The best vantage point on the planet on January 20 next year will be the Old Ebbitt Grill, Washington’s oldest, most historic saloon, founded back in 1856 and located a stone’s throw from the White House. In its early days, it was a favourite watering hole of American presidents, and the likes of Ulysses S Grant could be found propping up the bar.
Parade after parade of presidents-elect, soldiers, astronauts, suffragettes and anti-war protesters have passed down 15th Street, with its front-row seat on Washington’s history for over 100 years. Sadly, the Grill’s neighbour, the Hotel Washington, with its panoramic views over the Mall, closed this week for renovations and may not be open in time for the inauguration of the next US president.
But at Ebbitt’s busy bar, dry martini in hand, you will be in the peanut gallery as the incoming leader of the free world solemnly swears to uphold the constitution. You will also see first hand the extraordinary security measures that are taken to protect the president on this of all days.
Washington DC may have reached only seventh place in The Independent’s league of World Capitals, but as far as the citizens are concerned, this is the hub of the free world. A year enlivened by the frenzy of a presidential election is the ideal time to visit. When the next president is ferried down the Mall to be inaugurated, it will, in all likelihood, be an epoch-making event. But will the crowds lining the Mall be cheering for Barack Obama, America’s first African-American president? Or will they be waving the Stars and Stripes for the return of Hillary Clinton to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (the White House’s street address) as America’s first Madam President?
That’s not how things turned out
By tradition, the oath of office will be administered outside, in full view of the electorate, with the incoming President and Vice-President surrounded by members of Congress, Supreme Court justices and diplomatic corps. As George Bush slips out the door and disappears back to his Texas ranch, the inauguration of the 44th president will be a much-anticipated event.
But even on less-august occasions, it is to the Mall that people are always drawn, to protest some injustice, grieve for those sacrificed to America’s ham-fisted foreign policies, or simply to crowd its extraordinary array of free museums. Inspired by Versailles, the army officer Pierre Charles L’Enfant � who laid out Washington in 1791 � envisioned the Mall as a grand avenue with stately gardens. That’s not how things turned out. Instead, it has been torn up, altered for security reasons and eaten into as groups lobby for war memorials. What next? A monument to George Bush’s folly in Iraq? His version of Saddam Hussein’s colossal Hands of Victory monument? George Bush may currently be commander-in-chief, but when it comes to altering the Mall, thankfully he has no power.
I recommend visiting in the dead of night, when the crowds have gone and the Mall reverberates with history. Grab a taxi and direct it to the Lincoln Memorial, ground zero in America’s never-ending tussle with itself over its role in history. Look east and the reflecting pool takes your eyes back to the Washington Monument, one of the capital’s most recognisable landmarks. Washington DC is not as safe as it used to be, so stay watchful if you wander around after dark.
‘Searchlight has asked for a car!’
The Lincoln memorial seems to haunt America’s conscience. At 4.22am on the morning of 9 May 1970, at the height of the anti-Vietnam war protests, a sleepless Richard Nixon called his valet Manolo S�nchez, a Cuban immigrant, and asked, “Have you ever seen the Lincoln memorial at night?” By 4.35am, the Secret Servicemen’s walkie-talkies were crackling: “Searchlight is on the lawn!” Then, “Searchlight has asked for a car!”
A few minutes later, the president was talking quietly with eight or 10 wild-haired and bewildered-looking young men and women. He told them that, as a Quaker, he did not want to go to war or join the military and that Neville Chamberlain was a hero for seeking peace with Hitler and Winston Churchill was a madman… before conceding “but I was wrong”.
The Lincoln Memorial is best known as the site of political protest. In 1939, the Daughters of the American Revolution decided to bar the African-American contralto Marian Anderson from singing in their hall, so she performed on the steps of the memorial to 75 000 people. It was here in 1963 that the Rev Martin Luther King electrified a crowd of 250 000 with his “I have a dream” speech. A couple of months later, President Lyndon Johnson would lead mourners there in a candlelit procession for John F Kennedy.
A few minutes away are two of the most moving war memorials. Often overlooked is the extraordinary monument to the 12 million Americans who fought to stop Chinese-backed communists from taking over South Korea. It consists of 19 battle-clad soldiers wearing ponchos against the rain and sleet as they slog their way to a distant American flag.
The National Parks Service runs tours every few minutes and they are worth joining. A part-time opera singer and tour guide led my group; he had an infectious enthusiasm for conveying the history of the period. When, at the end, I asked about the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial, without pausing for breath he took me there for a personal guided tour.
Maya Lin, a 21-year-old architecture student at Yale University, submitted her senior thesis project as a design for the memorial. One of 1 421 entries, it was simple: two triangular black walls sinking into the earth at an angle of 125 degrees, one end pointing to Abraham Lincoln on his chair, the other to the Washington Monument. Built amid great controversy in 1981, the walls are inscribed with every American who died in the conflict in chronological order. This memorial to a lost war is haunting and can be overwhelming. Veterans and their families are there at all times, leaving a flag, a photograph, poems or other tokens of remembrance beneath the name of a loved one etched into the granite of the memorial. Every evening these mementoes are collected, catalogued and taken for storage.
As we walked down into the base of the memorial, a veteran wearing a tattered combat jacket made a rubbing of the name of his best friend who had died in action in 1973. Then he and my tour guide wandered off, deep in discussion about what the memorial means to the more than 58 000 Americans who died in the war.
Sixteen million American served in the Second World War, and of those, 400 000 died. But out of victory comes grandiosity. Built in 2004, this vast edifice has none of the elegance of the Vietnam or Korean memorials. Mussolini would have been proud of the two 40ft pavilions on either side of a Rainbow Pool, the 56 granite pillars each representing a state or territory and adorned with bronze relief panels with wreaths of oak and wheat.
