Page 57 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Washington, DC

C APIT OL HILL  55

Flowers for sale on the sidewalk outside the Eastern Market
and farmers’ produce; on in Washington. Its 96 ft (29 m) the former City Post Office
Sundays these popular stalls barrel-vaulted ceiling has been building. Exhibits include a
also host a flea market. covered with 22-carat gold leaf. stagecoach and a postal rail
Eastern Market was designed There are around 100 car, showing how
by local architect Adolph Cluss. specialty shops and a mail traveled before
Destroyed in a fire in 2007, it food court to visit, modern airmail.
has been rebuilt with modern and the Main Hall “Mail Call”,
interiors that retain their old hosts cultural and a permanent
charm. It is one of the few public civic events through- exhibition, explores
markets left in Washington, and out the year. In 2011 the history of the
the only one that is still used for an earthquake caused military postal
its original purpose. substantial damage system. The
to the main hall but Philatelic Gallery
the area has now displays one of
e Union Station been fully restored. Vintage stamp depicting the best stamp
Benjamin Franklin collections in the
50 Massachusetts Ave, NE. Map 4 E3. world. “Binding
Tel (202) 289-1908. q Union Station.
Open daily. = 0 8 7 r National the Nation” explains the
∑ unionstationdc.com Postal Museum history of the mail from
the pre-Revolutionary era to
When Union Station opened in 2 Massachusetts Ave, NE. Map 4 E3. the end of the 19th century.
1908, its fine Beaux Arts design Tel (202) 633-5555. q Union Other exhibits illustrate how
(by Daniel H. Burnham) set a Station. Open 10am–5:30pm daily. the mail system works and
standard that influenced architect- Closed Dec 25. 8 = 7 how a stamp is created.
ure in Washington for 40 years. ∑ postalmuseum.si.edu At postcard kiosks, you can
The elegantly proportioned white address a postcard electronically,
granite structure, its three main Opened by the Smithsonian see the route it will take to its
archways modeled on the Arch Institution in 1990, this fascin- destination, and drop it in a
of Constantine in Rome, was the ating museum is housed in mailbox on the spot.
largest train station in the world.
For half a century, Union Station
was a major transportation hub,
but as air travel became increas-
ingly popular, passenger trains
went into decline.
By the late 1950s, the size of
the station outweighed the num-
ber of passsengers it served. For
two decades, the railroad author-
ities and Congress debated its
fate. Finally, in 1981, a joint public
and private venture set out to
restore the building.
Union Station reopened in
1988, and today is the second-
most-visited tourist attraction Columbus Memorial, sculpted by Lorado Taft, in front of Union Station

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