Washington, D.C. Part II

We took many walks in and around the National Mall. I'm glad Steve was so patient with my constant dawdling to take photos. I couldn't resist - there were magnificent monuments and buildings everywhere, and they grew even more beautiful as day became night. Here's a little gallery with my favorites, along with some fun facts.

The Washington Monument, completed in 1884, was the tallest freestanding structure in the world for 20 years, until the Eiffel Tower was built.

There are 87 steps from the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool up to the temple. That's "four score and seven" steps! Probably not intentional, but definitely fitting.

The stone used to build the Washington Monument came from three different marble quarries. You can see the band where the stone changes about a third of the way up.

Wealthy British gentleman-scientist James Smithson never set foot in the United States, yet when he died in 1829, he left $500,000 to the fledgling country for the "increase and diffusion of knowledge." Smithson is entombed in the Castle.

The remarkable image encasing the Hirshhorn Museum is the work of Swiss artist Nicolas Party. The original pastel painting was digitized and printed onto scrim, then wrapped around the scaffolding surrounding the building. It is 829 feet in circumference! You can view it until the building repairs are completed, some time in Spring 2022.

The statue of President Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Square, erected in 1853, was the first bronze statue to be cast in the United States, and the first equestirian statue in the world to be balanced solely on the horse's hind legs.