No Pains No Gaines » Landmarks/Tourism


July 4, 2008
  Category: Photos Around Washington DC, Landmarks/Tourism   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 4:51 pm  

George Meade Statue on Pennsylvania Ave NW and 4th Street NW

While downtown today I was walking down Pennsylvania Ave NW and took some snaps of the George Meade Statue at 4th Street NW. From the KittyTours.org website:

George Meade (1815-1872) graduated from West Point and served in the Mexican War. He became a general during the Civil War and participated in the battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. He lead the Union forces to victory at the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in 1864 but was criticized for not being aggressive in pursuing the Confederate Army after that battle. The statue was a gift of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

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   Speak Your Mind
June 2, 2007
  Category: Landmarks/Tourism   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 9:48 pm  

This morning my mom and I went to eat brunch at Tunnicliff’s in Capitol Hill and see what’s going on in post-fire Eastern Market. Surprising, it was business as usual. The vendors, while waiting for the new temporary structure to be built, set up camp in the street and the place was crowded. Big moving vans were backed up to the makeshift booths loaded with everything that was offered before the fire.

As far as the structure, there was a little entrance left open for anyone to take a peek inside of the building. It’s almost hard to believe that within one night the entire building was gutted.

Eastern Market after the fire

Eastern Market after the fire

March 2, 2007
  Category: Landmarks/Tourism   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 7:53 pm  

Building Museum ColumnsContinuing my tour of the lesser known museums in Washington, DC, I decided to visit the National Building Museum. Building? Museum? As usual, I (and Torrie who accompanied me this time) was pleasantly surprised.

The building is HUGE when you’re standing outside of it, but once you step inside, you realize most of the huge structure is simply empty space. It’s simply a gigantic open-spaced area surrounded by four walls, a ceiling and these impressively huge columns. I was probably just as impressed with the columns than the exhibits.

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February 25, 2007
  Category: Landmarks/Tourism   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 3:13 pm  

Mailboxes
Several years ago I rode with my homeboy Chad McKelvey to Denver where he was moving to live with Davita, who eventually became his wife. During our two and a half day road trip, we stopped in a few cities to break the monotony of the highway. Starting in Atlanta, we stopped by Chattanooga TN, Nashville, St. Louis and Kansas City. We spent the most time in St. Louis, taking advantage of our opportunity to visit the Arch.

While in St. Louis we were talking to some of the locals as they talked about the Arch, the Cardinals and the meat. They’re very proud of their meat. And, someone mentioned the zoo which was free. Naturally we stopped by the zoo and it still awed me that the zoo was free.

And then I moved to Washington, DC. Virtually everything is here free!

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January 27, 2007
  Category: Landmarks/Tourism   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 7:41 pm  

Tai Shan and Parent Panda at the National Zoo in Washington DC

Torrie and I went to the National Zoo this morning to check out the new Asian Trail and the new panda exhibit. Tai Shan, the baby panda, if you can call him that, isn’t such a baby anymore. Neither are the three new Sumatran Tiger cubs.

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January 4, 2007
  Category: Photos Around Washington DC, Landmarks/Tourism   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 8:17 pm  

Henry Moore sculptureAfter tending to some business downtown DC today, I decided to walk home rather than hop on the Metro. I don’t stay far from the National Mall. Heading south on 7th Street SW, I had to make a few phone calls and decided to pause for a second near The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden .

And at the corner of 7th Street SW and Independence Ave, there were these sculptures that I may have noticed before, but I never really noticed before. At first I thought there were only three of them. I snapped some photos of them, went around he corner and they were everywhere!

I peeked down to the Sculpture Garden and there were more. These abstract figures were scattered throughout the Sculpture Garden, from abstract figures of people to abstract objects of, just, abstractness.

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November 6, 2006
  Category: Landmarks/Tourism   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 10:36 pm  

Martin Luther King, Jr.The National Mall welcomes its first African American monument when ground is broken next Monday for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The memorial will span four acres with a large stone with King etched into the side as the centerpiece on the Tidal Basin near the Jefferson and Roosevelt memorials.

