National Cathedral and more

A set of photographs I took today when I went to the Flower Mart at the National Cathedral.  I have to admit that this Flower Mart does not have quite the same character as the Baltimore Flower Mart, and I didn't see a single peppermint stick.  But I did get some good pictures. 

This set, that displays both the grandeur architecture and the grandeur nature, includes the photographs I took at the Cathedral and on my walk home.

Click on the image below to see the photographs, and then click on the "show info" link that appears at the top of the slideshow to see the photo descriptions.



National Cathedral/Rock Creek Park - 5/4/13

Cherry Blossoms

Some photographs from my stroll around after work. I think the Cherry Blossoms are at their peak.  Link on the photo below to see the full set.



Cherry Blossoms, etc.

Ceveland Park Geological Tour

I did not take many photographs on today's Cleveland Park Geological Tour, but the link below should open a slide show of a few I did take. Click on Show Info in the upper right of the slide show to see titles and descriptions.


Cleveland Park Geological Tour - 10/13/12

Bell Tower Climb

This morning I took the Bell Tower tour at the Washington National Cathedral. I went up all 333 steps. That is the number of steps they say it is, but I am not sure if the fact that the number is 1/2 of the Mark of the Beast has any significance.

Below are links to two set of Photographs. The first set contains photographs in and from the Bell Tower. The second set has other photographs inside and outside the Cathedral. Several of the photographs show the netting that was hung below the ceiling of the Cathedral after the earthquake refecting the light from the stained glass windows. The netting is rather ugly, but it does create a magical affect when the light reflects off of it.

Also remember that every stone in this building was carved by hand.

The Links below should open the photo sets. If you click on the "Show info" link in the upper right after the sets open, you can see information about some of the photographs.

National Cathedral Bell Tower Climb - 9/29/2012


Washington National Cathedral - 9/29/2012

National Cathedral

I went to a performance of Bach's St. John Passion today at the National Cathedral. I took a couple pictures. Here are two of the scaffolding put up to repair the earthquake damage, and two of the West Front Entrance. Click the image below to see the full set.

National Cathedral 4/1/2012

The Monuments at Night

A set of photographs I took last night. The moon and Jupiter have gone there separate ways since earlier in the week, so I was not able to get them.


Monuments at Night - 11/12/11

A Room With a View

I got a new office at work last Friday. I now have a window that faces North across N Street. This is what I see when I look up from my computer now—the National Cathedral, undergoing earthquake damage repairs.

My apartment is somewhere behind the trees below and maybe a little to the left of the Cathedral.

United States Institute of Peace Building

Some photographs I took last week of the United States Institute of Peace Building, 2301 Constitution Avenue NW, D.C. A LEED-certified building, designed by Moshe Safdie Architects, it opened in March 2011.


United States Institute of Peace Building

Earthquake/Hurricane Irene

Some photos I took today showing the aftermath of the earthquake and Hurricane Irene. Many leaves and sticks down, but not many whole trees, other than the three included in these photographs.

The only visible earthquake damage that I could see on the Cathedral was to the pinnacles of the central tower. The Cathedral is still closed, and fenced off. They are trying to reopen for the 9/11 Services that are planned there, but I don't think they are certain yet that will be possible.

Click Show Info in the upper right of the slide show to see photo descriptions. Also the dates on these photos are all wrong, because my new camera did not have the date set properly.


Earthquake\Hurricane Irene

Under Construction

This is the site of the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial. It is currently being reconstructed, which is why all you see is dirt.


Monuments - 2011

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

A set of photographs I took earlier tonight of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial by the tidal basin. The evening on a sunny day is not the right time to take photographs here, since the sun sets behind the Memorial. Maybe some time I will make it down there in the morning, and get better pictures.

The sculpture of King is by Lei Yixin.

The last photograph in this set is not part of the Memorial, but is the Marker on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where King gave his "I Have a Dream Speech".


Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

Buildings

I have added several photographs to a photo set of DC building, including this one of the north facade of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, next to the White House.

