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History Attractions The New Hot Spot
WASHINGTON (AP) - Presidents are “in” again, and that means Washington
is a hot spot.
With Barack Obama moved into the White House and the ongoing celebration
of Abraham Lincoln’s life, the nation’s capital and its many tourism
sites have been thrust into the spotlight.
Dozens of exhibits and attractions in early 2009 are touching on the inauguration,
the nation’s political and social history and its progress from the struggle
for civil rights.
Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president one day after the Martin Luther
King Jr. holiday and a few weeks before the 200-year anniversary of Honest
Abe’s
birth on Feb. 12, 1809.
Some unique sites are in the middle of Washington yet off the beaten path
for most tourists. One example, the Decatur House museum, was the first neighbor
of the White House built on Lafayette Square in 1818. The house, once an unofficial
residence for secretaries of state, includes slave quarters within steps of
the White House - though they usually go unnoticed amid the hustle of the city.
“
It’s a sensitive subject. It’s an important subject, though,” museum
director Cindi Malinick said of an exhibit on black history in the White House
neighborhood. “The more we discuss it and discuss ... how these people
lived and worked and got through their lives, I think the better off we all
will be as a society.”
Decatur House, now administered by the National Trust for Historic Preservation,
holds one of the few remaining examples of urban slavery in the United States,
Malinick said.
It was there that 15 members of the King and Williams family lived together
in three rooms on the second floor of a building located behind the red-brick
house.
They were considered the property of John Gadsby, owner of the National Hotel
in the 1800s. Gadsby was said to have made a fortune in the slave trade.
A 2002 renovation uncovered the original floor, walls and fireplaces of the
slave quarters, which are on view in the exhibit, “The Half Had Not Been Told
Me: African Americans on Lafayette Square.” The title of the exhibit is
drawn from a Frederick Douglass quote; the show remains on view through at least
March. Reservations are recommended for the $5 tour. “Certainly, given
the magnitude of the new president, this is a really special place,” Malinick
said.
The exhibit features a cane used by Douglass, who was an abolitionist, that
is carved with images from his life, progressing from slavery to a presidential
appointment as the U.S. Marshal. Other objects include a painting of Lillian
Evanti, the first black person to perform with a major European Opera, and
a
quilt made by Elizabeth Hobbs Keckly, a free black woman who was a seamstress
for Mary Todd Lincoln.
Here are some highlights of other fresh sites to see in Washington.
•
The National Museum of American History, recently reopened after a two-year renovation,
features a dramatic display of the flag that inspired the national anthem. The
museum also features exhibits on the presidency and the first ladies, and it
has costumed historic characters wandering through the halls every weekend. It’s
open daily from 10 am to 5:30 pm. Admission is free; http://americanhistory.si.edu.
• Visitors can also get their first look at the new Capitol Visitor Center,
an underground museum that’s now the first stop for people touring Congress.
It features documents from the nation’s milestones, including President
John F. Kennedy’s 1961 speech calling for the nation to send a man to
the moon. Tours of the Capitol are limited to free timed-entry tickets that
should
be reserved in advance online at www.visitthecapitol.gov or through a congressional
office.
•
A citywide celebration of the 200th anniversary of Honest Abe’s birth began
in January and features more than 80 exhibits and programs. The Smithsonian Institute
will feature five exhibits on the 16th president, including “Abraham Lincoln:
An Extraordinary Life,” with more than 60 artifacts from Lincoln’s
life at the American history museum. For more information visit www.lincolnindc.com.
•
In February, Ford’s Theatre - where Lincoln was assassinated in 1865 -
will reopen for tours and performances after an extensive renovation. The theatre
also commissioned a new play on Lincoln set in 1862 entitled, “The Heavens
are Hung in Black.” The play tackles the Emancipation Proclamation and
the end of slavery. More information can be found at www.fords.org.
•
The Peterson House across the street, where Lincoln died, remains open for tours. “It’s
one of the most sacred spots in all of Washington,” said Ford’s Theatre
Director Paul Tetreault. “That is the real deal.”
•
Visitors can “walk in the footsteps of Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass,
Martin Luther King Jr.” and others who fought for equality along the Civil
War to Civil Rights heritage trail that winds through downtown Washington. Stops
along the way include the alley where John Wilkes Booth fled after shooting Lincoln
and the hotel where King finished his “I Have a Dream” speech.
Find more information at www.culturaltourismdc.org.
•
Powerful images from the civil rights movement will be on display in the exhibit, “Road
to Freedom,” through March 9 at the Smithsonian’s Ripley Center International
Gallery. Nearly 200 images are on display from about 50 photographers who documented
the 12 years between the time Rosa parks refused to give up her bus seat to a
white man in 1955 to King’s assassination in 1968. The gallery is located
underground on the National Mall with an entrance near the Smithsonian Castle.
More information is available at http://nmaahc.si.edu.
•
Later in 2009, on Easter Sunday, the National Park Service will recreate Marian
Anderson’s landmark concert on those steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where
she sang in 1939 after a nearby concert hall turned her away because she was
black.
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