Walking around the Mall again...
So what can I say? I'm a slacker who didn't update for a while...
Last Sunday I continued my little circuit of walking around memorials managed to finish off all the stuff near the Washington Mall. Still need to wander by Arlington National Cemetery and the Iwa Jima Memorial.
So I've been paying a lot of attention to the faces on these presidential memorials and it seems like each of them has a different "look" about them. I really liked Jefferson's memorial, it seems like he's looking hopefully toward the future. Maybe the future of America or even the future of the world? It's also a challenge, but on a different dimension than Lincoln's, which is sort of "be worthy of following me", Jefferson's is more "surpass your potential and reach for the stars".
Interestingly enough this is his view...I wonder if Mr. Bush has ever had this view?
There were two FDR statues within the FDR memorial, this is the one from the war years (the other was from the "prologue" of his presidency). His chair comes complete with incredibly small wheelchair wheels because nobody in the public really knew the limits of his physical abilities at the time of his presidency, so they're carefully hidden at the back of the statue.
FDR's face is the most depressing of the statues that I've seen...It's as if he is staring death in the face (which in reality he was). Full of despair.
The other FDR statue is much more happy-go-lucky for lack of a better word. The text behind him quotes Eleanor, "Franklin's illness...Gave him strength and courage he had not before. He had to think out the fundamentals of living and learn the greatest of all lessons - infinite patience and never-ending persistence".
There were a lot of interesting images and statues contained within the FDR memorial, which is best described as sprawling yet structured. It's broken into his 4 terms as President complete with a prologue and epilogue and quotes from each stage. This statue of the fireside chats was especially meaningful to me because (for some reason) the man sitting there listening reminded me of my grandpa Clayton. Perhaps it was the similar cut of his face or the mirroring of his mannerisms, but it was the statue that I could most relate with...
After FDR's memorial, I walked along the river trying to get to a bridge that would take me to Teddy Roosevelt's memorial island (and I finally managed to find it)...In memorial for his efforts to conserve our nation's natural beauty, a forested island in the center of the Potomac river was dedicated to his memory. By the time I got there, I was running low on energy and it was getting pretty late, so I didn't walk around the park aspect very much, but it does look beautiful...
And of course, I got my picture taken with ol' TR.
Teddy's face is the hardest to decipher of all those that I've seen...I'm going to suggest his look might be boldness and determination, but your guess is probably as good as mine...
After Roosevelt Island, I headed back home (reaching the outside of Arlington National Cementery before I gave into dehydration and entered the subway system) - I really need to start bringing a water bottle with me on these things...
Oh and if you're ever wandering the capital, cherry-flavored italian ice is better than the lemon flavor (counter to my expectations)
Last Sunday I continued my little circuit of walking around memorials managed to finish off all the stuff near the Washington Mall. Still need to wander by Arlington National Cemetery and the Iwa Jima Memorial.
So I've been paying a lot of attention to the faces on these presidential memorials and it seems like each of them has a different "look" about them. I really liked Jefferson's memorial, it seems like he's looking hopefully toward the future. Maybe the future of America or even the future of the world? It's also a challenge, but on a different dimension than Lincoln's, which is sort of "be worthy of following me", Jefferson's is more "surpass your potential and reach for the stars".
Interestingly enough this is his view...I wonder if Mr. Bush has ever had this view?
There were two FDR statues within the FDR memorial, this is the one from the war years (the other was from the "prologue" of his presidency). His chair comes complete with incredibly small wheelchair wheels because nobody in the public really knew the limits of his physical abilities at the time of his presidency, so they're carefully hidden at the back of the statue.
FDR's face is the most depressing of the statues that I've seen...It's as if he is staring death in the face (which in reality he was). Full of despair.
The other FDR statue is much more happy-go-lucky for lack of a better word. The text behind him quotes Eleanor, "Franklin's illness...Gave him strength and courage he had not before. He had to think out the fundamentals of living and learn the greatest of all lessons - infinite patience and never-ending persistence".
There were a lot of interesting images and statues contained within the FDR memorial, which is best described as sprawling yet structured. It's broken into his 4 terms as President complete with a prologue and epilogue and quotes from each stage. This statue of the fireside chats was especially meaningful to me because (for some reason) the man sitting there listening reminded me of my grandpa Clayton. Perhaps it was the similar cut of his face or the mirroring of his mannerisms, but it was the statue that I could most relate with...
After FDR's memorial, I walked along the river trying to get to a bridge that would take me to Teddy Roosevelt's memorial island (and I finally managed to find it)...In memorial for his efforts to conserve our nation's natural beauty, a forested island in the center of the Potomac river was dedicated to his memory. By the time I got there, I was running low on energy and it was getting pretty late, so I didn't walk around the park aspect very much, but it does look beautiful...
And of course, I got my picture taken with ol' TR.
Teddy's face is the hardest to decipher of all those that I've seen...I'm going to suggest his look might be boldness and determination, but your guess is probably as good as mine...
After Roosevelt Island, I headed back home (reaching the outside of Arlington National Cementery before I gave into dehydration and entered the subway system) - I really need to start bringing a water bottle with me on these things...
Oh and if you're ever wandering the capital, cherry-flavored italian ice is better than the lemon flavor (counter to my expectations)
posted by Will at 5:31 AM
2 Comments:
Will, you should ask Grandpa and Grandma if they ever listened to the fireside chats.
Mom
Jefferson Memorial is my favorite too. It's best at sunset. And you'll love Monticello.
Joles
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