another post-colonial war there only 20 years before.
National museum of natural history
"We must scrupulously guard the civil rights and civil liberties of all our citizens, whatever their background. We must remember that any oppression, any injustice, any hatred, is a wedge designed to attack our civilization."
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Greeting to the American Committee for Protection of Foreign-born,
January 9, 1940
National Archives
After some haggling about and even gambling with the money (freedom rules) Massachusetts representative (and former president) John Quincy Adams persuaded the Congress to found an institution of science and learning. This led to the establishment of the Smithsonian Institution by President James Polk in 1846. Today the Institution holds 157 million items in 21 museums and 21 libraries, historical and architectural landmarks and runs education and research centers and a zoo.
The National Gallery of art
The majority of the Smithsonian Institutions are located in Washington, D.C. Many, like the Natural History Museum, belong to the best of their type you can find in the entire world. Most are so huge that even a visit of an entire day will not allow the visitor to see everything. Reason to spend enough time in Washington to see at least some of the collections. The Smithsonian Institutions are open every day except December 25th and entry is free.
Waiting for a train in Baltimore
It is only a short train ride of 40 min from Baltimore to Washington. It is also one of the few sections of the Northeast Corridor which are actually suitable for high speed trains. Nevertheless it constitutes one of the worst bottle necks on the line. The reason is the Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel just outside Baltimore. It opened in 1873 and its sharp curves and steep grades require a speed limit of 50 km/h.
At the Baltimore and Potomac tunnel
Today all the trains are on time. Next to Amtrak, MARC (Maryland Rapid Transit) and Commuter rail trains cover the line to Washington. The Northeast Regional is well used. However, the seat next to me stays free. In the next bench a woman is constantly sneezing while at the same time she tells somebody on her phone how sick she is. I consider moving somewhere else but in view of the short ride then decide to stay put. When the train arrives in Washington Union station it is already almost dark.
Union Station, Washington
I have rented an apartment close to the station: 1005, 1st street. Since it is one of those anonymous and featureless new buildings I was afraid I would not find it. But after a 10 minute walk I was standing in front of the entrance.
Modern Washington
Revel, the rental company, sent me two codes, one to get into the building and another one to get into the apartment. There is a device next to the entrance door. When you bring your hand close, it displays a ring of numbers. There you can enter the code they have sent you. Usually that is not necessary. It is a big building and there is always somebody who wants to get in quickly. He will point with his phone and sesame opens.
Street lighting close to Union Station
The next hiccup to manage is the elevator. You can only go to your proper floor when you successfully have entered your code. If you are not quick enough while entering it will go off with you. My apartment is on the 5th floor. Before I was able to enter my code the elevator brought me to the 4th floor. The guy who entered did not say a word and brought me down to the second level parking garage. There, a more communicative guy, from the looks obviously somebody who has to do the fixes her, was friendly enough to point his phone and I was able to enter floor 5.
Federal triangle
When finally my luggage and myself arrive at the door of apartment #5 the individual door code for the apartment did not work. I tried again. Failure. I tried the building code. Nope. I tried the apartment code once again. NO.
'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933
Downtown Washington
There is a door man. I went down to ask him. He was not there. There is a phone number to call or an e-mail address to contact. On my phone the number did not work. Since there was nobody anyway I went up again and tried the code again. Nope.
Downtown Washington
Down again. The doorman just came back with a lady who wasn’t able to open her bedroom door any more. I made a mental note to never ever close any of the separation doors inside the apartment. They might never find you. But for the time being I was still not in, and there still was somebody else ahead in line with the doorman. Another lady who couldn’t get the television working. He could not help her.
Downtown Washington
Eventually it was my turn. The doorman was friendly enough to dial the number for me and go through the menu. Eventually he handed me the receiver. I heard some music for a while and eventually somebody answered. I explained my predicament. I guess the guy at the other end of the line sat somewhere in Bangladesh. At least he was quite difficult to understand. It turned out that I had to download an app of 67 MB. With the app on the phone all doors will open without entering a code. I did not want to download an app. He said that he can give me a code, but then I would have to call again tomorrow since the code is only valid until midnight. So under his supervision I downloaded the app, which does not even ask for permissions but just takes them, and created an account. He assured me that, when I have activated the app, and bluetooth, and point the phone at the reader, it will open the doors.
