Washington, DC, U.S.A.

Capitol Hill, National Mall

• The Capitol houses both chambers of the United States Congress, namely the Senate and the House of Representatives. This photo was taken from the National Mall (west of the Capitol).

  Photographers like to take photos of humans with impressive backgrounds. I use humans as backgrounds when I take important structures. You would agree that this building looks much better with people. This building is for the people.

  1. Entrance to the Capitol seen from the east of the building. Before 1980, the presidential inaugural ceremonies took place at the square in front of the building. Ronald Reagan" moved the place to the west side facing the National Mall and the Washington Monument.
  2. From the sky, the Capitol looks like this (photo from the public domain).
  3. from the White House ground, along the Pennsylvania Avenue. After the inaugural at the capitol, the president comes to the White House along this route.
  4. seen from the Lincoln Memorial, together with the Washington Monument. I took this photo with my Leica camera in 1971.
  5. The State of Union Speech is delivered every January by the President at the Chamber of the House of the Representatives. In this photo, George W. Bush is giving his speech in January of 2003.
  6. Ronald Reagan's gasket is lying at the Capitol Rotunda (2004). I was not there, and this photo is from the public domain. I was there in 1963 when John F. Kennedy died, and was there again when Douglas MacArthur died.

     Reagan was a very popular among Americans, and Margaret Thatcher liked him very much. His statue is on the U.S. Embassy ground in London. Here is a photo of the Reagan statue.

  7. The Supreme Court Building is one block east of the Capitol.

• National Gallery of Art in Washington.
  1. Mercury Statue in the lobby of the Gallery.
  2. One of the exhibition rooms (2006).
  3. The Great Hall is like this.
  4. The Jefferson Library viewed from the sky.

  5. The main entrance to the Gallery is bout 300 meters from the Capitol building in Washington. This Gallery was constructed by
  6. Andrew Mellon, and donated to his country, the United States of America.
  7. Paul Mellon's East Wing seen from the ground of the Capitol building. Andrew Mellon had a son named Paul. Undoubtedly he inherited some fortune from his father, but he multiplied his fortune to add a new building to the Gallery his father built.

  8. Map of the National Mall taken from http://www.asia.si.edu/visitor/siMapPopUp.htm. You will see that the Capitol and the NGA buildings are grey-marked.
  9. Here is the NGA website. From these buildings and their vicinity to the Capitol of the United States, you can see how important the National Gallery is to Americans.

White House and its Vicinity

• Map of the White House and its Vicinity.

• White House seen from the Lafayette Park (north).
  1. White House seen from the Ellipse (south).
  2. The West Wing of the White House, where the president meets reporters.
  3. White House seen from the the Washington Monument ground.
  4. White House Christmas Tree.
  5. More White House Photos.
• Blair House facing the White House, where kings and presidents stay when they are invited by the president.
• Eisenhower Executive Building (photo from the public domain), seen from the 17th Street west of the White House.

• Lafayette Park in front of the White House. Andrew Jackson's statue, White House, and Washington Monument are seen. Jackson was the 7th president of the United States (1829-37). The United States experienced a great territorial expansion during his presidency. Jackson was the founder of the political party known today as the "Democratic Party."
  1. Jackson Statue in detail.
  2. Lafayette Park seen from the White House.
  3. Lafayette Park would be meaningless without a statue of General Marquis de Lafayette who made a decisive contribution in the war of American independence. This statue is at the south-east corner of the park, the closest point to the White House.
  4. Tadeusz Kosciuszko was Polish general who helped George Washington as the commander of the engineering unit during the Independecne War. His statue is also at one of the corners of the Park. The base of his statue says Son of Poland.

• The Department of the Treasury is just east of the White House. This is the south side of the building. The northern entrance looks like this.

• Statue of William Tecumseh Sherman. General Sherman was a brave military man who led the Northern army deep into the South during the Civil War.
  1. Gone with the Wind. General Sherman is thoroughly cursed by Southern ladies.
  2. Sherman Tanks. He is also well known for World War II American tanks. By 1960, all Sherman tanks were retired, but Fidel Castro of Cuba claimed Americans attempted to invade Cuba using their Sherman tanks.

