Capitol Building in the Perfect Light

We lived on Capitol Hill for thirteen years. Since we moved to northern Virginia we still take morning walks at least once a week in the city. We still like to visit the old neighborhood. It also gives me an opportunity to take photos for the weekly 52frames challenge. There is usually something in town that can be used for a given subject matter. One of the most photographed places is the Capitol building. I have so many pictures of the place at all times of the day, all seasons of the year, and during celebrations and remembrances. When the visitor center was being built I had the opportunity to see it firsthand - twice - because I worked in the infrastructure services at the library of Congress. The groundbreaking to create the tunnel connecting the library to the Capitol was one of the first events I attended. Thereafter, I walked through it frequently on breaks in the afternoon - and saw all the crowds coming to visit. The other day was bright with blue skies, and not a soul was in sight. And the Capitol looked stunning on the beautiful morning walk. 

My Capitol Building

We lived on Capitol Hill for thirteen years and recently moved to northern Virginia. We still go in to town at least once a week to visit our old neighborhood. I worked at the Library of Congress for ten years. Because of the department I worked in, I was able to see the Capitol visitor center being built, and walked through it twice behind the scenes before it opened to the public. In the afternoon I would oftentimes walk through the underground tunnels from the Library to the Capitol just to see the crowds, or even visit the post office. We visited the Capitol when I was about six years old, and many times after that for high school trips and family vacations. The Capitol is probably the one building I have more photos of than any other. We saw two presidents lie in state under the rotunda, took our friends and relatives there for the Capitol tours, watched so many protests, saw it in all seasons, watched the Christmas tree get put up, saw the kids sledding down the hill in winter, watched three inaugurations, walked by it every day on our morning walks; saw the dome being restored; listened to the army band concerts on the steps in the summer, viewed it from the top floor of the library, watched the marathon runners fly past it, created my first Christmas card from DC with its image, watched the Fourth of July fireworks and cannons by the reflecting pond, watched all the events on the mall with the Capitol in the backdrop - the library book festival, the Pope, and any one else of significance, attended many senate hearings, saw it at night and during the day, rain, sun and snow. I have a lot of memories of this place. Yesterday I spent the day looking at a lot of the photos I had taken of this beautiful building filled with history - the major I had declared when I started college all those years ago. It’s an imposing and majestic place. We were just there on Monday of this week for a morning walk and more photos. I need to post the images on my Pinterest page because they mean a lot to me and I can’t fit them all on this blog. The Capitol will never look the same. 

Library of Congress Souvenir Brick

When I started work at the Library of Congress twelve years ago I was excited about it. After thirty years in health care I would be working at a very unusual and one of a kind place. I could walk to work, come home for lunch, and spend ten years “toiling” as a federal employee. My job was measuring performance in the infrastructure services. And that included all of the facilities. Back then, the Capitol visitor center was under construction and we had an opportunity to see the construction first hand. I was also able to participate in ground breaking ceremonies. On of the events included a breaking down of the Jefferson Building wall to create the tunnel that would connect the Capitol building to the library. The other day I was looking for something at home and came across a piece of brick that I always kept on my desk when I worked at the library. After the ground breaking ceremony all of the bricks that were removed were saved to give as “gifts” for special occasions. That day I got a piece of a brick that would have been thrown out, but it meant the same to me. When I retired I took the momento home. It is actually a part of the original Library of Congress wall that was built back in the 1890’s or so. So I am still connected to the famous buildings in Washington DC in a quite unexpected way. 

GW Parkway Ride

As is true with every Saturday morning, we take a ride to McLean Family Restaurant followed by grocery shopping at either Safeway or Harris Teeter. This morning was no different. Because it rained very hard last night the sun seemed even brighter this morning, the wind was ferocious, and the clouds were dancing! The George Washington Parkway along the Potomac River is our favorite route there. The season, the fall colors, and the cooler temps made the usual ride more enchanting. What we now take for granted is seeing some of the most recognized buildings, monuments, and places in the world. Starting with the Capitol Building right after we get on the freeway just a few blocks from our house; the Jefferson Monument; the Washington Memorial; Memorial Bridge and the Lincoln Memorial; Kennedy Center; Roosevelt Island; Georgeteown University; Potomac River; and scenic overlooks. There’s even more on the way back, but I’m driving so I can’t take photos - I missed a wedding shot at the WWI Memorial on Independence Avenue. We had a few other errands this morning but made good time getting home. Sometimes I’m not sure how and why we moved to DC from the Midwest, but it’s days like this that remind us it wasn’t such a bad idea. 

The Capitol Building is Getting Harder to Walk By

When we moved here ten years ago from the Midwest, we immediately started taking walks in our new neighborhood. The most frequent destination was the National Mall and the surrounding well known landmarks and monuments. Probably the building that has been walked by and visited the most is the Capitol building. When I worked at the Library of Congress, I was able to take behind the scene tours of the new visitor center that was being built. I used to take walks over to the Capitol through the underground tunnels on my afternoon breaks. Whenever we have visitors from out of town, we take them to see the structure and the contents within it. We have taken many guided tours there! During the summer months we like to sit on the west steps and listen to the free concerts. I have taken hundreds of photos of the Capitol building in all seasons, times of the day, and various holidays. Since I retired last year, I now take daily walks with my husband and the Capitol is usually our first landmark. Over the last several months it is getting increasingly difficult to walk there. Today we were told by the police if we didn't have business there, we needed to walk around. Oftentimes the streets are blocked off for motarcades and we can't pass through. We may have to start waking in a different direction. It's getting harder and harder to live in DC. But we aren't tourists! We live here! It doesn't seem to make any difference.

All Sides of the Snowy Capitol

Another day off from work! That makes two in a row and only four more days left before I retire on Wednesday. Rather than wander around the neighborhood today, we decided to head towards the government buildings because the sidewalks would be less treacherous - and they were. So we walked around the Capitol Building and things looked a bit different at each turn. There still wasn't much pedestrian traffic, and the mounds of snow were quite high just about everywhere. The reflecting pond had a couple seagull visitors and a squirrel romped about. A few snowmen were erected here and there - one with elaborate red buttons. The famous sledding hill on the southeast side was much less busy than in days past. I suppose some people probably had to get back to work. I am still not a fan of winter or snow, which was a reason to leave the Midwest. But it's been wonderful not to have to work either. But soon, I won't have to do that either! The weather becomes less important when you don't have to be anywhere. Can't wait to see how that feels!