District of Columbia Court of Appeals
I went to the elevator and it did not work. A friendly lady came along, pointed her phone and off we went. It turned out she was my neighbor. After she disappeared in her apartment I tried my own door. The phone told me that I have to wait for a couple of minutes and then the activation process will be completed. And indeed, after that the phone did what my lady-neighbor’s phone had done for her door and my apartment was unlocked. I ask myself how many others have registered on the same app for the same apartment somewhere in Bangladesh and now wait until they are informed that I am gone. Or they come while I am in there. In bed, I can hear all kinds of sounds - no way to distinguish whether they come from my apartment or the neighbors.
Washington Circle
Inside, the apartment is fine. Clean, sterile, faceless. Everything in white. You have to be very creative to design something which is entirely neutral. There is a huge dishwasher but only three sets of dishes. A huge washing machine and dryer. Two coffee spoons. And of course a television in every room.
The temperature inside is tropical. I try the 4 buttons on the display of the thermostat but it refuses to change any settings. At least you can ventilate by opening the window. At the moment it is -2 °C outside.
How can you get back inside this place if your phone is stolen or there is a black-out? Or, if there is a black-out, will all the doors open and your property is at anyone’s disposal?
Georgetown
I still have to get some dinner and a sixpack. I pack everything which I might need for survival if I do not get in anymore, in particular credit card and ID to pay for a room in one of the nice conventional hotels just around the corner, and go out. The door locks behind me.
Just to be sure I get out the app and try whether I can get in again. It works. I am relieved. I go downstairs and ask the doorman where I can buy beer. It is just around the corner. I get my sixpack and decide to first bring it back to the apartment before I go for dinner.
Georgetown
Proud and full of self confidence I hold my phone against the reader at the entrance door to the building. The numbers light up but nothing happens. Somebody else comes and I follow her in. My progress is stopped at the elevator. When I point my phone and press on 5, I end up on the 8th floor. Something similar must have inspired Douglas Adams to the scene described in “The hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxies” in the future of a long time ago. Another friendly human gets in on the 8th and lets me get off on the 5th. In front of apartment #502 I try my phone again. Nope, the door stays shut. I scan the different menus and I find an entry named “reveal door code”. Indeed it discloses a number and when I enter it at the reader the door opens.
I dispose my beer in the fridge and proceed to the restaurant on the round floor of the same building. On the way I ask the doorman how frequently he sees people sleeping on the sofas in the lobby because they cannot get into their apartments any more. His answer is truly comforting: “it happens every day”.
Georgetown
When you ever come to Washington and want to spend your time with figuring out how to get into your apartment, how an app works and how the facilities in an apartment work, then I know a place for you to rent. If you are a party of several people it is easier. If one of you stays in the apartment while the others go out he can open the door for you. If you bring mattresses and sleeping bags there is easily space for ten. Since nobody is there nobody will ever know. Bring some additional tea spoon though.
It is a modern neighborhood of Washington with few people in the streets. Fortunately, the restaurant on the ground floor is also offering breakfast.
Capitol behind fences
It is a beautiful day and I decide to walk down along Union Station to the Capitol to walk down the National Mall as much as possible. When I reach the Capitol everything is fenced off with two rows of barriers and fences. The barriers stretch out far around the capitol but also along both sides of the National Mall including a couple of the Smithsonian museums.
Capitol behind fences
Heavily armed police and secret service (is it still secret when they drive car with the words “secret service”on them?) are everywhere although there is nobody there except of some confused tourists like me. When I ask one policeman blocking a street with his car he tells me that they are preparing for the funeral of President Jimmy Carter. The 39th US president died at age 100 on December 19th 2024. The funeral would be held on January 9th but the barriers will probably stay until the inauguration of the next, the 47th president who had called the rioting massese for a storm on the democratic institutions. It is questionable whether Smithson would still entrust his heritage to the present American government today.
"More than an end to war, we want an end to the beginnings of all wars."
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Undelivered Address, Prepared for April 13, 1945
Capitol
The National Mall was designed by Pierre L'Enfant, the French architect who designed the layout of the Capitol of the new Nation of Freedom and Liberty at the end of the 18th century. It was to be a space for the people and symbol of democracy and liberty, just the contrary to those aristocratic palace gardens like at Versailles in France, that were reserved for the use of the privileged.
Downtown Washington
The first American presidents, George Washington and John Adams, had resided in Philadelphia. However, soon after independence the French artist and military engineer L’Enfant established a plan for a new capitol which was to be called Washington. Its main feature was the national Mall, a park stretching for a mile from the Capitol, the seat of the Congress, to Washington monument, an enormous obelisk. The plan also foresaw diagonal avenues originating from the Capitol towards the White House to the North of the Mall, and towards the later Jefferson Memorial south of the tidal Basin South of the Mall. The space between the diagonal avenues was filled with the usual regular grid of streets and avenues. The intersections of the diagonal avenues are laid out in nice circular squares.
