National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Tuesday, 5 November 2024 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: North America / NordamerikaCategory/Kategorie: General, Museums, Exhibitions, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time: 5 minutes The National Mall is a landscaped park near the downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institution, art galleries, cultural institutions, and various memorials, sculptures, and statues. It is administered by the National Park Service (NPS) of the United States Department of the Interior as part of the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit of the National Park System. The park receives approximately 24 million visitors each year. Designed by Pierre L’Enfant, the “Grand Avenue” or Mall was to be a democratic and egalitarian space—unlike palace gardens, such as those at Versailles in France, that were paid for by the people but reserved for the use of a privileged few.
The core area of the National Mall extends between the United States Capitol grounds to the east and the Washington Monument to the west and is lined to the north and south by several museums and federal office buildings. The term National Mall may also include areas that are also officially part of neighboring West Potomac Park to the south and west and Constitution Gardens to the north, extending to the Lincoln Memorial on the west and Jefferson Memorial to the south.
The National Mall proper contains the following landmarks, museums and other features (including opening year):
- National Museum of American History (1964)
- National Museum of Natural History (1910)
- National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden (1999)
- West Building of the National Gallery of Art (1941)
- East Building of the National Gallery of Art (1978)
- National Museum of the American Indian (2004)
- National Air and Space Museum (1976)
- Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (1974)
- Arts and Industries Building (1881)
- Smithsonian Institution Building (“The Castle”) (1849)
- Freer Gallery of Art (1923)
- Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (1987)
- National Museum of African Art (1987)
With the exception of the National Gallery of Art, all of the museums on the National Mall proper are part of the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian Gardens maintains a number of gardens and landscapes near its museums. These include:
- Common Ground: Our American Garden (2017)
- Enid A. Haupt Garden (1987)
- Freer Gallery of Art Courtyard Garden (1923)
- Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (1974)
- Kathrine Dulin Folger Rose Garden (1998)
- Mary Livingston Ripley Garden (1978)
- National Air and Space Museum landscape (1976)
- Native landscape at the National Museum of the American Indian (2004)
- Pollinator Garden (1995)
- Urban Bird Habitat (2020)
- Victory Garden (2020)
East of the National Mall proper
- United States Capitol and its grounds
- Union Square, containing:
- Peace Monument (1878)
- United States Botanic Garden (1933)
- James A. Garfield Monument (1887)
West of the National Mall proper and in West Potomac Park
- Lincoln Memorial
- Vietnam Veterans Memorial
- Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
- World War II Memorial
- Washington Monument
- Korean War Veterans Memorial
- Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
- Jefferson Memorial
- Lockkeeper’s House, C & O Canal Extension (1837)
- Constitution Gardens (1976)
- Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence (1984)
- District of Columbia War Memorial
- Sylvan Theater
- George Mason Memorial
- John Paul Jones Memorial
- John Ericsson Memorial
- The Arts of War and The Arts of Peace sculptures
- Jefferson Pier
- Tidal Basin paddle-boat dock.
Read more on nps.gov – National Mall, VisitTheUSA.com – National Mall and Monuments, Wikivoyage National Mall and Wikipedia National Mall (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.
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