Christmas Cards Bundle (Washington D.C.)

Statue outside Arlington National Cemetery    

The Marine Corps War Memorial                                                                                     

Based on Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthals’s iconic photograph of second flag-raising during Battle of Iwo Jima                                                                                                                                     

1954, constructed                                                                                                                                                        

Architect Felix de Weldon                                                                                                                                               

Inscription: In honor and memory of the men of the United States Marine Corps who have given their lives to their country since November 10 1775
“Uncommon Valor was a Common Virtue” (tribute by Admiral Chester Nimitz to the fighting men on Iwo Jima)  

 

Also included in the gift box                                                                                                            

900 Ohio Dr SW                                                                                        

Dedicated to Thomas Jefferson, an American Founding Father, third American President 

Neoclassical style, architect John Russell Pope  of Eggers & Higgins                                                                   

1939, construction began

1943, completed                                                                                                  

1947, bronze statue of Jefferson added                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Portion of inscription: “God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever.”   

 

Also included in the gift box  

 

On the  National Mall                                                                                                         

National monument honoring the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln                        

Architect Henry Bacon, Sculptor of the primary statue – Abraham Lincoln

1920– Daniel Chester French, Painter of the interior murals Jules Guerin 

1922, dedicated                                                                                                                                              

Inscriptions of two well-known speeches by Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural Address                                                                                                                                                             

1966, listed on the National Register of Historic Places                                                                            

 

IN THIS TEMPLE AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN IS ENSHRINED FOREVER 

 

Also included in the gift box  

 

National World War II Memorial—Mall between Lincoln and Washington Monuments       

Dedicated to Americans serving in the armed forces and as civilians during World War II  

1997, initial design selected

Architect Friedrich St. Florian‘s                                                                                

56 pillars and a pair of small triumphal arches–crafted by Rock of Ages Corporation—surrounding plaza and fountain                                                                                                                                            

2004, opened

Two “Kilroy was here“ engravings included in the memorial acknowledging the significance of the symbol to American soldiers during World War II, representing their presence and protection wherever it was inscribed                                                                                                                                             

Message in front of The Freedom Wall, west side of the memorial: “Here we mark the price of freedom” 

Sculptor Raymond Kaskey created the bronze eagles and wreaths under the arches, as well as 24 bronze bas-relief panels depicting wartime scenes of combat and the home front

 

Also included in the gift box  

 

1600 Fedex Way, Landover, MD

1997, opened as Redskins Stadium, home of the Washington Redskins football team

2022 team renamed Washington Commanders

2024 stadium renamed Northwest Stadium

Architecture firm:  HOK Sport, now Populous

 

Also included in the gift box  

 

 

Skyline includes views of The White House,  The Lincoln Memorial, The Jefferson Memorial,  The Washington Monument and The Capitol Building (tiniest bit of artistic license to fit all of these landmarks on one card)                                                                                                             

“The Federal City”                                                                                                                                                       

“The American Rome”                                                                                                                                                 

“A Capital City”                                                                                                                                                               

“The Capital of the World ”                                                                                                                                           

“City of Magnificent Intentions ” (first coined by Charles Dickens)

 

Also included in the gift box  

 

First St SE–sits atop Capitol Hill, eastern end of the National Mall

Meeting place of the United States Congress, legislature of U.S. federal government

Origin by which quadrants of District divided and city planned

1793, construction began

Neoclassical architecture

Architects include Thornton, Bullfinch, Walter, Schoenborn, Clark

1800, first session of both Houses   

On Sundays during administrations Thomas Jefferson (1801–1809) and James Madison (1809–1817) the Capitol building used as a church

Christian services regularly held there–a practice that continued until after the Civil War

 

Capitol Dome Central dome above Rotunda in central section of the structure

All addresses in D.C. designated N.E., N.W., S.E., or S.W. in relation to the Rotunda

1855, original dome torn down, replaced with the “wedding-cake style” cast-iron dome that stands today

Designed by Thomas U. Walter

Statue on top of dome, “Statue of Freedom“

1865, fresco painted on interior of Capitol’s dome titled “The Apotheosis of Washington“ 

Painter Constantino Brumidi 

1878-1953, “Frieze of the United States History” 

Artists: Brumidi, Filippo Costaggini, Charles Ayer Whipple, and Allyn Cox.

