Tidal Basin Paddle Boats
The paddle boats on the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/430">Tidal Basin</a> 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 <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/31">Thomas Jefferson</a>, <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/27">Franklin Delano Roosevelt</a>, and <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/156">Martin Luther King Jr.</a> memorials. Available March through October, the boats are especially popular during the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/480">Cherry Blossom Festival</a> when the Tidal Basin’s beautiful <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/24">cherry blossom trees</a> are in full bloom.
National Park Service Internal Archive
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2000-present">2000-present</a>
Anthony LaManna's chisel
Anthony LaManna was a stone cutter who immigrated from Italy to the US through Ellis Island in 1904. He worked on the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/33">Lincoln Memorial</a> in the late 1910s and early 1920s carving the words of the Gettysburg Address on the south interior wall. This chisel, along with other tools he used while carving that inscription, are now on display in the lower level of the memorial. Six years after he finished working on the Lincoln Memorial, LaManna passed the bar exam and spent the rest of his life working as a lawyer.
National Park Service. <a href="http://www.nps.gov/nama/blogs/Learning-from-Collections-From-Stone-Carver-to-Lawyer.htm">View original</a>.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1890-1919">1890-1919</a>
Tennis Courts in the South Yard
From 1915 to 1935, there was a tennis court behind the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/52">Smithsonian Institution Castle</a>, next to the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/465">Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory</a> in the South Yard. The court was created for the Smithsonian's tennis team, which played in intramural as well as inter-departmental matches against teams from other federal agencies. This image shows Loyal B. Aldrich (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory employee), and Astrophysicist Charles Greeley Abbot (Fifth Secretary of the Smithsonian) playing tennis.
Smithsonian Institution Archives. <a href="http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_9156">View original</a>.
1915 (constructed)
1935 (converted into a parking lot)
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1890-1919">1890-1919</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1920-1949">1920-1949</a>
Japanese Lantern
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 <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/24">first cherry trees</a> planted along the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/430">Tidal Basin</a>. The lantern is lighted during the annual <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/480">Cherry Blossom Festival</a>. It is one of two lanterns created in 1651 to mark the death of a warlord named Tokugama Iemitsu. Both lanterns were formerly located at a temple in Tokyo's Ueno Park, where the twin remains today.
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. <a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2011633824/">View Original</a>.
03/30/1954 (dedicated)
1651 (sculpted)
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1950-1979">1950-1979</a>
Early Cherry Blossom Festival
As soon as the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/24">Japanese cherry trees</a> 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 was intended to be the start of an annual tradition, took place in the spring of 1934. <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/330">First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt</a> and a delegation from the Japanese embassy led the sunrise ceremony that opened the event. The Festival included a parade, a ball, fireworks, and a performance of the Mikado, an English operetta set in Japan, at the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/3">Sylvan Theatre</a>.
"Full Program is Announced," <em>The Washington Post</em>, April 4, 1934.
4/19/1934
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1920-1949">1920-1949</a>
American Colonization Society Hall
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 encourage slave owners to free their slaves and to give free black Americans a way to escape the inequality they experienced in the US. The Society was responsible for sending 6,000 black Americans to Liberia between 1821 and 1867. The organization had a permanent office on the Mall from 1860 until the building was razed in 1930.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=I.+Cranford+Nielson">I. Cranford Nielson</a>
The Historical Society of Washington, DC. <a href="http://historydc.pastperfect-online.com/32595cgi/mweb.exe?request=record;id=22A006DB-CBF1-4D66-957C-531426593726;type=102">View Original</a>.
1860-1930
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1860-1889">1860-1889</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1920-1949">1920-1949</a>
Federal Government Building
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 City. By 1814, only the Departments of State, War, and the Navy remained, but they were temporarily relocated when <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/157">the building was damaged by British forces during the War of 1812</a>. In 1816, all three departments returned to a renovated office building, although the Department of State moved in 1819. The Department of the Navy continued to occupy the building until it was demolished in 1884.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Leonard+Harbaugh">Leonard Harbaugh</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=James+Hoban">James Hoban</a>
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. <a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/stereo/item/2005680798/">View original</a>.
1801 (constructed)
1814 (burned)
1816 (rebuilt)
1884 (demolished)
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1800-1829">1800-1829</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1860-1889">1860-1889</a>
Washington Monument, canal, and baseball grounds
This illustration accompanied an article discussing <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/281">efforts to restart construction on the Washington Monument</a>, with hopes to complete the monument by the national centennial in 1876. The point of view of the illustration is from the Mall's <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/319">baseball grounds</a>, now the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/315">White House Ellipse</a>. In between the baseball grounds and the monument is the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/41">Washington Canal</a>, with sailboats and barges in it, possibly carrying goods to market in the city. The people in the illustration include wealthy white men as well as black and white laborers.
<em>Frank Leslie's illustrated newspaper</em>, December 12, 1874, via the Library of Congress. <a>View original</a>.
1874
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1860-1889">1860-1889</a>
National Powwows
The National Powwows began in September 2002. They were organized by the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/49">Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian</a> in anticipation of the opening of the museum. The events were attended by thousands from the US and Canada to celebrate American Indian culture through dancing, music, food, clothing, and events. Hundreds of tribes participated in a dance competition at the powwow, where members of the tribe wore traditional clothing. Subsequent powwows were held in 2005 and 2007.
Cowtools via Flickr. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/65189390@N00/1107156681/in/photolist-2FQt7i-3173sa-33LXRz-3yPjCK-3KXgPa-4fBTQc-4fBTQP" target="_blank">View original</a>
09/15/2002
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2000-present">2000-present</a>
First Annual Smithsonian Kite Festival
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 kite-making workshops led by <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/269">National Air and Space Museum</a> curator Paul E. Garber, a lecture series, and a special display of kites made by Garber and his wife. The event was sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution for the first 44 years and became a part of the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/480">National Cherry Blossom Festival </a>in 2010.
National Archives at College Park. <a href="http://research.archives.gov/description/2051050">View original</a>.
3/25/1967
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1950-1979">1950-1979</a>