Michelle Mannion savours the sights of the historic US capital
When you think about taking a weekend break in the US, you probably wouldn’t automatically think of its capital. The Big Apple, undoubtedly; the Windy City, certainly. But if you are in Washington DC for work, you won’t regret extending your trip by a couple of days to take in what it has to offer. As the nation’s capital, it is home to an embarrassment of historical and cultural treasures, not to mention some of the country’s most iconic buildings and great dining. Here are some suggestions of what to see in DC.
NATIONAL MALL MEMORIALS
It’s likely that much of your weekend will be spent in and around the National Mall. The 3km-long green space between the Capitol building and the Lincoln Memorial is not only bordered by a superb range of museums but is home to a number of monuments, a stroll or cycle around which provides a telling insight into the complex history of the world’s biggest superpower. From the War of Independence and Civil War, to the World Wars, the conflicts of Vietnam and Korea and the civil rights movement, many of the events that have shaped the US are commemorated.
At the Mall’s centre is the Washington Monument, the soaring 170-metre marble obelisk that is the city’s most prominent structure. Visitors can normally ascend it, though it has been closed since an earthquake in 2011. To the east, in front of the Capitol, Civil War general President Ulysses S Grant sits on horseback facing the imposing Lincoln Memorial to the far west. Dedicated in 1922, the latter features a huge marble statue of the “Great Emancipator” sat inside a Greek-style temple. His Gettysburg address is inscribed on one wall, while at the top of the steps, the spot where Martin Luther King – himself immortalised in stone a short walk away – delivered his 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech is marked. At the other end of the long, still Reflecting Pool – in which Forrest Gump took a dip in the 1994 film – is the Second World War memorial, added in 2004. To the south, two legendary presidents are remembered – Thomas Jefferson and Franklin D Roosevelt.
Perhaps the most evocative of all is the Vietnam Veterans memorial. Maya Lin’s design comprises two adjoining gabbro walls sunk like gashes into the ground, inscribed with more than 58,000 names of troops who died. As you walk towards the centre, the walls become deeper and higher so that the sheer volume of names becomes overpowering. It was conceptualised as “A Wall that Heals” – an ongoing process, I thought, as I saw ageing vets sobbing over the names of their comrades. Well-thumbed books displaying names in alphabetical order allow you to pinpoint where they are etched – I found two men with my own surname, from Massachusetts and Maryland, who died aged 19 and 20.
- Mall open 24 hours, rangers on duty at memorials 9.30am-11.30pm; nps.gov; dcbyfoot.com; bikethesites.com
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY
Whether you’re into history, art, science or culture, Washington DC has a fantastic range of museums to choose from, a number of which line the National Mall. Many are part of the Smithsonian Institution, including the Natural History, American Indian, African Art, and Air and Space museums, the Sackler Gallery of Asian art and the Hirshhorn Museum of modern works, and most are free to visit.
I headed for the American History museum – three sprawling floors of national treasures broadly grouped around the themes of transportation and technology, lives, ideals, wars and politics. Exhibits include the original Star Spangled Banner that inspired the National Anthem, Thomas Edison’s light bulb, and the “whites only” Woolworth lunch counter at which four black students staged a sit-in in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1960. Others range in gravitas from an 1833 slave ship manifest – with ages, heights and skin colour noted – to the original Kermit the Frog puppet. The leather jacket Bob Dylan wore at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival – the first time he went electric – and Muhammad Ali’s boxing gloves are also on show; Dorothy’s ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz are currently on loan to London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.
- Open 10.30am-5.30pm daily; free entry; 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW; americanhistory.si.edu
NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART SCULPTURE GARDEN
Also on the Mall, the National Gallery of Art houses a huge range of works from the 13th century to the present. All manner of masters are on show, but should you not have time to delve into its vast collection – or the weather is too nice to go inside – you can grab an art fix by strolling through its 2.5-hectare sculpture garden.
The collection primarily showcases modern and contemporary American works – Louise Bourgeois’ Spider, Roy Lichtenstein’s House I and Mark di Suvero’s Aurora are among the standouts – but international artists such as Spain’s Joan Miro and Britain’s Barry Flanagan are also represented. Nature lovers will notice everything from Lebanese cedars and Japanese snowbell to Dutch elm and Southern magnolia in the pretty grounds. There is a café with an outdoor terrace for summer people-watching.
- Opening hours vary depending on season – check website. Free entry; between Seventh and Ninth streets at Constitution Avenue NW; nga.gov
NEWSEUM
It’s fitting that Pennsylvania Avenue, the street that leads from the Capitol to the White House and that has provided the setting for so many global news events – from presidential parades and funeral corteges to protest marches – is the home of this superb museum dedicated to the history of the media. Newseum tells the story of journalism from its earliest days to today’s mammoth multimedia operations. For a scribe like me, it’s fascinating, but the Newseum is the kind of place that anyone could lose themselves in for a few hours.
