By Jeff Borg
Photos J. Kevin Foltz
Photos J. Kevin Foltz
Washington has been my inspiration, escape and second home for 35 years. As a kid, Washington sparked my love for architecture and appreciation for great museums. In business, it taught me to wear a blue suit, white shirt and red tie. During my activist days, the city offered symposia at Georgetown and rallies at the Capitol.On the Mall
Washington's broad avenues and dramatic vistas were conceived by French architect Pierre Charles L'Enfant to inspire confidence. People come to the National Mall, right in the center, to exercise free speech or just fly a kite.
Begun in 1793, the U.S. Capitol has been built, burned, restored and extended continuously. Citizens usually get tour passes from their representatives or senators. Visitors can get them through their embassy, concierge or the Capitol's online system. The observation galleries for the Senate and the House of Representatives welcome the public, but separate passes are required.
Washington is like a huge museum. The Smithsonian Institution, headquartered in the red sandstone castle on the Mall, is a complex of 17 museums and one zoo, all free.
In the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, dinosaur skeletons tower overhead. Exhibitions show how humans developed painting, drawing, engraving and sculpture 17,000 years ago. The 3,500 brilliant specimens of the gem, mineral and meteorite collections include the 45.5-carat blue Hope Diamond, unearthed in 17th-century India and owned by kings and socialites.
Another favorite is the National Air and Space Museum. In its National Mall building are the 1903 Wright Flyer, Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, the Apollo 11 command module and a lunar rock you can actually touch. In August, it reopens the Pioneers of Flight gallery, focusing on the 1920s and 1930s. Kids will enjoy new hands-on activities, toys and memorabilia. Parents will appreciate Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Vega and Jimmy Doolittle's "blind flight" instruments. My favorite Smithsonian museums, the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, house the Asian collections. The Freer has 24,057 wondrous objects spanning 6,000 years of Asian history. The adjoining Sackler features another 8,818 pieces. Whenever I visit, I marvel at the ancient Egyptian amulets, glass and statues; Islamic illustrations and manuscripts; Chinese jades, lacquer and calligraphy; Japanese Rimpa and ukiyo-e paintings; Korean Koryo ceramics, silver and gold; and ceramics from Vietnam and Thailand.
Independent of the Smithsonian, the National Gallery of Art is the mother of all art galleries, created in 1937 when financier Andrew W. Mellon gifted his collection to the people. Must-see works in the West building include Leonardo da Vinci's Ginevra de' Benci and Francisco de Goya's The Marquesa de Pontejos. Highlights in the East building include Jackson Pollock's Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist) and Piet Mondrian's Tableau No. IV, Lozenge Composition with Red, Gray, Blue, Yellow, and Black.
On Fridays after work, groups of friends bring wine and snacks to the Sculpture Garden to enjoy jazz vocalists, saxophones, swing bands, salsa or Latin jazz, also free.
Visible from practically everywhere around town, the Washington Monument soars triumphantly. Ride to the top of the 555-foot obelisk, completed in 1884, and see vistas covering more than 30 miles.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, farther west, does not soar. It cuts the earth like a grave. Carved on its black granite wall are the names of more than 58,000 Americans who died in the nation's most divisive war. President Abraham Lincoln preserved the Union through the bloody Civil War and freed the slaves. The Lincoln Memorial became the site of Martin Luther King's inspiring 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech on racial equality. Forty-six years later, within view of this memorial, an African American was inaugurated president.
The National Building Museum examines architecture, engineering, construction and urban planning. Completed in 1887, its red brick exterior is modeled after the Palazzo Farnese, in Rome. Colossal Corinthian columns define a Great Hall for functions. A detailed 1,200-foot terra-cotta frieze rings the exterior, depicting Union infantry, cavalry, artillery, navy and medical units.
In 1969, a giant headline in The Miami Herald, "MEN WALK ON THE MOON," inspired me to save that paper. Today the Newseum preserves 35,000 such specimens dating to 1526. I saw a 1545 Spanish newspaper reporting an earthquake in Guatemala and a 1603 broadside on the coronation of King James I of England. The Pulitzer photo gallery displays powerful images of our times, while the 9/11 Gallery examines the challenges of journalists reporting the 2001 attacks. A new exhibition explores the impact of Elvis Presley on music and culture.
Norman Rockwell painted a sentimentalized notion of an innocent America. When he took on serious subjects, like the young black girl walking to school past racist graffiti, it was his sweet style that helped viewers accept his message of equality. Opening this month in the Smithsonian American Art Museum is an exhibition of Rockwell's work, with 57 paintings and drawings from the private collections of filmmakers George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.
For drinks and dinner, Zengo offers an exciting Asian-Latin fusion, next to the Verizon Center. Try a signature mojito. Creative bar food includes yellowtail ceviche and tuna tiradito (similar to ceviche) with serranos. Mini tacos come wrapped in tortillas made of thin-sliced radish, stuffed with savory Peking duck and sweet apples, which disorients the taste buds. It's all about contrast: the Mexican and the Japanese, the yin and the yang.
Dupont Circle / Adams MorganBohemian Dupont Circle is all about bistros, bars and boutiques. It's a great place to hang out and a great base from which to explore.
Kimpton's Hotel Palomar puts visitors a block from Dupont Circle. Part urban art gallery, part chic boutique hotel, the Palomar is done in comfortable taupe and golden hues with fun splashes of color. Guest rooms are spacious. In the comfy lounge, ask for Joe Bolam, just voted Best Bartender.
A little north, hip, young Adams Morgan, centered along 18th Street, is the capital of Hispanic Washington, with plenty of live music and 90 liquor licenses.
Come dinnertime, Lauriol Plaza offers excellent, affordable Tex-Mex in an urbane atmosphere. Its contemporary building won critical acclaim from The Washington Post. The sidewalk tables and rooftop deck got the place voted Best Outdoor Patio, in addition to Best Margarita, by readers of Washington City Paper. The secret of Lauriol Plaza's warm, smoky salsa is fire-roasted tomatoes.
Georgetown
Before there was a Washington, there was a Georgetown. Today the fancy shops, bars and restaurants center along M Street. Shady side streets are lined with the charming Georgian townhouses of Washington's elite.
Dumbarton House is an excellent example of Federal period architecture. Nearby, Tudor House, of the same period, highlights 100 objects originally belonging to George and Martha Washington, more than anywhere except the Washingtons' own estate.
The Kreeger Museum is a private art gallery in a building designed by Philip Johnson, with a refined collection of paintings and sculptures by Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso, Renoir, Cézanne, Chagall, Rodin, Miró, Munch and Kandinsky. Reservations are required, and it closes during August.
For dinner, Hook is an M Street restaurant for those who worry about the future of fish. Restaurateur Jonathan Umbel has committed Hook to sustainable seafood, sourcing from around the world. Start at the bar and ask the bartender to recommend a beer you never tried before.
The modern American lobby of the luxurious Four Seasons Hotel feels like your own living room. Guests are surprisingly diverse, not just K Street power brokers but also young families with kids. Celebrated chef Michael Mina has opened a Bourbon Steak here, featuring butter-poached meats and poultries. The décor is rich leather, warm woods and black granite.