 

Also included in the gift box  

 

 1400 Defense Pentagon, Arlington, VA

Headquarters United States Department of Defense

Symbol U.S. military power

Architect George Bergstrom, classical revival style

1943, dedicated 

 

Also included in the gift box  

 

1000 Jefferson Dr SW located near the National Mall 

Nicknamed The Castle

Houses the Smithsonian Institution‘s administrative offices and information and welcome center

Faux Norman style (a 12th-century combination of late Romanesque and early Gothic motifs)

1965, designated a National Historic Landmark

First Smithsonian building, designed by architect James Renwick, Jr

 

The Smithsonian Institution: “the nation’s attic”

1846, established  “for the increase and diffusion of knowledge”

World’s largest museum and research complex, many buildings of which are historical or architectural landmarks

Complex consists of nineteen museums and galleries, seventeen of which located in Washington D.C., eleven of those located on the National Mall.

Administered by the United States government

Founders Joseph Henry, James Smithson, Joel Roberts Poinsett

 

Also included in the gift box

 

 

 

 

 

1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW                                                              

1789, following inauguration, President George Washington occupied two executive mansions in New York City                                                                                                                                        

1790, capital moved to Philadelphia a 10-year temporary capital)                                                          

1792-1800, the current house, built,  designed by Irish-born James Hoban 

Neoclassical style 

1800 The White House the official residence and principal workplace of every U.S. president since John Adams                                        

1801, expanded by Thomas Jefferson, architect Benjamin Latrobe                                                               

John Adam’s prayer for the House carved into the mantel in the State Dining Room while Theodore Roosevelt was in office):“I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this House, and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.”  

 

Also included in the gift box

Across from the Capitol Building

1789, Supreme Court, SCOTUS, established in the United States Constitution  as highest federal court 

Final interpreter of federal constitutional law

1790, met in Merchants’ Exchange Building New York City

Designer of present building, Cass Gilbert, classical style

1935, Completed 

1987, designated a National Historic Landmark                                                                                                        

James Earle Fraser’s statues: (Left) Contemplation of Justice, a  book of laws supporting her left arm and a figure of blindfolded Justice is in her right hand

(Right) Authority of Law,  holding in left  hand tablet of laws, backed by the sheathed sword, symbolic of enforcement through law. The Latin word for law, LEX, inscribed on the tablet.

 

Also included in the gift box

 

On the National Mall, east of Reflecting Pool and Lincoln Memorial                                                                                                                                               

Obelisk to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the early Continental Army, first American President                                                                                                                  

1840s, original design by architect Robert Mills                                                                                   

1848, construction began,  cornerstone laid July 4, halted 1854 to 1877                                         

1884, completed, capstone set                                                                                          

1885, dedicated                                                               

1888, opened                                                                                                                                                                          

On the interior, 193 commemorative stones, donated by numerous governments and organizations from all over the world                                                                                                                                           

East face inscription: Laus Deo (Latin for “praise be to God”)

 

Also included in the gift box

 

Stands at Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenues, northwest quadrant

Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City, an Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Washington D.C.

Neo-Gothic design closely modeled on English Gothic style of late fourteenth century

1893, erected under a charter passed by the United States Congress

1907, construction started, with address by President Theodore Roosevelt and the laying of the cornerstone

Head architect, George Frederick Bodley, Britain’s leading Anglican church architect

1912, Bethlehem Chapel opened for services–which have continued daily–in the unfinished cathedral Construction resumed after World War I, Gen. John J. Pershing leading fundraising efforts

American architect Philip Hubert Frohman principal architect

During World War II, monthly services held  “on behalf of a united people in a time of emergency”

Construction ended 1990,”final finial” placed in the presence of President George H. W. Bush

2011, ongoing decorative work, such as carvings and statuary

Designated the “National House of Prayer” by Congress

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places

 

Also included in the gift box