The Korean War memorial
L’Enfant’s plan was changed many times but the general idea of a grand rectangular park in the middle of the city is maintained until today. The Park was extended to the west to the Potomac river with the Lincoln memorial at the end.
Martin Luther King memorial
In the past two centuries the park was lined with government buildings. The entire list is impressive: National Museum of American History ( built in 1964), National Museum of Natural History (1910), National Gallery of Art (1941) West and East Building and Sculpture Garden, National Museum of the American Indian (2004), National Air and Space Museum (1976), Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (1974), Arts and Industries Building (1881), The Smithsonian Castle (1849), Freer Gallery of Art (1923), Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (1987), National Museum of African Art, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, WWII Memorial, Washington Monument, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Memorial and Jefferson Jefferson Memorial. Most of the Museums and gardens are part of the Smithsonian Institution while the National Mall and the memorials are managed by the National Park Service like a national park.
Hotel Washington
The common characteristic of the older buildings is their monumental size. They are designed to inspire awe. Most you have to access after climbing a long and steep flight of stairs. In their neoclassical style with columns, porticos and lots of sculptures they tell the story of a young nation longing for classical values which they have left behind at the place where they came from. Only the more recent buildings from the time after WW II take a turn to modern architecture inspired by proper American Arts movements of the 20th century.
US Department of treasury
After I have passed the endless fence blocking off the eastern part of the national mall and study the map at the Smithsonian metro station a guy approaches me and hands me a free map of one of the sightseeing buses. He collects money for the homeless. He says he is not homeless himself but looks like it. He tells me that there are 40000 homeless in Washington DC alone. They come here because it is the capital. What do they expect from the 47th president? Homelessness takes away human dignity and leads to mental collapse. I give him 20 $ although I am not convinced that he doesn’t keep it for himself. If he is homeless he can use it anyway.
One of the many homeless
"l see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished."
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Second Inaugural Address
Washington monument
Originally the Washington monument formed the western end of the National Mall. It was dedicated on February 21th, 1885. By choosing the shape of an Egyptian obelisk the young nation meant to evoke the history of an ancient civilization. At the time of its construction the Washington Monument was the tallest building in the world at 170 m.
Jefferson memorial and tidal pool
The Jefferson Memorial was dedicated on Jefferson's 200th birthday April 13th, 1943 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It is a circular structure of Vermont marble of a dome supported by a colonnade of 26 Ionic columns. 12 more columns support the north portico, and 4 columns stand in each of the memorials 4 openings. The visitor has to climb up a long flight of stairs to reach the entrance portico high above him. When he arrives, gasping for breath, the 6 m tall sculpture of Jefferson stares above him into the distance
Jefferson memorial
The Dome of the Jefferson memorial and the Dome of the white house form a cross shaped axis with the Dome of the Capitol and the monument for Abraham Lincoln at the western end off the national Mall. Like the Capitol the area around the white house is generously cordoned off.
Lincoln memorial
The Washington monument and the Lincoln monument are connected by the long, rectangular, reflecting pond. At the Washington monument of the pond is the World War II memorial. Granite columns representing each a state or territory of the Union surround a pool with a fountain splashing in summer. Two enormous victory pavilions, bas-reliefs and quotations remind of war events.
Lincoln memorial
When I arrive at the Lincoln monument at the Western End of the National Mall a National Park Service Ranger is about to start a free guided tour. It is interesting to hear about all the symbolics included in the architecture of the monument which is not apparent for the humble visitor. The Lincoln monument is modeled after the Parthenon temple in Athens. The roof rests on 36 Doric columns, one for each of the 36 states in the Union at the time of Lincoln's death. The names of the 36 states and the dates in which they entered the Union are on the frieze. At the top of the memorial, the names of the 48 states present at the time of the dedication are inscribed. The interior is divided into 3 chambers, the middle featuring a massive statue of Lincoln seated in an armchair. The walls of the side chambers display quotes from Lincoln’s inaugural speech and the Gettysburg address. The images of fasces and the eagles are meant to symbolize power, law and governance. 87 steps for the years having passed between the declaration of independence and Lincoln’s Gettysburg address lead up to the platform on which the monument resides.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt memorial
Among all the vanity of the great monuments for even greater presidents and the heroes of all the necessary wars the country had to fight against their numerous perfidious enemies one stands out in its
subtlety and modesty.
