Leaving Lancaster early we head back to DC to meet Lauren's son, Jonathan, and his partner Laura for a day's sightseeing. We have two objectives, the first is the National Archives where The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution are, among a lot else, are on display. As is the Magna Carta, not the 1415 one but a copy from 1497. Very impressive. No photos allowed anywhere inside. Outside is ok.
The second planned visit is to the Newseum, a museum devoted to records of events primarily in newspapers but with references to other media. It is a wonderful place, well worth a couple of hours at least passing through the various galleries. We have timed our visit to visit after the Pulitzer Prize photo gallery is reopened after refurbishment. The prize has been around since the 40s and all the photos are displayed. A selection are enlarged and a video of interviews with the photographers runs continuously. It is a real highlight - such memorable, evocative, affecting photos.
We still have time to catch something so on the way to the train we call into the Air and Space Museum so I can see the Starship Enterprise. I thought the set was here, but just the model. Ah well. Sure there are planes, interactive displays, a heap of other things but we are just passing through.
We head off to meet up with our host for the night, Lauren's older son Christopher. Mexican tonight. That's it, a good night's sleep beckons before a visit to the Library of Congress in the morning. Wow, it is an amazing building. Truly beautiful, an Italianate marvel of colourful and decorative splendour and spacious.
The Jefferson building is one of three on Capitol Hill and there are more repositories further away.
What is intriguing is that there is a significant crossover between the collections in a number of government institutions. There are no clear guidelines about where various artefacts and records are housed. For example, the Library includes the contents of Abraham Lincoln's pockets on the night he died. The Smithsonian, The Archives and the Library all contain historic audio and video recordings. Presidential Papers are in the Library or in individual lubraries that each past President since Coolidge has set up. I would have thought them an archival record.
The second planned visit is to the Newseum, a museum devoted to records of events primarily in newspapers but with references to other media. It is a wonderful place, well worth a couple of hours at least passing through the various galleries. We have timed our visit to visit after the Pulitzer Prize photo gallery is reopened after refurbishment. The prize has been around since the 40s and all the photos are displayed. A selection are enlarged and a video of interviews with the photographers runs continuously. It is a real highlight - such memorable, evocative, affecting photos.
We still have time to catch something so on the way to the train we call into the Air and Space Museum so I can see the Starship Enterprise. I thought the set was here, but just the model. Ah well. Sure there are planes, interactive displays, a heap of other things but we are just passing through.
We head off to meet up with our host for the night, Lauren's older son Christopher. Mexican tonight. That's it, a good night's sleep beckons before a visit to the Library of Congress in the morning. Wow, it is an amazing building. Truly beautiful, an Italianate marvel of colourful and decorative splendour and spacious.
What is intriguing is that there is a significant crossover between the collections in a number of government institutions. There are no clear guidelines about where various artefacts and records are housed. For example, the Library includes the contents of Abraham Lincoln's pockets on the night he died. The Smithsonian, The Archives and the Library all contain historic audio and video recordings. Presidential Papers are in the Library or in individual lubraries that each past President since Coolidge has set up. I would have thought them an archival record.
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