BLUF: One of DC's newest memorials honoring Americans who served in World War 1…read more The Great War later known as World War 1 ended in 1918 yet it took until 2021 for the United States to create a national memorial. Over 4 million service members supported the war and many more supported the efforts on the home front. During the country's two years of participation, 116,516 Americans were killed. Although more American were killed in WWI than Vietnam and Korea combined, the memorial in DC was opened long after the last American WWI veteran passed away. Around 2021 Pershing Park was repurposed to be the World War I memorial and installation of the iconic bronze sculpture was completed in 2026. The statue of General Pershing, who was Commander of US forces during the Great War, remains on the memorial grounds. The main feature of the memorial is "A Soldier's Journey" - 36 bronze figures in a 60 foot memorial that tell the story of a soldier leaving home for war and subsequently returning home. The soldiers take us through the having to leave his family, through battle and the aftermath and then returning home again. Real veterans posed for the sculpture and it's the most life-like bronze I can ever recall seeing. I greeted each figure and could feel their emotions through this graphic, detailed and patriotic sculpture. Taps is played daily at the memorial at 5pm. I was late for Taps but just in time to see the presidential motorcade departing the White House. This two acre memorial is new, not well known but certainly not one to be missed. It is located near the White House next to the famous Willard Hotel.

The World War I monument is right in front of the Marriott and the Intercontinental, along…read morePennsylvania Avenue NW between 14th Street NW and 15th Street NW, across from the White House Visitor Center. The American flag was raised over the World War I Memorial for the 1st time in 2021. The memorial honors all 4.7 million Americans who served their nation in World War I, including 116,516 who made the supreme sacrifice. This new memorial incorporates the existing memorial to Gen. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces during the war. The memorial includes the Peace Fountain, a cascade of water behind an excerpt from the poem "The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak" with engraved quotes and references to theaters, campaigns & battles in which American forces participated. A sculpture titled A Soldier's Journey, was just installed. The 58-foot-long bas-relief sculpture features 38 figures depicting the journey of a recurring American soldier. Due to the size & complexity of this memorial, the sculpture is scheduled to be installed later in 2024. Until then, artwork showing what the final product will look like will be in its place. The wall is surrounded by water and is viewed from a platform several feet in front of it. A belvedere is an architectural feature providing a particularly scenic view. Here the Belvedere is the conceptual center of the memorial, it provides a view of the elements and features of the memorial - the American Expeditionary Forces memorial and General Pershing statue is located to the viewer's left, the A Soldier's Journey sculpture is to the front, and flagstaff are and quotes from President Woodrow Wilson and others are to the right. Encircling the Belvedere are the names of the campaigns in which U.S. forces participated during the war.

Interesting memorial to the Union General who defeated Lee at Gettysburg. I had to look that up…read moresince I wasn't sure who he was either. It's in front of the courthouse and worth a look if you're walking by like I was but not really worth a separate trip unless you're a big Civil War buff.

Another obscure memorial of an obscure American. It doesn't mean it's not enjoyable. The George…read moreGordon Meade Memorial honors a Civil War hero. It seems many statues in DC do. This doesn't take long to look at, so it's more of a stop. General Meade was another war hero. It was his service in the Civil War that helped the Union. The Battle of Gettysburg was an important turning point in the war. He led the troops against General Lee in that battle. This was an important victory. It was legendary enough that it was the subject of the Gettysburg Address. The statue has some notable details on it. Surrounding it are six figures. They represent chivalry, energy, fame, loyalty, military courage, and progress. It can be found on Constitution Avenue at Pennsylvania Avenue. It's in front of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The John Marshall Park is near there.

This memorial has been through a lot. It was given to the United States after the sinking of the…read moreUSS Maine in the Havana Harbor during the time Cuba was trying to seek independence from Spanish control. The USS Maine was sent from Key West to protect the US citizens living in Cuba at the time. Unfortunately, there was a massive explosion on the ship that was supposedly not caused by anything other than a gun magazine explosion killing nearly 270 people. A few days later, it was believed Spain was in fact to blame. America declared war on Spain it turn beginning the Spanish-American War. Cuba was thankful towards the United States and erected the Urn as a means of appreciation to the US and to pay tribute to the lives lost on the USS Maine. It stood a top two columns in Havana for 28 years until a hurricane in 1926 knocked if off its pedestal. In 1928, it was refurbished and given to US as a present with President Calvin Coolidge accepting it. The Urn sat in front of the Cuban Embassy from 1928-1959. Relations went sour when Fidel Castro took presidency in Cuba. The Urn was quickly removed only to be lost for over 3 decades. It was eventually recovered inside of one of the National Park Service warehouses some time later in 1992 so says the National Park Service. After being refurbished again for a second time; it was placed in its current location next to a parking lot in East Potomac Park underneath the 14th Street Bridge, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is a pretty obscure and one of the much lesser known memorials in DC. For a 7 foot urn that has been through as much as it has; it has an interesting history. How do you lose an urn anyway?

A little piece of Silver Spring History: This 1945 beloved landmark was rescued and restored by…read moreMontgomery Preservation Inc. It is the only building in downtown Silver Spring listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The original train station manager from its 1945 start was here today to greet residents. It is known that President Harry S. Truman often used this station to avoid crowds at Union Station. Inside the building you'll find mementos from bygone days and little bits of nostalgia of long gone Silver Spring businesses. Up until fairly recently, the MARC train used this station. Now the station is open to the public once a month. It may also be rented for meetings and special events.