  3. Pershing's statue is also in the same area. Who was Pershing? Click here.

  4. Casimir Pulaski's statue is one block east of the Pershing statue. Like Tadeusz Kosciuszko, Pulaski was a Polish general. He was the commander of George Washington's cavalry corps during the American Independence War. He was killed in action in Savanna, Georgia.

     Since he was a horse man, there are many highways named after him, such as the Pulaski Road in Chicago, the Pulaski Highway in Baltimore, and the General Pulaski Skyway in New Jersey connecting to the Lincoln Tunnel underneath the Hudson River connecting to New York.
     Click here for more about him.

• American Red Cross. You all know what this organization does, and it deserves to be close to the White House. There is another Red Cross building in the same area.

• Corcoran Galley of Art is 100 meters from the southwest corner of the White House.
  1. Lion Statue at the entrance.
  2. Entrance Lobby.
  3. Love of Europe. Being so near to the White House, the gallery usually shows paintings by American artists. Sometimes, it has respectable European programs.

• Organization of American States. The United States plays the dominant role in the Western Hemisphere. It is thus natural for this organization to be so close to the White House.
  I was in this building when Marcos Moshinsky received a pan-American science award in 1996. I have some photos from this occasion, and intend to post them when I find them.

• Daughters of the American Revolution. This is an organization of women who are descendents of those Americans who made direct contributions to the Independence of America from the British rule. It is of course patriotic and conservative organization, but it is quite capable of adjusting itself to changing times. This building has a large music hall called "Constitution Hall."
  1. Entrance to the Constitution Hall facing west is one block away from the east entrance. The building occupies one entire block.
  2. The Alexandrov music group is a very important component of Russia's Red Army. This group came to this hall and presented a brilliant performance.
  3. I was there and took many photos.
  4. Applause. Those Russian performers are accepting an enthusiastic applause.
  5. American Uniforms. Three of those performers were wearing American uniforms. They were reproducing the meeting of the U.S. and U.S.S.R army units on the Elbe River in 1945 during the final days of Hitler's rule in Germany.
  6. Proschanie Slaviankie was not included in their program, and I complained to one of managers of the group, and he apologized and told me he appreciated my complaint.

  

  Hey Adams Hotel, Lafayette Park, White House, and Washington Monument. If you are invited by the president but you are not the king or president of your country, you are likely to stay here. You do not have to be a politician to stay in this hotel. I know at least one physicist who stays here when he comes to Washington. You know his name, but I will not tell. I also had an occasion to spend one night there with a discount coupon. The hotel is OK.

  1. Hotel Entrance on the 16th Street.
  2. seen from the White House. The Lafayette Park and the statue of Andrew Jackson are also seen.
  3. Hotel Receptionist. I once stayed in this hotel, even though I was not invited by the White House. I was greeted by a professional receptionist. She was studied hotel hospitality in Serbia, and was working there an intern. She was quite familiar with the world, and she became very happy when I told her I have a webpage about Nikola Tesla. We promised to meet again in Serbia.

• Willard Hotel is one block east of the White House. This hotel is for those business people who want to impress the president. This hotel is big enough to host several conferences simultaneously.
  1. Wiillard Hotel and Willard Intercontinental Hotel facing Pennsylvania Avenue (south). The Treasury building with its triangular roof is also seen.
  2. Top of the hotel building.
  3. Main Lobby tells it is a very expensive hotel.

  4. Japanese Musician is playing a traditional Japanese instrument.
  5. Marble Wash Room is also something to see.
  6. Coffee Tables for business negotiations.
  7. Sidewalk Cafe outside the hotel.

• Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. I was told that this is the biggest government building in the world. There are various agencies the U.S. government having to do with international relations. In addition, this building is designed also for ordinary citizens. There are many conference rooms.
  1. North-Eastern Corner of the Building at the 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.
  2. Wedding reception. This room is ready for a wedding reception.

  3. Main Lobby. A plaque of Ronald Reagan is seen. Ronald Reagan was a very popular president. Reporters once asked him how he became the president of the United States with his acting background. His reply was that he does not know how one can become the president without acting background.
  4. Glass Top of the main lobby. This building was completed in 1991, and it has modern style interiors.