“No country, however rich, can afford the waste of its human resources: Demoralization caused by vast unemployment is our greatest extravagance. Morally, it is the greatest menace to our social order."
FDR, "Fireside Chat" Radio Address, September 30, 1934
Unemployed and starving farmers at the Roosevelt memorial
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was not only the longest serving, the most social but also in his tragic the greatest US President. The present president only would have to bother to read the inscription and quotes on the monument and for every mentally sane it would be apparent what is right or wrong.
Roosevelt and his dog
The FDR memorial is neither big nor from white marble like all the others. There are no stairs leading up to it but the visitor is on common ground with life size statues of the president in his wheel chair. After FDR had contracted polio in 1921 at age 39 his lower body was paralyzed and he had to learn to walk with the help of braces.
'In these days of difficulty, we Americans everywhere must and shall choose the path of social justice... the path of faith, the path of hope, and the path of love toward our fellow man.
Campfire Address in Detroit, Michigan, October 2, 1932
FDR became president after the 1929 collapse in the economic system left one in four Americans out of work. Millions more were starving. He won the 1932 presidential election in a landslide. His first term was committed to economic and social policies to fight the Great Depression.
"This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny."
Acceptance Speech for Renomination for President, June 27, 1936
Listening to FDR's radio messages
To fight the Great Depression, President Roosevelt formulated what was called a new deal to create over 75 federal programs to fight the Great Depression by stabilizing the economy, provide relief and create jobs. With confident and plain-spoken 'fireside chats", radio broad-casts, he reassured Americans even as the Great Depression dragged on. Consequently FDR easily won reelection to a second term in 1936.
"I propose to create a Conservation Corps to be used in simple work... More important, however, than the material gains will be the moral and spiritual value of such work!'
Message to Congress, March 21, 33
FDR in his wheelchair
When World War II began in the 1930’s FDR campaigned on keeping the US out of the war while secretly providing weapons and ships to democratic Great Britain without the knowledge of the Congress. He realized the US military was too small and outdated to fight a modern war. He authorized the first peacetime draft and the construction of new ships, aircraft and other resources. With conflict at both front and back door voters reelected President Roosevelt to an unprecedented and unique third term.
The white house behind barriers
"l have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded...l have seen the dead in the mud. I have seen cities destroyed...l have seen children starving. I have seen the agony of mothers' and wives. I hate war."
Address at Chautauqua, New York, August 14, 1936
World War II memorial
At the same time in the 1930’s Roosevelt had to fight with a strong fascist and antisemitic movement. It centered around Montana’s representative Burton K. Wheeler, the multi-billionaire car manufacturer Henry Ford and the aviation hero Charles A. Lindbergh, who pledged in particular for an understanding with Hitler and a non-interventional policy. Philip Roth’s “The plot against America” paints the consequences for the Nation and in particular the Jewish community for the fictional case that instead of FDR’s third term in 1941 Lindbergh and Wheeler would have become president and vice-president. With Ford as secretary for industry there are striking parallels to the events circling around the present US government.
"Among American citizens, there should be no forgotten men and no forgotten races."
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Address at Howard University, October 26, 1936
World War II memorial
In reality, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, forced Roosevelt to declare war on Japan in December 1941. In 1944 he was elected to a fourth presidential term. However, he was seriously ill. He died on April 12th, 1945 only few weeks before the end of the war from a heart disease. Roosevelt had hypertension which probably led to his early passing away. However, later research suggested that Roosevelt had syndrome of Guillain-Barré, and not polio, which led to a degradation of his neuro-system. He might also have had melanoma.
Reflecting Pool and Washington monument
“I never forget that I live in a house owned by the American people and that I have been given their trust"
"Fireside Chat" Radio Address. April 38
Reflecting Pool and Lincoln memorial
On my walk back from the Mall to my apartment I pass by the Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture, another Smithsonian Institution. Its national portrait gallery keeps the official state portrait of all the presidents. Only few divert from the ordinary. FDR’s portrait focuses on his hands and repeats several positions of his hands. Three hold his pen for signing documents, two a cigarette and one his glasses. A small inserted drawing documents the conference of Yalta where Roosevelt with Stalin and Churchill defined the global order after world war II.
