Blossoms.jpg

Blossoms.jpg, originally uploaded by whiteknuckled.

I'm glad we went down there the very first weekend of the festival, because, geez was the weather awful nearly every day after that...

The Awakening being dug up by "visionary developer" for sake of "controversy"

If you haven't heard it already this morning from DCist, the Express, or pissed-off coworkers at the coffeemaker, Milt Peterson has announced his plans to dig up The Awakening from Hains Point and take it to his new fancy-schmancy Disney-esque National Harbor in PG County just below the Wilson Bridge on the Potomac.

Read the Post story here.

I was in CVS in Chinatown grabbing a pack of gum this afternoon while on my way into church when I saw this story on the frontpage of the Post. I picked it up while standing in the forever-long line after the picture on front caught my eye.

It's not enough that he's going to dig the thing up from the District, where it's in the public realm (though techincally privately-owned) on National parkland, at the majestic tip of Hains Point. But he has to go and show his mug for the cameras down there in front of the sculpture while all the kids are playing on it. For the record, when I told the Bride about this, she nearly started crying. Way to go, Milt. Thanks for that one.

Everytime we go to Hains Point, usually on bike, we remark how it's one of the best-kept secrets in the District. Most of the tourists walking around downtown and the Mall can't get all the way down there, many of the ones driving don't know how much there is to East Potomac Park and don't venture down there, and even people who live here don't know where it is or how to get there (though they certainly should!)

I think this is a terrible idea, even keeping the discussion separate from whether or not National Harbor is going to turn out to be a worthwhile place to visit for those people in pursuit of authentic experience that places like National Harbor and chain-store malls typically DON'T offer. I don't have the greatest amount of faith in the place-making abilities of a man who has spent his life plopping down suburban strip malls and office parks wherever he can in Northern Virginia for the last 30 years.

I don't like The Awakening being removed for several reason: a) I think it should stay in the District. I have no great rationale for this other than the fact that I'm biased, I love the District, and I think it's a great asset and a good fit for Hains Point. That should be enough.

But my greater concern is how it's going to be used on the waterfront at National Harbor. Supposedly, it's going to be the centerpiece of a grand avenue that is the "main street" of the development, with stairs going down to the sandy beach where The Awakening will rise up out of the ground. (I won't discuss right now how the avenue is going to be lined with "stonehenge" replicas, which really only makes me think of Spinal Tap and little leprechauns)

What I have yet to have explained to me is how the relationship between public and private space will unfold at National Harbor. Are all the streets and sidewalks public space? Or is National Harbor going to be a glorified shopping mall or "lifestyle center", which is fancy-real-estate speak for "mall with lid off that is a poor imitation of a real main street."

I'll reserve my final judgement about just how awful I think this plan is until I can clarify this one issue. I think the Awakening should be in a place that is publicly accessible, so that everyone can enjoy it without having to go to a mall (or Maryland for that matter) to see it.

If access to the waterfront and the streets in National Harbor are going to be private and restricted by the owners/management, I'll just go ahead and say that this dude just robbed the District and snatched one of our best pieces of public art in the District and put it in an awful place.

"It's going to be POW! It's going to be explosive! We're going to change Washington."

Someone needs to tell the guy that National Harbor isn't IN Washington. And people don't arrive by boat up the Potomac. Yes, a lot of people cross the Wilson Bridge, but the idea that Washington, the land of beautiful monuments and an inspired street plan to draw attention to meaningful civic buildings, needs a glorified mall to "change" it is ludicrous.

But this quote says it all, to me:

Moving the sculpture away from the District could create a stir, Peterson realizes. That's exactly what he's looking for. You want it to be controversial, he says. Provocative. The worst thing would be no reaction at all.

Awesome. You took The Awakening away from the District to put it in your mall to be controversial. That's fantastic.

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Read some of Richard's thoughts on National Harbor from a while back, and a column in the Post by Michele Dyson

Nighttime on the basin: We should have biked

CherryBlossomNight.jpg, originally uploaded by whiteknuckled.

The Bride and I went down to the Tidal Basin last night hoping to catch one of the NPS' Japanese lantern walking tours of the basin (not realizing that it wasn't happening). We left a little late, and due to some poor thinking, we ended up driving. I was planning on riding bikes all along once we came home and ate dinner, since we can get there in 15 minutes or so by bike. But the Bride didn't want to bike and I didn't force the issue...so we spent 20 minutes sitting on RC Parkway just getting to West Potomac Park.

D'oh!

We agreed that we both felt like schmoes sitting in our car while all the people walked by along the river in the nice weather on foot or with their bikes. So we sat in the car feeling like we were just another one of the carfuls of tourists.

Once we got there, I realized that after dusk ends the light is really and truly gone on the Tidal Basin. They have some lights on trees over by the FDR Memorial, but all the rest are in the dark, just like everything should be when it's...uh....well....dark outside.

So we grabbed a few photos, sat in the grass, walked a bit, and then poked back through the FDR Memorial. I hadn't been through the FDR Memorial since we moved here, although the Bride had seen it on a visit back in 2002, I believe. Let's just say that I think I have a new favorite memorial on the Mall. Part of it may be my extreme soft spot for FDR as a WWII buff—and let's all just admit that the WWII Memorial is a supreme disappointment—but the design of it is really genius.

It's the kind of civic art that I enjoy the most...the kind you get to experience with great thoughts given to how people will circulate, percolate, and experience the shape of the space. So it's no surprise when you consider that it was designed by a man who made his career studying public spaces and how people react within them—with an eye towards the fact that your journey through the memorial is an experience. (This is the reason why the Vietnam Memorial is fantastic, and the WWII Memorial feels like an anchorless slab of concrete where you wander aimlessly.)

Walking through the FDR memorial is like walking through a history book, a poem, and a film all at the same time. The sculptures, especially the one pictured below and the fireside chat sculpture, have the most beautifuul austere vibe about them. Although the action is each one is minimal (or non-existent in the case of the opening wheelchair sculpture), each one is like a painting that you can stand in front of and listen to. (yes i did say listen)

I'll spare you the play-by-play of walking through the whole thing, especially since we experienced it backwards because of how we walked through it, but I think nighttime may be the best time to see it. I'll spare you the obligatory FDR quote to close out this post, and do it with an image.

FDRNight.jpg, originally uploaded by whiteknuckled.