my backyard

I experienced a side of Washington DC last night that endeared itself to me immediately. An overindulgence in unemployment last fall enabled me to explore most of the more notable sights in the area within a relatively short amount of time. It took a visit this week from my family, however, to reveal an obvious, yet strangely undiscovered fact about memorial-land DC: it's so much cooler at night.

Amid earsplitting thunder and downpouring rain, we made our way down to the National Mall last night and visited a couple of the memorials/monuments under cloak of darkness. As the rain puttered out, we found ourselves essentially alone to drink in the sights.

I tepidly praise the WWII memorial whenever asked about it by friends. During the day, I find it noble, yet bland; impressive as an idea, yet slightly neo-fascist (ugh!) by design. Furthermore, I think it struggles to distinguish itself as it sprawls as a shallow saucer across the mall. Upon nightfall, however, the lighting serves to transform the memorial into something more elegant. It feels like a distinct unit on the mall, instead of awkwardly bleeding into the surrounding grass as it does during the day. With a fresh rain upon the stones, the water fountains glistenened and cast a shimmering glow about the perimeter that made me feel like i was in giant fishbowl. The atmosphere embedded itself in my memory.






After the WWII memorial, we made our way to the Roosevelt Memorial. Although the cenotaph impressed me for its approachability and unique design the other times i've ventured that way, nothing compares to a night stroll through the meandering stones. This memorial doesn't seek to awe the visitor with towering statues, instead, most of the human figures stand life-size and accessible to hordes of seventh-grade groping hands...or 25 year old hands, for that matter. it felt like walking through a garden where each person could appease their own aesthetic palate with something enticing. Besides the occasional 747 roaring above, it was almost easy to forget that city trains and concrete melees teem just over the river or behind the trees...peace of mind in an unexpected spot.