WASHINGTON
DC:
Art Tour
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DC > Art
Tour
FEATURED ATTRACTIONS
Arlington National Cemetery
Tour begins at the cemetery visitor’s
center and includes the Kennedy gravesites, the Tomb
of the Unknown Soldier for the Changing of the guard
ceremony, Arlington House and the Robert E. Lee Memorial.
Explorers Hall at
the National Geographic society contains exhibits
depicting famous National Geographic sponsored
exhibitions. The Hall encompasses the entire
1st floor of the building. Its centerpiece
is an 11 foot sphere, Earth Station One, said
to be the world’s largest free standing
globe. The globe illustrates such detail as
the relief of the ocean floor.
Ford’s Theatre (closed for 2007-08 season for renovations) where
Abraham Lincoln was fatally shot by John Wilkes
Booth on April 14, 1865, has been restored
to its 1860’s appearance. Short talks
recounting the atmosphere of Washington during
the Civil War and the story of the assassination
are presented.
Peterson House the place where Abraham Lincoln died after being shot at Ford’s
Theatre.
Holocaust Memorial
Museum presents the history of 6 million
Jews and millions of others including Roma
(gypsies), Soviet POWs, Poles, Dissidents,
homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses and
the disabled, who suffered and died at the
hands of the Nazis during their rule of Germany
1933-1945.
J. Edgar Hoover
F.B.I. Building Covers an entire city
block. Exhibits explain the history and jurisdiction
of the FBI, as well as the work of the FBI
laboratory. The tour includes a firearms
demonstration. Closed to tours until further notice.
Library of Congress is
across from the Capitol, off Independence Ave.,
is a complex of three buildings. The oldest
building, the Thomas Jefferson, is richly ornamented.
The library’s Art Deco John Adams building
offers a reading room for business and science,
Near Eastern, African, Asian and the Hebraic.
The newest structure, the contemporary James
Madison Memorial Building, contains reading
rooms, exhibit halls and an information center
to assist first-time visitors.
Lincoln Memorial is
in line with the Capitol and the Washington
Monument. Between the memorial and the monument
lie two reflecting pools and the new WWII memorial.
The stately marble structure, designed by Henry
Bacon, stands just before the approach to Arlington
Memorial Bridge. The 36 columns, one for each
state in existence at the time of Lincoln’s
death, symbolized the Union.
Mount Vernon home
of George Washington, our first President of
the United States.
National Archives preserves
and makes available for research, federal government
records of enduring value. Exhibition Hall
displays the Declaration of Independence, the
Constitution, the Bill of Rights and a copy
of the 1297 Magna Carta, as well as temporary
exhibitions.
National Air and
Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution is
devoted to the history and development of
air and space technology and is one of the
world’s most popular museums.
National Museum
of the American Indian was chartered
by Congress in 1989 as the 16th museum of
the Smithsonian Institution. This museum
has one of the largest and most extensive
collections of Native American art and artifacts
in the world—approximately 800,000
objects representing over 10,000 years of
history, from more than 1,000 indigenous
cultures through the Western Hemisphere.
The hallmark of this museum is that all aspects
of its exhibitions and programs are presented
from the Native perspective—“in
the Native voice.”
Smithsonian American
History Museum
This museum collects and preserves more than 3 million unique American artifacts!
Everything from the original Star-Spangled Banner and Abraham Lincoln’s
top hat to Dizzy Gillespie’s angled trumpet and Dorothy’s ruby
slippers from The Wizard of Oz. The collections on display form a vast and
fascinating mosaic of American life. The exhibitions within the walls of this
vast structure explore major themes in American history and culture, from the
War of Independence to the present day. The following are some of the exhibitions
on display. The Price of Freedom: Americans at War, surveys the history of
U.S. military conflicts and examines ways in which wars have been defining
episodes in American history. America on the Move immerses visitors in the
sights, sounds, and sensations of transportation in the United States from
1870 to the present. Other popular exhibitions that have drawn literally tens
of millions of visitors to the Museum over many years include The American
Presidency: A Glorious Burden, Within These Walls . . ., First Ladies: Political
Role and Public Image, and Field to Factory: Afro-American Migration 1915–1940.
An array of temporary and traveling exhibitions offer visitors something new
on almost every visit.
Smithsonian Natural
History Museum
Prominently located on the National Mall, this museum displays treasures of
nature and of humankind. They tell of forces that generate, shape, and sustain
natural and cultural diversity. More than a century of careful collecting and
research by scientists has resulted in an unsurpassed world collection of more
than 120 million natural and cultural objects! You’ll see the Scanning
Electron Microscopy Lab (SEM Lab) which has assisted researchers to explore
and understand our world at the microscopic level. Here, you’ll take
in the incredible gem and pearl collection including the Hope Diamond, The
Pearl of Asia, The Pearl of Kuwait, and The Hope Pearl. You may even want to
take in Bugfest 2005 or an Imax movie at the Johnson’s Imax Theatre.
The National Museum of Natural History is dedicated to understanding the natural
world and our place in it.
Thomas Jefferson
Memorial on the S.E. side of the Tidal
Basin is a circular domed structure supported
by Ionic columns. The central memorial room
contains a heroic bronze statue of Jefferson,
by Rudolph Evans, surrounded by panels inscribed
with Jefferson’s most significant writings.
Tomb of the Unknowns The
Tomb of the Unknowns, near the center of the
cemetery, is one of Arlington's most popular
tourist sites. The Tomb contains the remains
of unknown American soldiers from World Wars
I and II, the Korean Conflict and (until 1998)
the Vietnam War. The Tomb is guarded 24-hours-per-day
and 365-days-per year by specially trained
members of the 3rd United States Infantry (The
Old Guard).
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy
Center near Washington Dulles International
Airport is the companion facility to the
Air and Space Museum on the National Mall.
The building opened in December, 2003, and
provides enough space for the Smithsonian
to display the thousands of aviation and
space artifacts that cannot be exhibited
on the National Mall. The two sites together
showcase the largest collection of aviation
and space artifacts in the world.
United States Capitol The
United States Capitol is among the most architecturally
impressive and symbolically important buildings
in the world. It has housed the meeting chambers
of the Senate and the House of Representatives
for almost two centuries. Begun in 1793, the
Capitol has been built, burnt, rebuilt, extended,
and restored; today, it stands as a monument
not only to its builders but also to the American
people and their government.
Vietnam Veterans
Memorial honors the men and women
who served in the US Armed forces in Vietnam.
World War II Memorial
The World War II Memorial honors the 16 million who served in the armed forces
of the United States, the more than 400,000 who lost their lives in the war,
and all who supported the war effort from the homeland. The memorial is a
monument to the spirit, sacrifice, and commitment of the American people.
The Second World War is the only 20th Century event commemorated on the National
Mall’s central axis.
The memorial opened to the public on April
29, 2004 and was dedicated one month later
on May 29. Located between Constitution and
Independence Avenues on 17th Street, it is
flanked by the Washington Monument to the east
and the Lincoln Memorial to the west. The memorial
is now operated by the National Park Service
and is open to visitors 24 hours a day, seven
days a week
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