Ford's Theatre, Petersen House, and LAPD

If the weather is nice, we try to take a walk to the Mall and see what is happening. We walked along Pennsylvania Avenue and diverted the path to 10th Street NW. This weekend there were a lot of activities around national police week. The streets around town were blocked off everywhere for motorcades, bicycle events, and who knows what. We headed toward Ford's Theatre on 10th Street. I  visited this place in high school and several years after that. It has undergone extensive renovation, and there are play performances here as well. Most recent is the play 1776, which is one of my favorites. I saw it in Boston and New York, and have seen the movie many times on TV.  Across the street is the Petersen House, where Lincoln died. But today, there was some additional fanfare. There were about 20 police on motorcycles sitting in front of Ford's Theater, and they were all the way from LA. Someone mentioned that they were on their way to the White House. All I could think of was that John Wilkes Booth would have been caught a lot sooner if they were standing guard that April evening so long ago. How things have changed.

The front looks the same- gas lamps and all

But the police on motorcycles was unexpected

Robert Redford and crew were here when the movie
"Lincoln Conspirators" previewed

All the way from LA

We only knew that because LAPD was on the side

Interesting scene

Across the street at the Petersen House

The street has changed a bit- T shirt anyone?

St. Peter's First Communion

As we walked past St. Peter's Church yesterday, out of the lower level steps came a group of what appeared to be second graders who were in procession for their First Communion Sacrament. (As an aside, I have heard that St. Peter's is the place that Mary Surratt of the Lincoln Conspiracy fame, was married). The scene of the young folks all decked out in their white dresses and veils reminded me of the time that I had my First Communion in Connecticut- which occurred in the first grade. When we moved to Florida, I started school in the second grade. This posed a dilemma for me because whenever my classmates practiced for their First Communion, I was forced to stay with the first graders. Needless to say, it was embarrassing because my classmates would make fun of the fact that I had to stay with first graders. It seems all so trivial now, but there must be a reason that I remember it. I still have my first communion pictures- and they don't look much different than these little girls who were clearly animated with excitement yesterday. Some things never change- the making fun of part and the traditional event itself. Luckily, I lived through them both.

It's obvious they spent a lot of time planning for this

On the way in

Looks like prom or a wedding

A lot of cars stopped to watch

The girls always stand out

Prayer hands

A January Wedding

Who would have thought that January would be this warm? As we passed by St. Peter's on our way home from a walk, a wedding party was standing on the steps of the same church that Mary Surratt stood before her wedding back in the 1800's (or so I'm told). Even if it isn't true, it makes for an interesting story. Unfortunately we missed the bride and groom. It looked more like summer then the dead of winter.  My husband noted that all the girls and women who passed by this scene were all smiles and taking photos, while all the men were running away as fast as possible. I don't think that reaction is different regardless where you live.

Off the shoulder in January?

The Christmas decor tells the season

Black must be in?

Potomac Park

Every so often on the way home, we take a detour through Potomac Park. East Potomac Park is sort of an undiscovered place for many - more of a locals place. And West Potomac is better known with the tourists. As you head east off the freeway, you travel on the peninsula along the Anacostia River on one side, make a U turn, then head west along the Potomac River. A lot of different things across the Anacostia River can be seen from this side - the fish market and restaurants, the Army War College and Ft. McNair (where Mary Surratt and the Lincoln conspirators were hanged); and across the Potomac River on the other side are Alexandria, Reagan Airport, Arlington, and the Air Force Monument. On the peninsula itself are are a golf course, a huge park, and cherry trees all along the route. Depending on the season, the activities are distinctly different. Bikers, walkers, picnickers on the holidays, fisherman. The water level often rises above the walkways, and the place gets flooded. East Potomac Park becomes West Potomac Park, where a lot of the more familiar sites are located along the Tidal Basin- the Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Martin Luther King Jr Memorials. It seems wherever I have lived, water has been close by. From the Atlantic Ocean in Massachusetts and Connecticut, the Gulf of Mexico in Florida, Lake Michigan in Wisconsin, and now the Potomac & Anacostia Rivers in DC. The water looks the same, but the stuff around it has a very unique flavor.

Ft McNair Officer housing

Along the Anacostia and the fish market, boats

The Army War College

 

In spring, the cherry blossoms create a fairy land



Ronald Reagan Airport on the Potomac side- about 15 minutes away

The area often gets flooded

Looking West towards Arlington

Heading West to the "other side" and the Tidal Basin

Even the pooches dress up to visit MLK's Memorial

Mary Surratt Coincidence

Last night we watched the Robert Redford film The Conspirator, about Mary Surratt and her role in the Lincoln Assassination. I always liked history, was going to actually major in it in college, and was a member of the Milwaukee Civil War Round Table for about 15 years. Yesterday, we were exploring the SW side of town, which included Fort McNair along the Anacostia River.  Little did we know at the time that Ft. McNair was the site of the hangings of Mary and the other three Lincoln conspirators. The site of the hanging is now a tennis court. I believe at the time it was an arsenal. Mary was also kept in the old prison which is the site where the Supreme Court now stands. Her boarding house is still in Chinatown, and it is now a restaurant. At Fort McNair, it was reported in the Washington Post that Building 20 is being restored. This is the building where the trial was held. It was also stated that the furniture from the movie will be placed there, and that the dimensions of the original room were taken to prepare the room that was made for the movie set. The odd thing about all this is that we had been to Fort McNair, and by accident decided to watch the movie, which is the place that Mary's fate was decided... and this takes place only 2 miles away from where we live. Mary saw the Capitol Building as we see it today, as the dome was completed during the Civil War years. It feels weird that she may have passed near where we live today. Just think of all the characters that have come and gone in this city.

The wall around Ft McNair

Building 20- the site of the trial

An etching of the trial from the Library of Congress