DC Buildings - 2011

Dumbarton Rock

A video of Dumbarton Rock in Scotland.

In the 1703 Ninian Beall was granted 795 acres on the hill over looking Rock Creek, and the Potomac River. He named this estate the Rock of Dumbarton, presumably because the view of river from this hill reminded him of the view of the Clyde River from Dumbarton Rock, in his native Scotland.

Beall had an adventurous journey from his homeland to what was then Maryland. In Scotland he fought for the Royalist forces against Oliver Cromwell. He fell prisoner to Cromwell's Army in 1650, was sentenced to five years servitude, and shipped to Barbadoes. In 1652 he was then shipped on to Maryland, to finish his sentence. From here he went on to acquire 1,000's of acres, including a large chunk of what is now Washington, DC. Much of the land was granted to him in return for his services fighting the Indians. More Information here

My apartment building stands on ground that was once part of the Rock of Dumbarton Estate. So here is where it all started.

Temperance Fountain

This is the latest photograph added to my Monuments photo set, the Temperance Fountain. Erected by dentist, Henry D. Cogswell, in hopes that providing cool water to drink would divert people from drinking more enjoyable beverages. The fountain no longer dispenses water, and so now the fountain is dry, even if the rest of the country isn't.

Monuments - 2011

GAR Memorial

I have added some photographs of the Stephenson Grand Army of the Republic Monument to my Monuments photo set. Located at Indiana Plaza, on 7th & C Streets, NW. Washington, DC, the monument is dedicated to the Grand Army of the Republic, and it's founder, Benjamin Franklin Stephenson. In addition to a bust of Stephenson, the monument contains three base relief sculptures by John Massey Rhind, representing Fraternity, Loyalty and Charity.

Monuments - 2011

Cooling Off

Two duck cooling off in this photograph I took last night. They are in the reflecting pool at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. The building in the background is the National Building Museum, originally constructed by Montgomery Meigs as the Pension Building.

Monuments & Sculptures - 2011

Canal Boat Returns

After being dry docked for the winter, the Canal Boat has returned to the water in Georgetown. I took this photograph tonight.

Canal/River - 2011

Dumbarton Oaks

I was going to title this post "If you need a picture of wisteria, I'm your man", but decided that was too long. Anyway, here is a set of photographs I took today at Dumbarton Oaks.

Dumbarton Oaks - 2011

EPA Headquarters Buildings

Photographs I took last weekend of the four buildings that make up the current Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters.

Three of the buildings face Constitution Avenue, between 12th and 14th Street. These buildings were designed as a group by Arthur Brown, Jr., and constructed in the early 1930's as part of a plan to develop the area between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, now known as the Federal Triangle.

• The Environmental Protection Agency, West Building - Originally the U.S. Customs Service Building.


• Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium - Originally the Departmental Auditorium. This building was the location of the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty which created NATO.
  


• The Environmental Protection Agency, East Building - Originally the Interstate Commerce Commission Building.
  

The fourth building was originally constructed as the New Post Office, but is now called the Ariel Rios Federal Building. This building has a semi-circular portico that faces 12th Street, with a Post Office entrance on Pennsylvania Avenue. Also constructed in the early 1930's, the Architects were William A. Delano and Chester H. Aldrich.

EPA Headquarter Buildings

The Daguerre Monument

Considering what a large part of this blog is devoted to photographs, I would be remiss if I failed to include this picture of the Daguerre Monument.

The French artist Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre (1787-1851) became interested in the 1820s in trying to capture images photographically. In August 1839 his "Daguerreotype" technique--fixing an image on a light-sensitive, polished silver plate--was announced to the public. This was the first photographic process to be used widely in Europe and the United States.

In 1890 the Professional Photographers of America donated this monument to Daguerre, by the American sculptor Jonathan Scott Hartley, to the American people. The bronze figure was cast by the Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company of New York. Placed in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum Building (now know as the Arts and Industries Building) to the celebrate the first half-century of photography, the monument was displayed on the Mall from 1897 to 1969.

Monuments & Sculptures - 2011