Held my son's second birthday here and it was fantastic. This is a great space for a party in…read moregeneral, and it comes with many train toys! The staff were very helpful and had great suggestions for where to set up food, when to bring the kids into the back room and turn on the model train, and when to bust out the Thomas Power Wheel (which was quite the hit.) I also got the impression that they appreciate the rental fee and use of space, as it goes toward the ability to continue maintaining the site. This is a gem in Silver Spring.

In front of Arlington National Cemetery stands the Seabee Memorial dedicated in 1972. It honors…read morethe contributions & "Can Do" attitude of the members of the Naval Construction Battalions during war and peace. The Memorial is one of a series of memorials that line Memorial Avenue, the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery. I learned that the Seabees were responsible for constructing bases, bulldozing and paving thousands of miles of roadway, and building airstrips to support the military in times of war and peace since World War II. The Memorial was designed by architect Anthony Harrar & sculptor Felix de Weldon. The memorial contains a 9 ft tall bronze figure of a Seabee greeting a 3-feet tall child standing on a block of Swedish granite. Behind them is a bronze relief of Seabees working at their various trades. The Memorial is incribed with the phrase "With willing hearts and skillful hands, the difficult we do at once, the impossible takes a bit longer."

A small memorial outside Arlington National Cemetery. It doesn't take long to see. You go along the…read moreroad outside the main gate and it's there. History of this is interesting. This is good for a fast visit. Get to it by going right outside of the cemetery. It's along the main road. This is on the north side. It's dedicated to a special group of the Navy. The Seabees are known for their dedication and the willingness to take on some hard tasks. In this memorial there's one with a child. This shows their willingness to help others. It serves as a good coda for visiting the cemetery. It's just outside of the main gate. This is easy to get to if going to the bus stop.

On the side of the road near where Greenbelt Road crosses the Beltway is this historical marker…read moresign denoting the Taoping Castle (circa 1750). It is on Walker Road. It reads: On this site, Isaac Charles and Nathan Walker erected a large white oak log house named for their ancestral stronghold in Scotland which the three brothers had fled after the failure of attempts to unseat George I, King of England, as ruler of Scotland. Isaac permanently settled here and obtained land grants for 188 acres. He and his three sons served in the Revolutionary War. The graves of Isaac and his son Nathan are north of here. Taoping Castle was the birthplace of Samuel Hamilton Walker (February 24, 1817 - October 9, 1847). Lt. Colonel of the Texas Rangers and Captain of the US Cavalry, he left home at age 19 to fight Indians and later became a leader and hero of the Rangers. His suggested changes to Samuel Colt's revolver resulted in Colt's success as an arms manufacturer. 1000 Colt-Walker pistols - the first, heaviest and longest revolvers ever issued to American forces - were purchased for the Texas Rangers during the Mexican war. Walker was killed in that war at the Battle of Hua Mantla, Mexico. The family cemetery is all that remains of the Taoping Castle estate.

Wonderful place to get DC souvenirs. They have nice things, not kitch. Nice book selection, too!read more

A really stately and unique landmark in DC. The Decatur House Museum is one of the oldest landmark…read morehomes in DC, next to Lafayette Park and close to the White House. Tours are available on Mondays (free to the public) and the house can also be rented out for special events like weddings and the like.

A little off center from the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Pier (pronounced pie-er like a…read morepiece of apple pie) marks the second prime meridian of the United States even though it was never officially recognized, either by presidential proclamation or by a resolution or act of Congress. The Pier is located to the west-northwest of the Washington Monument, inside the second walking path that encircles the Monument. According to L'Enfant's "Plan of the city intended for the permanent seat of the government of the United States", there was a prominent geometric feature - a large right triangle whose hypotenuse was a wide avenue (now part of Pennsylvania Avenue, NW) connecting the "President's house" (now the White House) and the "Congress house" (now the U.S. Capitol building). To complete the triangle, a line projecting due south from the center of the President's house intersected at a right angle a line projecting due west from the center of the Congress house. The planned grand avenue became the National Mall that is now between the Capitol's grounds and the Washington Monument. Barges used the marker as a mooring post during and after the first phase of Washington Monument's construction, which began in 1848.[15] However, that usage was not the reason that the stone was named a "pier", because the surveyor who erected it had already used that term himself. The developers of the Washington Monument originally wanted the memorial to be located at the site of the Jefferson Pier. However, concerns about the bearing capacity of the soil prevented that from occurring. The marker served as benchmark when the Monument's construction began, but later disappeared from view. The meridian of the United States was changed to the center of the small dome of the Old Naval Observatory in 1850 and finally replaced by the Greenwich Meridian as the legal prime meridian for both boundaries and navigation in 1912. This odd little stone is confusing to most and definitely overlooked by the massive Washington Monument which towers above. But that's okay. We know. [Review 14290 overall, 1614 of 2020, number 101 in Washington.]

Another obscure structure in DC. It may be the most obscure. The Jefferson Pier is very important…read morethough. It has an interesting history. There's a very good reason where it's located. Basically this is a marker in the middle of DC. In fact, this is literally the middle of DC. This was where the Washington Monument was supposed to be placed. Because of the bad terrain, it was moved up the hill. There's not much else to it. It was marked and then it was forgotten about. This has some inscription on it about how it was recovered and re-erected many years after first being erected. It doesn't get much attention. It's only a few hundred feet away from the Washington Monument. This is a great thing for history buffs to visit.