Funerary

Rabboni grave--a sculpture of Mary Magdelene,
emerging from the tomb of Jesus on the morning of the resurrection.

One of the things I love about older cemeteries is how they immortalize the deceased. Most graves are noted with a lovely headstone, while others choose to be buried in crypts. Grave markers range from the simple to the elaborate. What I enjoy most are the graves that feature sculpture as their mark of acknowledgment that six feet under is someone who was considered perhaps especially extraordinary by those left behind.

The range of material--in this case, granite on the left, bronze on the right--
and the span of decades is part of the intrigue of funerary sculpture.

Today's entry features just a few examples of funerary sculpture as found in Rock Creek Cemetery. Rock Creek Cemetery is the city's oldest burial lot and is still active today. Hence, the range of sculpture spans the decades and centuries since the cemetery opened in 1719.

This contemporary sculpture marks the final resting place
of Susan Cerveny Colbert, Mother, Wife, Artist, and Scientist.

The next time I go to Rock Creek Cemetery, my goal is to find and photograph the sculpture over the graves of Henry and Clover Adams. The artist was Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

*****

Tomorrow: Team of Rivals

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 11/08

Two Things Challenge: Green / Yellow

This sculpture, bas reliefs, and bench are the centerpiece of the
Kaufmann family plot in Rock Creek Cemetery.

This week's Two Things Challenge was Green / Yellow. Color challenges seem to be pretty popular and I enjoyed this one. The first picture is a plot for the Kauffman family in Rock Creek Cemetery. I liked the green patina on the copper sculpture with the yellow leaves of fall on the tree behind it. Seemed perfect!

Decorative yellow lemons and green leaves can be found at my siblings!

This second photo is a close-up of a decorative basket of lemons in the apartment of my siblings out in the states. We were hanging out yesterday, getting ready for Thanksgiving and, after I dusted off the end table by the couch, I thought this would be a cool thing to photograph. Good thing I take my camera with me everywhere!

Want a fun challenge every once in a while? Come join us over at 2 Things Photo Challenge. The more, the merrier!

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 11/08

Glass Homage

When I started taking photos and doing this blog, I never imagined that I would end up liking cemeteries. Turns out, they're quite fascinating and full of unexpected beauty despite being a little creepy and strictly focused on those who have departed this earthly abode. These photos are just two examples of the stained glass in crypts at Rock Creek Cemetery.



To see a few more examples of some of the beautiful stained glass to be found in Rock Creek Cemetery, please visit Standing Room Only.


Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 11/08

Two Things Challenge: Saturday / Sunday

The French parterre* outside Marjorie Merriweather Post's
bedroom suite is a lovely place to visit on a Saturday

This week's Two Things Challenge was Saturday / Sunday. I don't know what possessed me to choose this as a challenge, because it wasn't the easiest. But I finally figured it out! Most Saturdays find me out and about trying to see something new or photograph something I haven't. On Saturday, I visited Marjorie Merriweather Post's Hillwood Museum & Gardens.

Mrs. Post, the heiress of the Post cereal fortune, had a home in Washington that doubled not just as a home, but a museum. It's a beautiful estate with an amazing collection of French and Russian art and porcelain, as well as lovely gardens. I'll be posting more about this later this week. The picture above is the French parterre outside Mrs. Post's bedroom on the second floor. This was the scene she awoke to every morning. Not bad, eh?

Timothy J. Russert, moderator of Sunday's
Meet the Press on NBC, is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery

One of the staples of Sunday mornings in Washington are the political news round-up shows. All three national networks--ABC, CBS, and NBC--have a moderated show where panelists are either political pundits or politicians. One of the highest rated shows has been NBC's Meet the Press. As some of you may recall, in June Meet the Press' moderator and NBC's Washington bureau chief, Tim Russert, died of a heart attack. Mr. Russert was widely regarded in Washington. A native of Buffalo, New York, he wasn't shy about his humble beginnings. Many of us thought he would be buried in Buffalo, but to our surprise he is buried here in Washington.