• Washington Monument seen from the Tidal Basin.
  1. Washington Monument and Reflection Pool seen from the Lincoln Memorial. The Capitol dome is also seen.
  2. Reflection Pool. Another View.
  3. Washington Monument with an airplane approaching the Reagan National Airport. The construction of this monument started before the Civil War, but it was interrupted during the war. The construction resumed after the War with different stones, leaving a horizontal discontinuity line. It is interesting to see that the airplane is cutting through this discontinuity line.
  4. The Discontinuity is more prominent in this photo.
  5. Sunset Background seen from the Tidal Basin.

  6. Fifty One American Flags surrounding the Monument.
  7. Cherry Trees on the Monument ground.
  8. The Navy Band presents a Cherry blossom concert.
  9. Independence Day Celebration on the Monument ground.
  10. Independence Day Fire Work is held on the fourth day of July every year.
  11. seen by Frogs. The Monument seen by frogs.

• The shape of this monument is very simple and lacks sophistication,, and it is called "Obelisk." The obelisk style was developed by Egyptians, and it means something important to many people. There are thus many obelisks in different countries on the world.
  1. St. Peter's Plaza in Rome has its Obelisk.
  2. Rome's Pantheon also has its Obelisk.
  3. At the Spanish Steps in Rome. Spain once controlled this area of Italy, and the building in the background served as the colonial government.
  4. At the Concorde Square in Paris, there is an obelisk to commemorate the execution of Louis XVI and his wife.

• The Washington Monument also enhances other buildings in Washington.
  1. The White House looks more authoritative with the Washington Monument in the background.
  2. White House Christmas Tree looks very special with the Monument. This photo was taken while Richard Nixon was in the White House.
  3. George Bush's Christmas Tree in 2008.
  4. Pentagon was built during World War II, and is a box-like building. It appears great with the Washington Monument.
  5. Towers of Smithsonian Institution with the Monument.
  6. I become bigger with the Monument.
  7. seen by Birds. The Monument seen by birds.

• World War II Memorial west of the Washington Monument.
  1. WW II Memorial seen the Washington Monument ground.
  2. Lincoln Memorial seen from the WWII Memorial.
  3. WW II Memorial Pond with water columns.
  4. Another View of the Pond.
  5. Walkway to Lincoln Memorial along the Reflection Pool.

• Jefferson Memorial seen from the Tidal Basin (2006).
  1. Statue of Thomas Jefferson facing toward the Washington Monument.
  2. Thomas Jefferson inside the Memorial.
  3. Statue of Thomas Jefferson facing toward the Washington Monument.
  4. The Washington Monument from the Jefferson Memorial ground.
  5. seen from the Washington Monument.
  6. Front of the Memorial.
  7. Greek Columns and Roman Dome. Creative union.
  8. Theory of Architecture. Many people write poems on beautiful landscapes. Instead of poems, I construct theories.
  9. Hidden by Cherry Blossoms.
  10. I look OK with the Jefferson Memorial in the background.

• Cherry Blossom. The first week of April is the cherry blossom season in Washington. The Tidal Basin is the place for those cherry trees. The Washington Monument is about 200 meters north of Basin, and the Jefferson Memorial is on the eastern side.
  1. Washington Monument between two cherry trees.
  2. Jefferson Memorial hidden by blossoms.
  3. Cherry Blossoms on the Washington Monument ground.
  4. Sunset View of the Tidal Basin.
  5. More Photos of cherry blossoms and the tidal basin.

  6. National Defense University seen from the East Potomac Park, east of the Jefferson Memorial. This university is one of the graduate schools for the U.S. armed forces. Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote his thesis about how to deal with Hitler's German army, and was about his later job as the supreme commander of the allied forces during World War II. Thanks to his thesis, he became promoted to a full general from the ranks of colonel. It was like Joseph becoming the prime minister from a prisoner, after interpreting the Pharaoh's dream in Egypt.

• Map of the Lincoln Memorial and surrounding area.

• Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial
  1. Lincoln Memorial seen from Constitution Avenue.
  2. Steps to the Memorial. Here, in 1963, Martin Luther King made his "I have a dream" speech. seen from Constitution Avenue.
  3. seen from the rooftop the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts.
  4. seen from the World War II Memorial
  5. seen before the World War II Memorial was built.
  6. seen from the Potomac River. Until the end of World War I, many kings and presidents came to these steps to visit the president of the United States, and they were greeted by high-ranking officials. Elegant ceremonies used to take place. They came on steam boats from the Atlantic Ocean through the Potomac River.

  Einstein's statue, 2 km west of the White House. Marconi's statue, 3 km north of the White House.

• Einstein in Washington on the cover page of the Washingtonian Magazine (I am not aware of copyright laws on the cover page of books or magazines. I obey the laws governing their contents).
  1. Where is the Einstein Monument ? I assume you know where the White House is. You can walk from there.

     If you are the president of your country, you will be staying at the WH guest house. If you are the prime minister, you will be asked to stay at the Hey Adams Hotel in front of the White House. If you have enough money, you can stay there. I once stayed there once for free because I know how to manage the world.

  2. Front view the Einstein Monument.
  3. Einstein with a young lady on his leg touching his belly button.
  4. Einstein on a snowy day with a physicist. He did not know this physicist would make a webpage dedicated to him.
  5. National Academy of Sciences Building behind the Monument. Here is another photo.

  6. Guglielmo Marconi was born in Italy, but he was able to change the world while in the United States. Americans apprecite his contribution, and there is his statue 3 km directly north of the White House. Click here to see how he created this wirelss world, using Mawell's equations. This statue is not in the Lincoln Memorial area, but it is appropriate to place this photo along with those of Einstein.

• Federal Reserve Bank on Constitution Avenue, south west of the White House. Important decisions are made on world economy in this building.
  1. Front view of the Building seen from the Constitution Avenue. Sorry. This bank cannot open an account for you.
  2. This building is named William McChesney Martin.
  3. Who was W. M. Martin? He was the Fed. Chairman for 20 year from 1951 to 1970. If you think the Fed is too powerful these days, blame him. I used to see him on black-white TVs making conservative statements. At that time, the U.S. economy was strong and unshakable.
  4. This plain-looking buidling is called the Hatshepsut Building by some people.

• Freedom is not Free. Korean War Memorial south-east of the Lincoln Memorial.
  1. Korean was totally unknown place when the war started in 1950.
  2. Statues of American Soldiers in Korea (1950-53).
  3. Another Photo of those soldiers. During the Korean War, American soldiers carried Garrand M-1 rifles, M-1 carbines, and BARs (Browning automatics rifles).
  4. I was a high school student during the Korean war (1950-53), I have a webpage based on what I saw during the war.
  5. I have a photo of myself shaking hands with General Maxwell Taylor who was the commander of the U.S. troops in Korea (1953-55).

• Three Soldiers at the Vietnam War Memorial.
  1. Wall of names. More than 50,000 Americans died in Vietnam during the war. Their names are engraved on this wall.
  2. Another Photo of the Wall.
  3. Name of her Father. This lady is taking a photo of the name important to her, presumably her father.

Georgetown and Kennedy Center

• Georgetown is a residential area with activities. It was a run-down area with factories and warehouses until Eleanor Roosevelt decided to transform this area. Many prominent people live here. Jacqueline Kennedy and Henry Kissinger once lived here. For ordinary Washingtonians and tourists, this place is for shops and restaurants, and for meeting interesting people. European visitors like this place. Let us look at some photos.
  1. The first business you do at Georgetown is to look for a good place to eat. Yes, there are more than 200 restaurants and cafeterias within this small area.
  2. Cafe Milano is an expensive Italian restaurant. People seem to go there in order to prove they are important. Morton's Steak House is next to this Cafe.
  3. Bistro Francois is a reasonably priced French restaurant. I go there fairly often not only for eating, but also for meeting interesting people.
  4. How about an American restaurant. Americans are inventive people. They keep inventing new Hamburgers.

  5. You can meet many interesting people at Georgetown. I had this photo with visitors from Sttugart (Germany) in 2012.
  6. At the Bistro Francois, I met two graduate students from Kazakhstan. They were studying business and finances at Georgetown University. They claim their country has resources and money, but not may people know how they flow. They want to find out how they are flowing.
  7. There are many shoppers ready to spend time instead of money at Georgetown. Shops go bankrupt often.
  8. There are people and people on a festival day. Each festival has its title and spell out its purpose, but they do not seem to care about them. They simply seek fun.

