The First American City For Tourists
There are an unimaginable number of tourist attractions in America, but to begin exploring the nation, one should definitely consider making Washington, D.C., their first stop. Must-see venues abound. It would be a shame to miss out on the FDR Memorial featuring waterfalls, sculptures, and Roosevelt’s own words carved in stone. More words inscribed on stone are prominent in the Lincoln Memorial. While there, notice the 48 festoons on the attic parapet that represent the number of states in 1922, when the neoclassical temple-like, limestone-walled structure was erected. Be sure to gaze across the Reflecting Pool toward the Washington Monument and the Capitol. Allow approximately 20-30 minutes for this itinerary stop. The National Gallery of Art houses one of the foremost collections of Western painting, sculpture, and graphic arts in the entire world. Artifacts date from the Middle Ages through the 20th century. The nucleus of the collection, as well as the original West Building (designed by Jefferson Memorial architect John Russell Pope), were a gift to the nation from Andrew W. Mellon. In 1978, I. M. Pei’s ultramodern East Building design was completed. The two distinctly different buildings are architecturally related by use of pink Tennessee marble taken from the same quarry for both buildings. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History contains enough artifacts to occupy your curiosity for several days, but your feet may limit you to a more realistic few hours. Everything imaginable from “everyday life in the American past” and items that have shaped our national character are displayed there. Plan to see the following exhibits: The American Presidency, The Price of Freedom; First Ladies; From Parlor to Politics; Within These Walls . . . , and Field to Factory. You will also find the original Star-Spangled Banner displayed in the museum. The National Museum of the American Indian is an undulating, five-story, karasota limestone anomaly among what feels like miles of white-stone structures on the National Mall. The interior incorporates themes of nature and astronomy. Its heart is the rotunda, which has been named “Potomac,” the Piscataway word meaning “where the goods are brought in.” The expansive Potomac is the entryway for the museum and a performance hall decorated from floor to ceiling with astronomical symbols.