This is a picture of Mr. Russert's grave in Rock Creek Park Cemetery--Washington's oldest cemetery. No headstone yet. I feature this as part of today's challenge because, as Mr. Russert always proclaimed at the close of his show, "If it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press!" Here's to you, Tim. We miss you!

* My thanks to Jackie who brought it to my attention that the intricate fountain in the garden probably precluded it from being an English garden, which is how I originally labeled it. I've edited this post to reflect the correction.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 11/08

Two Things Challenge: Textures / Shapes

Textured glass in rectangular shapes create an impressionist portrait of fall :
St. Gabriel's Catholic Church : Washington, D.C.

This week's Two Things Challenge was Textures / Shapes. Unlike some past challenges, this one was pretty easy. This first photo is my favorite of all the ones I took. I actually snapped it a couple of weeks ago when I was photographing St. Gabriel's Catholic Church. My cell phone rang while I was in the sanctuary, so I stepped into a side vestibule to take the call. This was the view out a tiny window in the outer door. I love the simple shapes, and the different textures in the glass panes made the fall colors outside look a little like an impressionist painting.

Shapes : Geometry is everywhere!
(Click images to enlarge.)

These other photos are things I've stumbled upon over the last few days as I've been out and about. For shapes, I noticed this wall at the entrance to a parking garage on L Street between Connecticut Avenue and 17th Street NW as I was headed to the Metro the other day. Then this manhole cover grabbed my eye while I was out walking. The geometric shapes screamed out "Photograph me!"

Textures : Peeling paint and peeling bark
(Click images to enlarge.)

For textures, I love the juxtaposition of texture on a human made structure and texture on a natural structure. In this case, peeling paint on the door of a garage and peeling bark on a maple tree (I think. I'm bad when it comes to tree varieties!)

There you have it! If you'd like to see how others interpreted this week's challenge, visit 2 Things Challenge. Everyone is welcome to participate!

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 10/08

Tudor

A view of the altar from the choir loft

As I mentioned in yesterday's introductory post about St. Gabriel's Catholic Church in the heart of Petworth, the architectural style is Tudor. According to Wiki, Tudor style and architecture "is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period (1485–1603) and even beyond, for conservative college patrons. It followed the Perpendicular style and, although superseded by Elizabethan architecture in domestic building of any pretensions to fashion, the Tudor style still retained its hold on English taste." Not being versed in English history, all I can tell you is the Tudor period fell during the reign of Henry the VII and faded around the time of Elizabeth the I.

Two different perspectives of the altar.

Today's pictures feature a variety of views of the high altar in St. Gabriel's. Shooting photos in churches is always a fun challenge, because there's so much to capture. Given the simplicity of the Tudor style in this church, it was a little easier to focus on four or five elements in the sanctuary. The altar was just one of a few I chose.

A view of the altar from ground level at the entrance of the sanctuary.

In addition to these photos, please visit Standing Room Only to see pictures of some of the stained glass windows in St. Gabriel's.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 10/08

Profound Simplicity

St. Gabriel's Catholic Church : Grant Circle : Petworth : Washington, DC

Last Thursday, I chose to take my morning walk over in the Petworth neighborhood. Grant Circle--where New Hampshire and Illinois Avenues and 5th and Varnum Streets meet--is graced by a lovely Catholic Church called St. Gabriel's. I took a few pictures of the outside, but being inappropriately attired* and noting that the doors to the church were locked even if I had wanted to go in, I decided I'd have to make an appointment to see the inside. When I got home, I called the church rectory and arranged with the parish priest to come back the next day.

Left: The Baptistry, located on the south side of the church and separate from the main sanctuary.
Right: Detail of the font and stain glass in the Baptistry.
Click images to enlarge.

