Capitol Barbed Wire Finally Gone

Finally! It’s beginning to look a bit more “normal” on Capitol Hill. Since January 6 the perimeter around the Capitol was surrounded by tall metal fencing with barbed wire on the top. Behind the fence were national guard troops with long rifles. The fence extended all the way to the Library of Congress where I worked for ten years. So anyone getting in to the building not only had to pass through that mess, but the magnetometer and security station as well. Independence and Constitution Avenues were blocked off so we couldn’t even drive in to our old neighborhood. Additionally, our favorite US Botanic Garden was off limits as well as the Capitol reflecting pool. So after a lot of badgering from the neighbors, the barbed wire came down followed by reestablishing a new blocked perimeter that encompasses the Capitol grounds alone, and frees up the space otherwise. So now one can at least walk on the Supreme Court and Library of Congress Jefferson building street. Whenever we drive in to DC we usually stop in or pass through our old neighborhood where we lived for thirteen years. For whatever reason it looks really tired and unkempt. Having a fence around it didn’t help much.