"Unless the peace that follows recognizes that the whole world is one whole neighborhood and does justice to the whole human race, the germs of another world war will remain as a constant threat to mankind”
Radio Address, February 12, 1943
Roy Lichtenstein sculpture in front National Gallery for American Art
The Smithsonian National Gallery for American Art and Portrait is so massive that a visitor can spend days in there. I decide to leave after having skipped through half of the museum and to return one of the next two days when a snow storm is predicted in the Washington area. The homeless sleeping in open alleyways of houses seem to be unimpressed by or uninformed about this change in weather.
Inner courtyard cafe of Gallery of American Art
The view from my window on the next morning is alarming. Everything in the street is covered in a big pack of snow. From their website I learn that all Smithsonian institutions are closed for the day due to the winter conditions. When I go for breakfast I am almost the only one there. This allows for time to get acquainted with the Colombian waiter. He earns 10 $ an hour, but only when he works. His main income is from tip and on a day like today he does not get any. His wife is dental hygienist. She is paid per patient. On days off both don’t earn anything but on busy days his income from the tips is good.
Inside the Gallery
Although there are plenty of people in the streets to get rid of the snow in front of office buildings and the streets it is a nuisance to walk. Snow falls from the facade of buildings and threatens to hit people walking below. The area around the national mall now not only is closed off but the sidewalks around the fences are not cleared off snow.
Snow in front of my apartment in the morning
I check the departures at Union station. All the high speed Acela trains and some of the ordinary Northeastern trains are canceled and others are delayed. I decide to take the metro and check out the spy museum. Its website has no warnings about weather related closures.
The metro in Washington does not work according to the simple system in New York where you can easily get access by tapping your credit card to the reader when entering. Here you either have to have an app on the phone or get a card from one of the machines at the stations. The front of the machines is confusing and overloaded with information. I eventually manage to get a plastic card charged with a day ticket for 15.50 $. The day pass is only valid until the end of the day, not for 24 hours. So I have to recharge the pass again the next day. With the card you have to check in when you board and check out when you leave the station.
Metro station
The metro in Washington was only opened in 1976. It now operates on 6 lines of 208 km with 98 stations. 47 station and 80 km of line are underground. Nearly 6,000 surveillance cameras are installed to increase security. In contrast to New York there are no homeless living on trains or in the station and tunnels. The Washington Metro is regarded one of safest and cleanest subway system in the United States.
Inside a Washington Metro train
The underground Metro stations designed by Chicago architect Harry Weese with their heavy use of repetitive concrete elements can be classified under Brutalist design. Some aspects of Washington's neoclassical architecture comes back in the ceiling vaults. These ceilings have become a symbol of Washington, D.C. and have become a popular object for photographs and other art.
Gallery metro station
Interesting enough none of the railcars used on the metro system of the Capital of the United States is from a US manufacturer. The present railcars are built by Kawasaki, Breda and Alstom. The next generation of cars will come from Hitachi.
Over the years, a lack of investment caused numerous disruptions and several fatal incidents due to mismanagement and broken-down infrastructure. The three districts it serves, Maryland, Virginia, and D.C, did not dedicate funding for the Metro until 2018. It is interesting to see the long list of accidents in the Wikipedia entry cited below. Meanwhile an initiative has improved service and entire lines are rebuilt after 50 years of service.
Bureaucratic Washington in snow
It is the second busiest heavy rail transit system in the US. However, when I step on the train there are very few people. To get to the spy museum I have to change at the impressive Gallery place station and get out at L’Enfant plaza. The latter is a shopping center which not only is basically abandoned but also so badly signposted that it is a nuisance to find your way and exits. I guess they want you to stare at empty shops as long as possible. When I finally get to the right exit and the entrance of the spy museum there is a note in the door that it is closed because of the weather conditions.
Waiting patiently at the fish market
I plow through the high snow to the Potomac river. The Washington fish market established in 1805 is the oldest in the Nation. It consists of a number of modern barges anchored along the river. Crabs, lobster and other fish are sold and they have hot clam chowder and soups. The salesmen warn me of the sea gulls who sit waiting for their chance. Meanwhile little birds try to get a couple of crumbs from the biscuits you always get with the chowder. I don’t think the salt on them would do them a lot of good.
At the fish market
The area between the Fish Market along the Washington Channel and the mall is filled with Brutalist architecture. Everything reminds very much of what was built in East Berlin after the second world war or the destructive city renewal of Ceausescu's Bucharest. It is striking that the society so obsessed with liberty and freedom develops the same type of architecture as the world’s most oppressive political systems.
Brutalist architecture in Washington government quarter
As a result of the snow covered streets most of the car traffic has disappeared. The few people I see throw snow balls at each other on what remains accessible from the fields of the National Mall. Otherwise the only signs of life in the street is heavily armed police and secret service and their cars which block off intersections. Their presence increases the dictatorial impression of the buildings. Since everything is closed and walking is difficult I take the metro back to my apartment.
