Busted

Backside of a bust of Andrew Jackson, seventh U.S. president

This bust of Andrew Jackson, America's seventh president (1829-1837), resides in the National Portrait Gallery. Jackson was this nation's first "frontier" president. Although he was born in South Carolina, he spent a great deal of his life and career in Tennessee. Jackson has the distinction of being the last president to be a veteran of the Revolutionary War and only the second president to be a prisoner of war (George Washington was the first.) Andrew Jackson was known as "Old Hickory" for his toughness and distinguished himself as a lawyer, chief justice, and military officer before assuming the mantle of the presidency. He's also infamous for encouraging what came to be known as the "spoils system"--awarding high level government positions to friends and party loyalists to the detriment of the government and service to the people. Hm. I wonder if today's president is taking a page out of Jackson's book?

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential

Executive

The southern facade of the Old Executive Office Building.
The north, east, and west facades are the same.

This is the Old Executive Office Building on 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. This building houses White House staff and includes the Office of the Vice President of the United States. It is next door to the White House and adjacent the West Wing. Built between 1871 and 1888, it originally housed the Departments of State, War, and Navy. The architecture is "one of America's best examples of the French Second Empire style." At the time it was built, the Executive Office Building was the largest office building in the world and the largest granite structure in America; the latter, a distinction it maintains to this day. The building barely escaped demolition in 1957 and has since been renovated and preserved. The official name of the building is now the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 11/07.

Sa'laam A'leikum

The minaret of the Islamic Mosque and Cultural Center
on Massachusetts Avenue NW

Located on Embassy Row, the Islamic Mosque and Cultural Center of Washington is the main mosque in Washington, D.C. The center is across the street from the Embassy of Turkey and the Embassy of Japan and just east of the Embassy of Great Britain and the Naval Observatory--the official residence of the Vice President of the United States.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 11/07

Red Cross

The Red Cross Museum on 17th Street NW

Founded in 1881 by Clara Barton, the American Red Cross has grown into an international aid organization that provides comfort and aid to victims of disasters locally, nationally, and internationally. Whether your home burns down or you've survived a hurricane, the Red Cross has been one of the first aid organizations to mobilize and deliver supplies to people all over the world.

This building, on 17th Street NW not far from the White House, is the original headquarters of the American Red Cross. Over the portico are the words "To the Heroic Women of the Civil War"--a tribute to those brave women who provide medical assistance and comfort to the wounded and dying of the that national conflict. It was after the war that Barton organized the Red Cross, based on the need she saw during the Civil War. Today, this building serves as a museum, while the American Red Cross' headquarters have moved up a few blocks to E and 22 Streets NW.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 11/07.

Vertical Lift: Part I

Columns at sunrise in the Lincoln Memorial

This is a series I'm starting on D.C. Confidential where I feature segments of monuments that use vertical planes and force you to look up. The most obvious would be the Washington Monument, of course, but I thought I'd start with something a little softer. These are some of the columns inside the Lincoln Memorial and are a continuation of the columns that surround the memorial on the outside. They were particularly striking the other morning as the sun was rising.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 10/07.

Revolution

Mahatma Gandhi

This statue of Mahatma Gandhi stands on a triangular sliver of land on Massachusetts Avenue and Q Street NW, just west of DuPont Circle and at the foot of Embassy Row. A similar statue of Ghandi can also be found near the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero in San Francisco. See that statue here at FogBay.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential

Hush

Sunday morning sunrise over Washington with the reflecting pool, World War II Memorial, Washington Monument, Smithsonian Castle, and the U.S. Capitol in the background.

One of the best times to take pictures in the city is right around sunrise before the tourists come out, the traffic gets heavy, and parking becomes a crap shoot. And the very best day of the week to go out is Sunday morning. People are sleeping in or going to church and there are even fewer people on the National Mall. This photo was taken from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Cultural

The Kennedy Center at sunrise

Hugging the banks of the Potomac River is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Commissioned by President Eisenhower long before Mr. Kennedy was president, the center didn't really get off the ground until after President Kennedy's assassination in 1963. Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy (the latter especially) were great patrons of the arts and were among the first presidential couples to bring artists and musicians into the White House as entertainment. This center for the arts honors President Kennedy specifically, but is also seen as paying homage to Mrs. Kennedy-Onassis as well.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential

Motorcade

I didn't have my camera with me yesterday afternoon, but I did have my MacBook and its handy-dandy, simple software--PhotoBooth. I snapped this picture of the President's limousine going down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House around 1:30 this afternoon. When the President travels by car, the crossroads and intersections on his route are closed. In Washington, being stuck in traffic and, by extension, being late for meetings or appointments because of a motorcade is a viable and accepted excuse around here.

The common phrase is, "Oh the President was motorcading and I got stuck on the opposite side of Pennsylvania Ave." (When it's the Vice President, it's Masschusetts Avenue through DuPont Circle and then down Connecticut. I've been stuck there before. Not fun.)

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential

Flaming

Fall leaves

A couple of weeks ago, when I took all those pictures of the Lincoln Memorial, I stopped at Thompson's Boat Center first hoping to get a foggy picture of Foggy Bottom. Instead, I snapped this.

Happy NaBloPoMo folks! I'm hoping to post a picture-a-day this month. It likely won't include all the information and tidbits, per the norm, but hopefully the photos will be fun!