Page 96 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Washington, DC

94  W ASHINGT ON , DC AREA B Y AREA

200 years of its history, however,
Penn sylvania Avenue fell sadly
short of L’Enfant’s dreams. In
the early 19th century it was
simply a muddy footpath
through the woods. Paved
in 1833, it became part of a
neighborhood of boarding
houses, shops, and hotels.
During the Civil War, the
area deteriorated quickly
into “saloons, gambling dens,
lodging houses, quick-lunch
rooms, cheap-jack shops, and
catch penny amusement places”
according to the Works Progress
Administration Guide to
Washington. When President
John F. Kennedy’s inaugural
A view down tree-lined Pennsylvania Avenue toward the US Capitol parade processed down
Pennsylvania Avenue in
3 US Navy 4 Pennsylvania 1961, Kennedy took one look
Memorial Avenue at “America’s Main Street” with
its shambles of peep shows,
Market Square, Pennsylvania Ave Pennsylvania Ave. Map 3 A2 to 4 pawn shops, and liquor stores
between 7th St & 9th St, NW. Map 3 D4. q Federal Triangle, Archives- and said, “It’s a disgrace – fix it.”
C3. q Archives-Navy Memorial/Penn Navy Memorial. This command by Kennedy
Quarter. 7 Naval Heritage Center:
701 Pennsylvania Ave, NW. Tel (202) When architect and urban provided the impetus to
380-0710. Open 9:30am–5pm daily. designer Pierre L’Enfant drew re-evaluate the future of
Closed Jan 1, Thanksgiving, Dec 25. up his plans in 1789 for the Pennsylvania Avenue.
= ∑ navymemorial.org capital city of the new United Almost 15 years later, Congress
States, he imagined a grand established the Penn sylvania
The memorial to the US Navy boulevard running through Avenue Development
centers on the statue of a the center of the city, from Corporation – a public and
single sailor. Sculpted in the presidential palace to the private partnership that
bronze by Stanley Bleifeld legislative building. For the first developed a comprehensive
in 1990, the figure provides
a poignant tribute to the men Presidential Inaugural Parades
and women who have served
the US Navy. The tradition of inaugural parades to mark a new president’s coming-
The sculpture stands on a vast to-office started in 1809, when the military accompanied President
map of the world – the outlines James Madison from his Virginia home to Washington, DC. The first
of the countries are laid into the parade to include floats was held in 1841 for President William Henry
ground and protected by low Harrison. In 1985, freezing weather forced Ronald Reagan’s inaugural
walls. Four waterfalls and a group ceremony indoors to the Capitol Rotunda. A record crowd of
of flagpoles complete approximately 1.8 million attended the 2009 parade for Barack
the memorial. There Obama. The Army Band traditionally leads the procession down
are free summer Penn sylvania Avenue from the US Capitol to the White House.
concerts by military
bands in the
square. Behind
the memorial is
the Naval Heritage
Center, with
historical exhibits
and portraits of
famous naval
personnel,
includ ing John F.
Kennedy. A free
film “At Sea,” is
shown at
The lone sailor of the US 10am, noon, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s third inaugural parade in 1941
Navy Memorial and 2pm.

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