Brutalist architecture in Washington government quarter
In the evening it turns out that the handy restaurant in the basement of the building is closed. Clueless I stand with another customer at the closed entrance door. The next morning the waiter will tell me that they had closed since there were no guests and for the employees it was difficult to return home in these weather conditions. In this modern neighborhood distances are large and it is difficult to find other places closeby. I walk towards some well-lit windows 100 m down the empty and otherwise dark and snow-covered street. It turns out it is a Mexican fast-food take-away place. For once I get a cheap meal which I eat in the luxurious kitchen of my apartment.
Neoclassical architecture in Washington government quarter
The next morning I wake up to a beautiful day. Sunshine floods the snow-covered streets. Again I check the opening times of the Smithsonian museums. They are closed again! Today the reason is that the barriers and fences set up for the funeral of Jimmy Carter block the access. A very strange reason. All are closed even though some of the locations are not even close to the blocked area. But at least the restaurant in my building is open for breakfast again.
L' Enfant circle
Eventually I take the metro to Dupont circle and end up at the Phillips collection. It is a private gallery and they don’t care about funerals of old presidents. The private collection of Duncan Phillips (1886 – 1966) forms the basis of the museum. It is housed in an 1897 Georgian revival house which was expanded several times to accommodate the increasing collection. It features a wide variety of European and American art. One room was specifically dedicated to paintings of Mark Rothko. The wax room by Wolfgang Laib is entirely covered by bees wax.
Phillips gallery
The Phillips collection is entirely different from the Smithsonian museums I have seen. There, you get the impression that they are overwhelmed by the sheer amount of exhibits. The state of buildings, the cafe and the facilities give an impression as if there is a lack of funds. Phillips is a fine little gallery with a high quality collection which is perfectly presented in a beautiful building. Even the seats where you can sit down to enjoy the art are of a special design.
Typical seats inside Phillips gallery
Wolfgang Laib bee wax room
The weather is still beautiful when I leave the Phillips and I walk to the Washington neighborhood of Georgetown. Georgetown is separated from downtown Washington designed after the plans of L’Enfant by the deep valley of Rock Creek and accessible by a couple of historic bridges. Its quiet tree lined residential streets are in stark contrast to the brutalist neoclassical architecture of the government quarters and the modern architecture of the area around Union station. Ubiquitous surveillance cameras replace the presence of police in the snow covered streets full of expensive cars.
View from one of the windows of Phillips gallery
The northern part of Georgetown is formed by Oak Hill Cemetery, one of the nicest in town. The gate next to the Chapel from 1849 is open. No imprints of steps can be found in the thick layer of snow on the paths. The cemetery was found be Mr. Corcorum, a rich banker, who bought the land along Rock Creek and paid for the landscaping. Many graves date from the time of the civil war, but there are still interments today. However, the present main function is as a neighborhood park.
Oak hill cemetery
One of the main thoroughfares of Georgetown is M street. The oldest house is “Old stone house” from 1766. It is a museum, but closed in winter. There are little shops and a book store. In contrast to many other countries in the US a good network of book-stores still survives the onslaught of digital media and the use of mobile phones. The store is well visited.
Oak hill cemetery
Other traditional survivors of the clear-cutting by modern media are the post-offices which can be found everywhere. Frequently they are in historic buildings and still have the historic interior. One post-office is in the basement of the Smithsonian postal museum. Like all the others the latter is closed but the post-office is open. While much is more expensive in the USA than in Europe the mail service is cheaper, fast and reliable.
The chapel at Oak hill cemetery
Another old-fashioned surprise is the number of banks. Even minor town have a branch of several of the nation-wide institutions and some local banks. It is striking in particular when homeless populate the streets around the entrances.
For the whole day I have regularly checked my phone about updates from Amtrak. All Acela high speed trains and some long distance trains had been canceled also the day after the big snow-storm. So far there is no bad news about train # 51, Cardinal, which I want to take the next morning. I successfully open my apartment for the last time. I am not only glad when I can leave this mouse trap tomorrow but also Washington, DC with its barriers, police presence and closed attractions.
"Men and nature must work hand in hand. The throwing out of balance of the resources of nature throws out of balance also the lives of men."
Message to Congress, Januar 24, 1935
At the bridge across Rock Creek to Georgetown
Sources:
The plot against America, Philip Roth, 2005
Georgetown
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