The first national memorial to specifically honor members of the American armed forces who were permanently disabled during their service opened in 2014. The memorial was proposed to Congress in 1998 by a group led by philanthropist Lois Pope; Jesse…

Foot traffic from 25 million annual visitors is hard on the Mall’s natural resources. In 2017, the National Park Service completed a restoration project that re-engineered a total of 18 acres of turf between 3rd and 14th Streets to ensure…

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…

Visitors to the Mall during the 1950s-1970s may have encountered large rockets that lined the west side of the Smithsonian Arts and Industries building. Called "Rocket Row," this outdoor exhibit accommodated large objects before the National Air and…

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…

The South Shed, also called the Annex, was used to prepare specimen for exhibition. Built in 1898 and demolished in 1975 to make way for the Victorian Garden, the South Shed at various times housed the Smithsonian's model and taxidermy shop, the bug…

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…

In 1837, the President and Congress commissioned Italian-born artist Luigi Persico to create a sculpture depicting Christopher Columbus to be one of a pair of artworks flanking the staircase on the eastern entrance to the Capitol. When it was…

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…

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…