Former President Bill Clinton, author Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey, Muhammad Ali and other dignitaries and celebrities are expected to attend the ceremony with over 5,000 others. The memorial costs $100 million and is expected to be completed by 2008.

There has been several huge donations recently, including FedEx’s $1 million last month and GE’s $1 million donation in August. There will be a donor’s wall in the memorial for donors who have given at least $500,000. So far $65 million of the required $100 million has been raised.

From the MLK Memorial Project website:

Dr. King championed a movement that draws fully from the deep well of America’s potential for freedom, opportunity, and justice. His vision of America is captured in his message of hope and possibility for a future anchored in dignity, sensitivity, and mutual respect; a message that challenges each of us to recognize that America’s true strength lies in its diversity of talents. The vision of a memorial in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. is one that captures the essence of his message, a message in which he so eloquently affirms the commanding tenants of the American Dream — Freedom, Democracy and Opportunity for All; a noble quest that gained him the Nobel Peace Prize and one that continues to influence people and societies throughout the world. Upon reflection, we are reminded that Dr. King’s lifelong dedication to the idea of achieving human dignity through global relationships of well being has served to instill a broader and deeper sense of duty within each of us— a duty to be both responsible citizens and conscientious stewards of freedom and democracy.
August 4, 2006
  Category: Landmarks/Tourism   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 2:17 pm  

Looks like the National Mall is going to get yet another tourist attraction. As we wait for the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Congressional Visitors Center and the National Museum of African American History and Culture, we can now add to that list the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Center.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Center, a proposed $80 million educational facility to be built under the National Mall, can finally move forward after a regional planning agency approved a site steps from two national icons Thursday.

After a 16-month debate between veterans, conservationists and Congress, the 5.2-acre parcel will start looking for a design for the parcel bounded by Henry Bacon Drive, 23rd Street, Constitution Avenue and the Lincoln Memorial. That should take three to four months and has to be reviewed by The National Capital Planning Commission three times before final approval.

April 16, 2006
  Category: Landmarks/Tourism   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 11:17 am  

The Big Chair in AnacostiaIt’s crazy how in life, little, well, in this case, big things, don’t seem to mean anything until they’re no longer around. Sometimes life can become such a routine that we don’t even notice the objects, the memories, the moments until we can’t have them anymore.

When I lived in Marietta, Georgia, you gave directions using The Big Chicken like sailors use the North Star. Well, Washington, DC, also has an oversized landmark, and it’s on a comeback. Have you seen The Big Chair? The nearly 20-foot-tall chair is being rebuilt from mahogany to aluminum on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.

April 12, 2006
  Category: Landmarks/Tourism   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 9:22 am  

Living in Washington, DC, can sometime be expensive, well, a lot of times, but visiting the museums for the past 160 years has been free. The Smithsonian Museum has many buildings with many interesting exhibits and stories to tell. My favorite is the National Museum of Natural History, that is, until they’re done building the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

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April 4, 2006
  Category: Landmarks/Tourism   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 1:03 pm  

MLK National Memorial Location
Recently State Farm Insurance contributed $1 million to help fund the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial planned for the Tidal Basin. Even more recently, though, the plan for the MLK National Memorial just got weaker. Don’t wait for the cascading water, a high footbridge and an elevated walkway that were in the original design. The National Capital Planning Commission approved what they call a “simplier” design. Are we talking about Martin Luther King, Jr. or Martin Lawrence? The memorial ought to be growing, not shrinking!

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January 31, 2006
  Category: Landmarks/Tourism   |     Posted By: David Gaines @ 6:14 pm  

Finally, some progress on the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. A location has been chosen, and I don’t think there could have been any better choice than right there under the Washington Monument, next to the National Museum of American History and virtually across the street from the president’s pad.

Looks like the National Mall can expect another museum, this one in the shadows of the Washington Monument.

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