  9. This is one of the entrances to the residential area from the traffic-jammed main street. Many famous people lived in this area.
  10. One of the residential streets two blocks away from the main street.
  11. There are many expensive houses not far from the main fun-loving commercial area.
  12. The Hour Season's Hotel is one of the five-star hotels in this area.
  13. This is the backyard of this expensive hotel.

  14. The C & O Canal (Chesapeake and Ohio Canal) used to be an important transportation route from the Atlantic coast to Ohio. From Ohio, agricultural crops were brought for exports to Europe. European luxury goods were brought to Ohio's landlords. The Baltimore-Ohio Railroad replaced this Canal as the major route.
  15. This stone house is the oldest house in the Washington area. This house of course has its history. Apparently, this house was an important place in those pre-railroad days.
  16. Those chimneys tell that there were also many factories.
  17. One of the locks along the Canal. This canal had to go through the high grounds of the Appalachian Mountains.

  18. Canal-side tables are available in a number of restaurants.
  19. Warehouses along the Canal. These old buildings now serve as up-scale office buildings.
  20. The Washington Harbor was the connecting point between the Canal and the Atlantic Ocean. These days, the Harbor is somewhat different.

• The Washington Harbor these days serves as one of the major water-front recreational areas in the Washington area.
  1. Washington Harbor from the Potomac River.
  2. Somewhat closer from the River.
  3. The Big Fountain at the Harbor place.
  4. The Fountain during the winter time. Expensive to operate.
  5. viewed from a high-rise building across the Potomac River.
  6. viewed from the rooftop terrace of the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts.

  7. One of the up-scale restaurants at the Harbor place. I had a photo with these two hostesses.
  8. You can meet many interesting people there. I had a photo with two young ladies from Argentina.
  9. Riverfront walkway. The Kennedy Center is seen.
  10. The Key Bridge named after Francis Scott Key. Who was he? Click here.

• Washinton National Cathedral north of Georgetwon. This cathedral is a place for important national ceremonies. Funeral and memorial services for ex-presidents are usually held here.
  1. Click here for its wikipedia page.
  2. Front view of the Cathderal.
  3. Far-away view from a high-rise hotel in Virginia. About five kilometers from the Cathedral.

Kennedy Center

• J. F. Kennedy Center in Washington viewed from the Georgetown waterfront. This photo includes also the Watergate residential complex, the Arlington-Memorial Bridge, a floating restaurant "Odyssey", and a helicopter carrying an important person are also seen (July 2004).
  1. Kennedy Center viewed from the Potomac River.
  2. Kennedy Center and the Watergate Complex viewed the Rover.
  3. Kennedy's Bust, in the main lobby of Washington's Kennedy Center for Performing Arts (February 2002).
  4. Chandeliers in the Opera House contributed by the Austrian government. Here is another photo of the same set.

  5. The Kirov Ballet of St. Petersburg is now called Mariinskty Ballet. This music group comes to the Kennedy Center frequently, and I try to go there.
  6. La Bayadere. After the performance of La Bayadere at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, DC (USA 2008). La Bayadere was premiered at the Mariinsky Theatre in 1877.
  7. Don Quixote by the Mariinsky Ballet. They came to Washington in 2009. I took this photo when everybody was excited after their performance of Don Quixote, consisting of Spanish dances with Viennese music.

     

  8. Rooftop Cafeteria. They do not want to be hungry during the performance.
  9. Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial seen from the rooftop terrace of the Kennedy Center.
  10. Watergate Complex on the west side of the Center.
  11. Bridges on the Potomac River. They are the Arlington Memorial Bridge (left) and the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge.
  12. Georgetown and Washington Harbor also seen from the rooftop.

Other Important Places in the Washington Area

• University of Maryland is about 20 km north of the White House.

• Mount Vernon. George Washington's residence 20 kilometers south of Washington.

• Annapolis, 50 km east of Washington, home of the U.S.Naval Academy.