Browse Items (156 total)

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The paddle boats on the Tidal Basin have been a popular activity for the city’s residents and tourists since the late 1930s. Today, the boats provide visitors with unique views of the Thomas Jefferson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Martin Luther…

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Anthony LaManna was a stone cutter who immigrated from Italy to the US through Ellis Island in 1904. He worked on the Lincoln Memorial in the late 1910s and early 1920s carving the words of the Gettysburg Address on the south interior wall. This…

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From 1915 to 1935, there was a tennis court behind the Smithsonian Institution Castle, next to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in the South Yard. The court was created for the Smithsonian's tennis team, which played in intramural as well as…

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The lantern was given to the people of the United States by the Governor of Tokyo in 1954 to mark the 100th anniversary of Commodore Matthew Perry's arrival in Japan and the opening of trade between the two countries. It was installed amid the first…

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As soon as the Japanese cherry trees were planted, Washingtonians and tourists enjoyed the blossoms every spring. Although there were cherry blossom fetes in the 1920s, they were mostly held in Hains Point. The first Cherry Blossom Festival, which…

Building on the southwest corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 41/2 Street NW.
The American Colonization Society was a national organization founded in 1817. Its purpose was to encourage the migration of free African Americans and formerly enslaved Africans to Africa. Members of the Society saw this plan both as a way to…

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One of the first office buildings in Washington, this building initially housed the Departments of State, War, and the Navy, as well as the Patent Office, the General and City Post Offices, and the offices of the Superintendent and Surveyor of the…

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This illustration accompanied an article discussing efforts to restart construction on the Washington Monument, with hopes to complete the monument by the national centennial in 1876. The point of view of the illustration is from the Mall's baseball…

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The National Powwows began in September 2002. They were organized by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in anticipation of the opening of the museum. The events were attended by thousands from the US and Canada to celebrate…

The First Annual Smithsonian Kite Carnival (later referred to as the Kite Festival) took place on the National Mall on March 25, 1967. Individuals could compete in contests with homemade kites as well as ready-made ones. The festival also included…
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