Having remembered war, the visitor to Washington should also celebrate peace. The Library of Congress at 101 Independence Avenue, which opened its doors to the public on 1 November 1897, is one of the most awe-inspiring places to visit in the city. There are nearly 128 million items in its collection, making it the largest library in the world. The Main Reading Room has a domed ceiling, with eight marble columns supporting 10ft-foot tall female figures intended to represent religion, commerce, history, art, philosophy, poetry, law and science. It is the perfect place to sit back, relax and dream about the non-fiction bestseller you plan to write. Take a look at one of the rare books on public display for some inspiration.
Washington does museums well. There is much to see, especially in the Smithsonian quarter, starting with the National Museum of Natural History and the National Air and Space Museum. But if there is one unmissable museum, then it is the National Museum of the American Indian, which was established in collaboration with Native American communities throughout the western hemisphere. The burnt-sand-coloured exterior of kasota limestone wraps around the undulating walls of the building, making it look like it has been shaped by the wind. The story told by the exhibits of the abuse of the indigenous people of the Americas is humbling. It quietly tells the tale of ripped-up treaties and broken promises. The origins of the phrase “Indian giver” becomes abundantly clear as you pass through exhibit after exhibit detailing with such abuses of trust.
Sitting in the museum’s library � within sight of the US Capitol building � reading a document describing the arrival of the railroad in Kansas City, which resulted in the destruction of an entire people, I reflected on the US’s capacity to ignore its own long story of oppression even as it embraces democracy. After all, the presidential race is wide open and it is conceivable that one day soon there will be a Native American candidate for the presidency. The march of history will tell.
Having seen the Capitol from the outside, it is probably time for a visit. First, do some research online and pick a favourite state. Then call the senator’s office, explain that you have family connections in their state and will soon be visiting Washington DC. Soon you will be making your way to a VIP tour, courtesy of that senator’s office.
Part of the charm of visiting Washington is that everywhere you turn there is a presidential anecdote that tops the last one. Because this is a political city, every one has a favourite. Taxi drivers, most of whom seem to be Somali government ministers in exile, will point out the corner of the “Hinckley Hilton” (as opposed to the dozen other Hiltons in the Washington area) where John Hinckley made his assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
Faith (or lack of it) is playing a big role in the presidential campaign. A visit to St John’s Church, on Lafayette Square, might help explain why. There, as the placard on the wall explains, every president since James Madison has knelt in prayer. President Bush and Laura usually show up at this small Episcopal church when they are not at the ranch in Crawford.
Get up early and you might catch a glimpse of the real power in the land: Vice President Dick Cheney, who lives on Massachusetts Avenue in the grounds of the Naval Observatory, just beside the British Embassy. Just before 7.30am, you’ll see the extraordinary sight of roads being closed for the Cheney cavalcade. This is what they call a democracy, you might be forgiven for whispering, as the Vice President flashes past, his protective chemical-weapons suit to hand in a parade of bullet-proof black limousines. He may be difficult to catch, though. My informant, who is frequently delayed as she cycles to work, says that he never takes the same route to his office at the White House office which is why so many roads need to be closed.
To get a feel for what is really happening in DC, go to one of the many Capitol Hill bars to enjoy the early-evening happy hours. This is where young Congressional staff members gather. Democrats and Republicans converge at the Hawk’*'Dove and the Capitol Lounge on Pennsylvania Avenue. A good stop for a cocktail in the thick of the political crowd is the aforementioned Old Ebbitt Grill. Book and arrive early, because every other visitor to Washington DC is following the same advice. Another option is Smith Point in Georgetown, where the First Twins Jenna and Barbara Bush like to party � along with their Secret Service detail.
Having said that, there are more entertaining ways to spend an evening in DC. Try U Street, the centre of Washington’s African-American nightlife and the birthplace of Duke Ellington, which is the liveliest place in the city after dark. U Street predates Harlem in New York as a focus for popular entertainers. In the 1930s, the New Negro Alliance protested against the discrimination of local businesses against blacks. In November 1924, the African-American poet Langston Hughes was working as a bus boy in a hotel. It was there that he met the poet Vachel Lindsay and handed him some poems. Lindsay publicised his discovery of the “bus boy poet” who would later become known as the O Henry of Harlem.
In April 1968, the assassination of Martin Luther King triggered a wave of violence. The flashpoint was the corner of 14th and U Streets. Now, after tens of millions of dollars and years of restoration, the neighbourhood is buzzing once again and it has its own Metro stop.
The thing to remember about Washington is that everybody who has come to the capital is here for a reason. The fun is in watching the most important political honeypot in the world in action. Nobody comes here to hang out and relax. That only happens after everyone has been worked to the bone lobbying their congressman or woman, or taking to the streets to protest against the war in Iraq. Drop into Caribou Coffee on L Street (within five minutes of the White House) and listen to the conversations. At one table, someone might be talking about NGO work in Ethiopia; at another, Karl Rove � or is that Scooter Libby? � is chatting with what looks like a journalist (the Washington Post’s office is around the corner.) Unlike New York, nobody talks money in this town � although money is certainly greasing the wheels of the most expensive presidential election campaign ever � and everyone is ready to listen to someone with a plan.
Come 2009, the old Bush crowd will be moving on and making way for a new team, be they Democrat or Republican. They will be there at your elbow at the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington monument, familiarising themselves with the symbolic heart of American democracy.
Leonard Doyle is US Editor of The Independent
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