Posts Tagged With: Lockmasters House

Washington D.C. April 11

Back in the District of Columbia, one of Chris’ favorite cities. Sunday we made it through my only stress point concern of the trip, getting a parking place for our car at our DC hotel. The day started okay, cool and cloudy but not too bad. We stopped at Greenbelt Park, another National Park Service site and took an hour walk. In the 1930s, Greenbelt Maryland became the first planned community in the United States built as a federal venture in housing. It was supposed to be a complete city with homes, businesses, schools etc.

Greenbelt Park occurred as a result of the building of the Baltimore Washington Parkway. The parkway planning predates the interstate highway system. The parkway was designed to connect the two cities of Washington and Baltimore. It was built along the fall line where the piedmont and coastal plains meet. The parkway was completed in 1954 and runs for 29 miles. Greenbelt Park was part of the land purchased for the parkway and for green space for Greenbelt city. The park’s mission is to be an urban natural area and recreational oasis. The 1,100 acre park has 174 campsites just minutes from urban congestion. Other than being so near to urban settings, it’s no different than many other parks and natural areas set aside to protect wildlife and wilderness, and to offer recreation. The park ranger’s vehicle was one of those “motorcycles with a cover”-my description. See below.

We are staying at The District, basically a time-share offering of the Hilton Grand Vacations Club located on the top three floors of an Embassy Suites in downtown Washington DC. Parking for your automobile is not guaranteed to guests. We were told to arrive early and cross our fingers. Well, we arrived early, 11 AM, and were told no spots were available there or expected for the rest of the week. We were directed to use the parking garage at the Ritz Carlton, one block away. The hotel people were helpful in that they told us that by using the SpotHero app we would be able to get a lower price and In-N-Out privileges. Both of these were beneficial. The Ritz Carlton price through SpotHero was $20 a night less than the Embassy Suites charges.

In order to find this out, I had to park the car in the driveway of the Embassy Suites while Chris went inside and talked to the check-in people on the eighth floor. Parking my car in the driveway of the Embassy Suites while all around me people were using their cars to were actively check out and Uber type vehicles were picking up passengers is not my favorite activity. I felt I was misusing the space. I could have driven around the block several times. Today I put that apprehension aside. I sat there looking important and letting the other cars drive around me. It worked. AND , our room was ready and we checked in.

Sunday was a little cooler and breezy. We set ourselves up in our room, caught up on some details, and then did a little exploring. We had some recommendations for bakery/dessert type places so we checked them out. I came home from Un je ne sais Quoi with a delicious chocolate mousse and Chris had a white meringue style dessert. I guess you could call that our lunch. We shared a meal downstairs in the hotel restaurant and called it an early night.

On Monday, Chris dressed for the morning and I dressed for the afternoon. The morning temperature when we left was 40°. The afternoon temperature when we returned was 67°. This was our day to visit National Park Service sites we had not previously visited. It started with a walk, first through residential neighborhoods, and then through governmental and university neighborhoods, to Constitution Gardens.

Constitution Gardens is a part of the National Mall that had been covered with World War I temporary structures. In 1971 the area was refurbished to include lawns, trees and gardens, water features, and memorials. This section of the mall had been the Washington city canal in the mid-1800s and had been partially filled in by the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad. We visited the memorial to the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, including the stone for Thomas Stone. At one corner of Constitution Gardens is the lockmasters house. This is a refurbished 180 year old home and toll collection facility for the freight canal. It had been vacant and deteriorated. The house has been extensively rehabilitated and looks great, even ready to collect some more tolls.

We walked along the south side of the mall to the Dwight Eisenhower Memorial. This is a Frank Gehry designed memorial, new to the list of memorials in D.C.. There are sayings from Eisenhower‘s life along with statues of Eisenhower as a boy, a general, and as president.

After Eisenhower we went to the north side of the mall. We meandered, first going north, then going west depending on which traffic lights were being friendly. Then Chris noted a Ford’s Theater directional sign. Chris asked how close we were and if we would be stopping there. Now, there is a back story here. Of all the many times we have been to D.C., we do not recall actually being in Ford’s Theater. It is a NPS site which we are missing so it would be on our priority list.

Tickets are required to enter. I had called gone online to purchase tickets but tickets for the time period we would be in D.C. were all sold. The only option was a few tickets given out daily on a first come basis. The box office person I talked to indicated people normally started lining up for these daily tickets at 7:45 AM. The box office opens at 8:30 AM and the tickets are normally gone in minutes. It seemed better to just come back to Ford’s Theater the next time we visit. After all, there are several sites here that are under construction and not viewable on this trip.

Despite my protestations, Chris wanted to get closer and ask about the possibility of getting in. I humored her. After all, I knew the drill and there wouldn’t be any tickets available. As we got closer, Chris saw a sign outside showing tickets available for afternoon entrance times of every half hour. I still had my doubts. We went into the box office area where the person standing there said oh, yes, we have plenty of tickets today. What time do you want? Well it’s about 11:35 and they had tickets available for noon so we took them. We went outside, got in line with the other people waiting for the 12 o’clock entrance and then, at noon, entered Ford’s Theatre.

Ford’s theater is still active and showing plays in the evening. Our ticket got us into a basement exhibit area where we read various exhibit about Lincoln and the Civil War. After a period of time, you were able to go upstairs and sit in the theater. A park ranger was inside the theater and held a question and answer session rather than a specific presentation. The box were Lincoln sat when he was assassinated was clearly marked and obviously no one was allowed in it.

After we had our fill of discussion time, we went across the street to the Petersen house. This is the boarding house where Lincoln was brought while doctor‘s tried to save his life. You can see the room where he died and there were several floors with more displays. In the Peterson house, the displays cover the aftermath of the assassination and the pursuit of John Wilkes Booth and his co-conspirators.

Leaving Ford’s Theater, we had lunch at Au Bon Pain. On our way to our next NPS site, the World War I Memorial, we stopped by the Treasury Department Building and watched a police escorted motorcade arrive. We figured it was probably the assistant to the clerk to the administrator to the under secretary of the office for purchasing.

The World War I Memorial is located on the site of, and incorporates, the Pershing memorial. The WWI Memorial opened in 2021. While it looks finished, currently there is artwork depicting the sculpture which is being cast now and will be installed in 2024. The sculpture will depict the journey of one solder who leaves his family, goes through war experiences, and then returns home to his family. It reminds me of the visual experience of the Korean War Memorial with its collection of soldiers moving through a battlefield .

We walked through Lafayette Square, sitting for a while to experience the vision of the White House. Then it was up Connecticut Avenue to buy two brownies for Ed from a different bakery before returning to the hotel. I had a evening Zoom meeting for our condo board to attend. According to Google maps, we put it over 6 miles of walking. We could feel it.

Ed and Chris, Washington DC April 12 Tuesday

National Park Service total sites visited: 295