Cyndy's Bottom Line: A hidden gem out in plain sight....
The Chinese Hackberry Tree (Celtis sinensis), is a beautiful shade tree with branches that cascade out in dramatic form. It was planted around 1905 on the grounds of what was then the U.S. Patent Office Building. The tree has slowly grown as the city has developed and transformed around it.
The Chinese hackberry has witnessed the relocation of Chinatown from its original site on Pennsylvania Avenue; burning during the 1968 riots; the opening of the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery and
American Art Museum.
If only the tree could speak and tell stories of the past.... read more