On Friday, I drove over to St. Gabriel's and met the Rev. Fr. Agustin Mateo, who graciously let me into the church. Turns out, I visited at the right time because Fr. Mateo was on the tail-end of a months-long restoration effort and the labor of love he and others have put into the sanctuary really shone through. He shared with me a few stories about the condition of the church and efforts that were underway to clean up and beautify the building. After some brief conversation, he then went about his business and left me to photograph the church God and the archbishop had assigned him to serve. Before he left, though, I told him about my blog and asked him what message I could convey to my readers about his parish. He said, "Tell them, this is a church and a people of profound simplicity."

From the Baptistry, this is the first entrance you
encounter into the main sanctuary.

I've visited a few Catholic churches in my lifetime--from St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, Austria, to the National Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception here in Washington. St. Stephen's and the Basilica are grand, ornate structures that overwhelm and awe on a massive scale. St. Gabriel's embodies precisely what Fr. Mateo intoned: simplicity. Designed in the Tudor style and crafted by English craftsmen, the church was founded in 1919 and includes a rectory, convent, and school. The altar and chapels, the woodwork and ornamentation, the stained glass reflect a clean, modest, unassuming air, and yet the skill and sacrifice is evident in every detail.

St. Gabriel's from Grant Circle. The rectory on the left and in between
the Rectory and the church, you can glimpse the school.

To see more pictures of the detail in the interior, visit Standing Room Only. And come back tomorrow to see a series of photos featuring the church's altar.


* Workout clothes are hardly appropriate. Some habits never die and appropriate dress for visiting a church is one of them for me.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 10/08

Lincoln Cottage

The front of the Lincoln Cottage (far right)
on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home

Among other activities this weekend, I had tickets for a guided tour of the Lincoln Cottage on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home (AFRH.) The cottage was built in 1842 by George Washington Riggs, founder of Riggs National Bank, and was located on 300 acres of rural farmland two miles north of downtown Washington. In modern parlance, Riggs built a cabin in the woods! Around 1850, Riggs sold the property and buildings to the U.S. Government, which acquired it for the purpose of creating an Old Soldiers Home. (Ironically, Jefferson Davis, who was then Secretary of War for President Franklin Pierce and would later become president of the secessionist Confederate States of America, shared in the effort to create this retirement home.)

The back of the Lincoln Cottage on the grounds of the AFRH

President Lincoln and his family lived in the cottage for one-quarter of Mr. Lincoln's presidency. They would take up residence every June and depart in November during his administration. President Lincoln would commute to work at the White House during the day, but spent evenings and weekends at the cottage. He could often be seen alone astride a horse riding back and forth between 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW and this bucolic oasis above the city. It was here that President Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. His last visit to the house was the day before he was assassinated on April 14, 1856. He and Mrs. Lincoln traveled to the cottage to make preparations for their stay that summer.

U.S. Soldiers' and Airmens' Home National Cemetery--
the predecessor to Arlington National Cemetery

In addition to the cottage, there is a military cemetery across the street which predates Arlington National Cemetery and served as the primary burial ground of early Union dead during the Civil War. The cottage is open seven days a week, except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Tours are available and it is highly recommended that you obtain tickets before visiting. As the cottage is located on the grounds of the AFRH, visitors are restricted to the cottage and the Robert H. Smith Visitors Center.

Robert H. Smith Visitors Center

The Lincoln Cottage also has a blog, which is updated several times a week and provides interesting facts and information. If you're visiting Washington or you love Civil War history, this is a definite must-see.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 08/08

VOTE!

D.C. Residents participating as campaigners and voters in the Chesapeake Primary,
Tuesday, February 12, 2008 at Eugene Meyer Elementary School in Washington, D.C.
(Click on the image to see a larger picture.)

If you live in any of the states having primaries today, VOTE! That's all I'm gonna say.

Okay, that's not all I'm going to say, because I have to give a shout out to Doll, Mark, and Catherine who are up at Eugene Meyer Elementary School today encouraging D.C. citizens to vote. It's 29 degrees outside right now and they're out there urging their neighbors and D.C. residents to exercise one of the most important rights we have in this country: the right to self-determination. The right to vote.

