Random DC Stuff April 2025

My wife had an appointment in downtown DC, so I tagged along to do some sightseeing.

I walked over toward the Capitol Building. I clearly came along the Senate side of the building since I ran into the Senate Fountain.

Fountain taller than the Capitol building?

A calmer section of the fountain

A little bit closer to the Capitol is the Summer House, a hexagonal building constructed in the 1880s. It provides a spot out of the sun and with a soothing waterfall to let travelers and visitors take a break on their visit. 

Summer house

The fountain with me obstructing it

A short walk brought me to the Capitol itself. At mid-morning, the sun was at an unhelpful, though dramatic, angle.

A hot view

Looking in the other direction

At the Botanical Garden, (just past the House side of the Capitol), I saw Iris tectorum, or roof iris, in the gardens outside.

A bit of the garden

The flowers that bloom in the spring, tra la!

The garden includes a fountain designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, the designer of the Statue of Liberty. 

Bartholdi fountain

The American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial is a sobering memorial across the street from the fountain.

American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial

Transparent walls with trees behind

A star representing military branches

Seal of the Air Force

I unintentionally found the Dwight Eisenhower Memorial just down Independence Avenue.

Medallion on one of the columns

On another column

One of the columns

From his presidential service

From his military service

Homecoming address

Even John Marshall, early Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, has a plaza with a statue!

Near the DC courts

I also wandered through Chinatown and saw what is probably in every big American city, a traditional Chinese gate, here called the Friendship Archway.

Chinatown!

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library is part of the DC public library system. They had karaoke going on outside, so I did not take any pictures there. I did spot Benjamin Banneker and find a geocache hidden in a book.

Banna-Ka (Benjamin Banneker), 2019 by Imar Hutchins

A fake book!

I was impressed with Saint Patrick Catholic Church but did not go in. 

Saint Patrick Church

I happened across Ford's Theater (where Lincoln was shot) and saw the house across the street where he died. Visitors need tickets to see either so I will have to go inside on another trip.

Petersen House

I took a fun shot at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden. Their fountain has a good view of the National Archives, where one of the copies of the Declaration of Independence is kept.

Fountain with building

On my way back to my wife's office, I saw the Stephenson Grand Army of the Republic Memorial. The Grand Army of the Republic was the first veterans' group in the United States and formed after the American Civil War, organized by Benjamin Stephenson. The monument has three sides.

GAR Memorial

Charity side

Loyalty side