The varied galleries cover more than 23,000 sqm of space across seven levels. The News History section displays five centuries of newspapers in chronological order – taking in everything from the 1649 death sentence passed on Charles I to Neil Armstrong landing on the moon. The 9/11 gallery features the mangled antennae from the World Trade Centre’s North Tower alongside a wall of global covers reporting the attacks, and the final pictures taken by Bill Biggart, a photographer who died in the wreckage. More than 2,000 news gatherers who have died on the job are honoured in the Journalists Memorial.
Other exhibits include eight sections of the Berlin Wall, Richard Reid’s shoe bombs, and the world’s largest collection of Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs. The Today’s Front Pages gallery provides a snapshot of the day’s global headlines. Fun gifts from that well-known oracle of truth, The Onion, are on sale in the shop.
- Open 9am-5pm daily; entry US$22 plus tax; 555 Pennsylvania Avenue; newseum.org
NATIONAL ARCHIVES
The National Archives is where the United States’ most hallowed documents – the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and Bill of Rights – are kept. They’re on show in the grand – and grandly titled – Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom, the walls of which feature two vast murals depicting various Founding Fathers. The documents are faded now – and housed in humidity-controlled, bullet-proof display cases to prevent further deterioration – but it’s a pleasure picking out the names of the signatories and the “unalienable rights” that still guide American law and government. Also on show is the Magna Carta – a precursor to the Bill of Rights – while the 1,100 records in the Public Vaults exhibition include materials from the Watergate and JFK assassination investigations.
- Open 10am-7pm daily; free entry; between Seventh and Ninth streets at Constitution Avenue NW; archives.gov/nae
Dining and drinking
J&G STEAKHOUSE/POV BAR
Located opposite the White House, the W hotel’s J&G Steakhouse is part of Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s global stable of eateries. Opened in 2009 by executive chef Philippe Reininger, it serves tender cuts of meat and zingy seafood in a buzzy, high-ceilinged dining room. The 20-ounce bone-in rib-eye (US$54) is lip-smacking – enjoy with spot-on béarnaise, crisp french fries and a glass of red. Finish with a cocktail in the 11th-floor rooftop POV bar, offering a bird’s-eye view of the city’s landmarks.
- Open for breakfast and dinner daily, lunch Mon-Sat. W Washington DC, 515 15th Street NW; tel +1 202 661 2440; wwashingtondc.com, jgsteakhousedc.com
EQUINOX
Elegant downtown restaurant Equinox has been serving up beautifully prepared and presented fine-dining fare for more than a decade. Chef Todd Gray’s dishes offer “inventive interpretations of American cuisine”, using locally sourced, seasonal produce. The menu changes weekly, with staples including crab cakes and incredibly moreish truffled mac and cheese – the citrus-marinated rainbow beets are delicious too. The varied wine list includes some lovely Napa Valley vintages.
- Open for lunch Mon-Fri only, for dinner daily. 818 Connecticut Avenue NW; tel +1 202 331 8118; equinoxrestaurant.com
ROUND ROBIN BAR
Everyone from Abraham Lincoln to Martin Luther King has stayed in the historic Willard hotel – located minutes from the White House and now part of the Intercontinental stable – and if you have an hour to while away, there is little better place than with a drink in its legendary Round Robin bar. Located just off the grand lobby, this old-school venue is a magnet for the capital’s well-heeled residents. Take a seat at the circular bar, order your favourite poison and savour.
- Open 12pm-1am (12am Sun). Willard Intercontinental, 1,401 Pennsylvania Avenue NW; tel +1 202 628 9100; washington.intercontinental.com
CUBA LIBRE
This vibrant restaurant and rum bar has been designed to transport you back to 1950s Havana, with its mock street scenes and lively Latin music. Chef Guillermo Pernot’s “Nuevo Cubano” dishes are packed with flavour – try ordering up a range of tasting plates, such as Papas Rellenas (potato croquettes filled with beef picadillo), Albondigas Camaguey (Chino glazed beef, pork and pine-nut meatballs) and and Pulpo con Berenjenas (truffle and citrus-marinated grilled baby octopus). The Cuban Mary – a bloody Mary served with a black pepper and bacon salt rim, and optional jalapenos – is a meal in itself. There is live salsa dancing and DJs after dinner on weekends.
- Open for lunch Mon-Fri, brunch Sat-Sun, dinner daily. Bar until 3am on weekends. 801 Ninth Street NW, Ste A; tel +1 202 408 1600; cubalibrerestaurant.com
HILL COUNTRY
If you have a craving for mounds of meat, this Texan-style barbecue joint is the place to come. Grab a meal ticket on your way in and take your pick from counters serving up brisket, ribs, chops, chicken and sausage, all smoked “low and slow”, ordered by weight and served on butcher paper. Augment with cornbread, campfire baked beans or Longhorn cheddar mac and cheese, and order a cold Shiner Bock beer to wash it all down with. There’s live American roots music most nights.
- 410 Seventh Street NW, Penn Quarter; tel +1 202 556 2050; hillcountrywdc.com