Mark, who told me this year's presidential race has inspired him like none other.
He's not alone in that!

Please, exercise your right to make a difference. Even if you feel like voting in the primaries doesn't matter (or if you live in a federal district or territory where it seems like it doesn't matter), do it anyway.

Thank you!

5th and Upshur

The intersection of Fifth and Upshur Streets NW

Sunday, I went out late in the afternoon to snap some pictures of Howard University. This is how to get to Howard and avoid the traffic insanity that is Georgia Avenue. Taking Fifth Street brings you onto the back side of the historic campus. This intersection is about a mile from my final destination and offered a quiet, Sunday afternoon scene calling out to be photographed. Nothing spectacular, but picture worthy nonetheless.

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

Moroni Who?

Stretch of Georgia Avenue between Decatur and Delafield looking north.
Note the yellow and red awning half way down the block.

Moroni and Brothers Pizza--
one of Georgia Avenue's newest business ventures!

Recently, the city government of D.C. announced $100 million in economic development for impoverished and blighted Georgia Avenue, which stretches from Florida Avenue in the south to Silver Spring, Maryland, in the north. This is a hard-scrabble stretch in the District, suffering urban decay for decades. But hope is on the horizon.

One of the newer businesses to open its doors on Georgia is an El Salvadoran pizza joint called Moroni and Brother's Pizza Restaurant. If you grew up Mormon or you have friends who are Mormons, the name should cause you to sit up and take notice. If it was just Moroni and Brother's without the trumpets, you might think "how quaint" but with the trumpets thrown in,* you have to wonder if the owners aren't connected to that American-born faith. (I'll leave it to my readers to visit the establishment and ask the proprietors themselves.) I will tell you, though, there is a Moroni; I've met him. He's the youngest son of the owners and he does have a brother--Alberto. And he looks nothing like the statue of the angel, Moroni, affixed to the top of the Mormon Temple off of Connecticut Avenue in Kensington, Maryland!

I had pizza from Moroni and Brother's Pizza the other night with friends and it's not bad. They bake it in a brick oven and it's thin crust, which is my favorite. The menu also includes Salvadoran fare and is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Moroni's is open six days a week and closed on Sundays. Here's to Moroni and Brother's and their contribution to the revitalization of Georgia Avenue!

Zip: 20011

* Click on the picture to see a larger version. Note in the corner of the awnings are trumpets. They're sort of hard to see but they're there.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential (Janet M Kincaid, 08/07)

Rock Creek Cemetery

Crypts and headstones, Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, D.C.

Cemetery Chapel to the Montreal Iverson Icon of the Mother of God,
Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, D.C.

Nestled on 86 acres in northwest D.C. on land donated to St. Paul's Episcopal Church in 1719 sits Rock Creek Cemetery--the oldest cemetary in Washington. The original glebe--or land donation--of 100 acres was made to the church that year by John Bradford, a Maryland farmer and member of the parish's vestry. In the early 1900s, the church sold 14 acres to the city as part of a municipal road project. A portion of the cemetary has been set aside for St. John's Russian Orthodox Church and St. Nicholas Latvian Church, otherwise Rock Creek Cemetery is considered a public cemetery and anyone may be buried there, regardless of religious persuasion.

Among the notables buried here are Alice Warfield Allen (mother of the Duchess of Windsor), Melville Bell (father of Alexander Graham Bell), Charles Corby (the inventor of the baking technology that produced "Wonder Bread"), Julius Garfinkel (founder of Garfinckel's Department Store), Gilbert H. Grosvenor (Chairman, National Geographic Society), Alice Roosevelt Longworth (daughter of President Theodore and First Lady Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt), Upton Sinclair (author and Pulitzer Prize winner), and Sumner Welles (Undersecretary of State for FDR), among others.

Zip: 20011