Gwenfritz
Sculptor Alexander Calder designed "Gwenfritz" in 1965 after Washington philanthropist Gwendolyn Cafritz commissioned him to create a piece for the new Museum of History and Technology. Calder built the 40-foot tall metal stabile in France and shipped it to Washington in 6 crates. Smithsonian staff installed the work in 1969 on a reflecting pool facing 14th Street. In 1984, the Museum moved the sculpture and filled in the pool. In 2013, the Smithsonian began conserving "Gwenfritz," and in October 2014 returned it to the original location. During the restoration, staff repainted the sculpture and replaced all 1,200 bolts connecting its panels.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Alexander+Calder">Alexander Calder</a>
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives. <a href="http://siris-sihistory.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=14F605S0U9301.1295&profile=sicall&source=~!sichronology&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!9319~!1&ri=3&aspect=power&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=calder&index=.GW&uindex=&aspect=power&menu=search&ri=3">View original</a>.
6/2/1969 (dedicated)
<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>
<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>
Daniel Chester French
French was a sculptor whose best-known work in Washington, DC, is the statue of President Abraham Lincoln inside the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/33">Lincoln Memorial.</a> He also sculpted the statue of Victory which tops the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/129">First Division Monument </a>in President’s Park. From 1910-1915, French served as one of the first members of the US Commission for Fine Arts, which reviews new construction in Washington for design and aesthetics. This commission carried on the work of the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/179">Senate Park Commission</a> who designed the Mall. One of French’s good friends and mentor, <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/146">Augustus Saint-Gaudens,</a> was a member of that Commission.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Daniel+Chester+French">Daniel Chester French</a>
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. <a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004671901/">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>
<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>
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>
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>
America's Millennium Gala
America’s Millennium Gala was the culminating event of a larger three-day project celebrating the millennium. The event was produced by Quincy Jones and George Stevens Jr., hosted by Will Smith, and premiered a film by Steven Spielberg. Festivities began at 9pm on December 31st, 1999 and continued until 1am. Leading up to midnight, the western half of the Mall, between the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/36">Washington Monument</a> and the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/33">Lincoln Memorial</a>, featured a number of appearances and performances by popular musicians, as well as literary and scientific figures. The evening concluded with an extensive fireworks and lights display over the Washington Monument.
William J. Clinton Presidential Library. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUTx2HQKIFw">View original</a>.
12/31/1999
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1980-1999">1980-1999</a>
Tamaki Miura performing at the Sylvan Theatre
Tamaki Miura performed an aria from Madame Butterfly as part of the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/181">opening performance</a> for the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/3">Sylvan Theatre</a> on the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/36">Washington Monument</a> grounds in June 1917. Miura was a Japanese opera singer who toured Europe and the United States in the 1910s and 1920s.
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. <a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/hec2008006110/">View original</a>.
6/1/1917
<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>
West Lawn Story on the Fourth
<p class="p1">Since 1979, the National Symphony Orchestra has played a concert, called <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/381">"A Capitol Fourth,"</a> on the west front of the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/59">Capitol</a>, facing the National Mall. Fireworks are also launched from near the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/36">Washington Monument</a>. This article describes the 1993 concert which included musicians such as Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rita Moreno, and Johnny Cash. The concert concluded, per tradition, with the Symphony playing marches with the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/144">Marine Corps Band</a>. </p>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Mark+Adamo">Mark Adamo</a>
<em>The Washington Post</em>.
7/5/1993
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1980-1999">1980-1999</a>
Capitol Fourth Concert
<p class="p1">Since 1979, the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) has performed on the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/380">west front of the Capitol</a> on the fourth of July. The concert is aired by PBS stations as "A Capitol Fourth" and features musicians and vocalists as well as the NSO and the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/144">Marine Band</a>. This photograph shows the highlight of the concert, when fireworks are set off from near the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/36">Washington Monument</a> while the bands play on.</p>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Architect+of+the+Capitol">Architect of the Capitol</a>
Architect of the Capitol. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uscapitol/6473636341/in/photolist-aS45xF-bEUJHn/">View original</a>.
7/4/2011
<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>
National Symphony Gives First Dusk Concert Today
This article from the Washington Post describes the first season of <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/187">concerts at the Watergate steps</a> near the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/33">Lincoln Memorial</a>. Performances were generally classical music, both orchestral and featuring singers. Performers were on a specially constructed barge in the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/424">Potomac</a> and the audience sat on the river bank. As the article points out, special busses ran to and from the Mall for the concerts.
<em>The Washington Post</em>.
7/14/1935
<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>