Sadly, it has been sold and will be moved to a new location.  On Wednesday, it will be dug up and begin its move to its new home.

The good news. It isn’t moving far.

The National Park Service “temporary” 2-year permit initially allowed the piece to be located in the park in 1980. But it’s been there ever since.

It has since become one of the most popular non-monument sculptures in Washington, DC and a great photo op for parents with kids, lovers and tourists alike.  At night, the sculpture has an eerie yet tranquil feel to it overlooking the Potomac River and National Airport.

Installed in by American sculptor J. Seward Johnson, Jr., as part of a international sculpture exhibition; the 15-foot high, 5-piece cast aluminum sculpture overlooks the water at the end of East Potomac Park. 

The piece has been for sale ever since it was installed and last spring, it was sold for $740,000 to the developer of the new 300-acre National Harbor development on the Potomac River waterfront, in Prince Georges county in Maryland.

The piece will be placed near the harbor’s amphitheater, close enough to the water, that in times of flooding, it will be partially underwater.  It’s current positioning will also be changed slightly, to make the sculpture’s placement a bit more anatomically correct.

The sculpture’s new location will be visible from the Wilson Bridge and a focal point of the development.

Besides The Awakening, the new National Harbor will be home to four  boating docks, six new hotels including the Wyndham Vacation Resort with 1,100 rooms, a couple condo developments with 2,500 residential units, and a half million sq. feet of office space. 

Additionally, the National Children’s Museum will be opening there in 2012, as well as an outdoor movie theater, as well as a convention and entertainment center for events such as music concerts, Octoberfest and festivals.

The first events at he new National Harbor, starting in May of this year, include a luxury yacht show and a food and wine festival.

The Awakening at Hains Point
East Potomac Park
About ¾ miles south 1090 Ohio Dr. SW, at the end of the Hains Point
Washington, DC 20001

Images – personal collection – © 2008 – Jon Rochetti

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Post from: The DC Traveler

But I think the highlight is at the end of the park, on a peninsula called Hains Point. There you’ll find a most interesting sculpture called The Awakening. It’s a giant 5-part cast aluminum statue that looks like a 100 foot tall bearded man.  He’s mostly buried and appears to  be struggling to free himself, with only his face contorted in a scream, a single hand, arm, one bent knee and a foot exposed above ground. I believe the face looks Neptune-ish.

Created by American sculptor J. Seward Johnson, Jr., and installed in the park in 1980 for the International Sculpture Conference Exhibition; it has arguably become one of the most popular non-monument sculptures in DC. 

Kids love to play on it and photographers love to snap photos of it. The sculpture was even featured in the Sandra Bullock film, The Net.

The “temporary” National Park permit that was issued for the sculpture expired more than 25 years ago, but it seems as if it is so well liked by residents and the Park Service, that it’s become a welcomed and permanent resident of the park.

When the Potomac River swells during after heavy rains, the statute may actually be partially under water.  

It’s said that Johnson likes to occasionally visit his statues and while posing as a tourist, make negative comments about it to onlookers to get their honest reaction to his pieces.

Johnson is probably best known for making life-sized sculptures of people in normal daily life. And for turning famous Impressionist painting, such as Gustave Caillebotte’s Paris Street; Rainy Day or Vincent Van Gogh’s The Bedroom, into controversial life-sized sculptures. If these pieces are viewed from the just the right angle, they resemble the famous Impressionist piece it was based on.

Within view of National Airport, park visitors can also watch planes take off and land and get a great view of the National War College and the Potomac River.

Want to take The Awakening home with you as a souvenir?  Reportedly, it’s for sale by the artist for around $700,000.

Hains Point – The Awakening
About ¾ miles south 1090 Ohio Dr. SW, Washington, DC 20001, at the end of the Hains Point.  

Nearest Metro Subway stop: Smithsonian on the Blue and Orange lines (about about 2½ miles)

Post from: The DC Traveler

The U.S. Marine Band was formed by Act of Congress during the presidency of John Adams in 1798 and has performed for every Presidential Inauguration since Thomas Jefferson’s.

Sousa took over the as the 17th leader of the U.S. Marine Band in 1880.  During his years as bandleader, he embarked on the first of many national tours where they introduced the nation to the numerous patriotic and now famous marches he composed.  Some of his most notable marches include The Stars And Stripes Forever, Semper Fidelis (the Marine Corps Hymn) and The Washington Post, which ironically he was paid only $35 for writing, while the music publisher made a small fortune.

Besides his noteworthy musical talents, Sousa also wrote five novels and was considered a champion-caliber horseman and a world-class trap shooter.

The site of the concert, Congressional Cemetery, has been in existence since 1807. Eighty Members of Congress (19 Senators and 71 Representatives) are laid to rest plus another 120 Members  have memorials in the cemetery.  

Their graves are marked by unique sandstone cenotaphs (or empty graves).  Additionally, soldiers from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican and U.S. Civil Wars along with Indian chiefs, diplomats and other noteworthy and common people are laid to rest at Congressional.

Some of the more famous people buried at Congressional, include:

- Elbridge Gerry – Declaration of Independence signer

- J. Edgar Hoover – First Director of the FBI

- John Phillips Sousa – composer

- Mathew Brady – Civil War Photojournalist – The portrait of Lincoln on the $5 bill was taken from one of his photos.

- Belva Lockwood – Female Presidential candidate who was nominated in 1884 by the National Equal Rights Party.  She received 4,000 votes, all from men because at that time, women could not vote.

- Push-ma-ta-ha – Choctaw Indian Chief 

- Dr. William Thornton – Designer of the U.S. Capitol

- Anne Royall – Congressional reporter who was reportedly such an aggressive reporter, that Members of Congress crossed the street just to avoid her questions.

- Able Upshur – Secretary of State who was killed during a Presidential VIP Potomac River cruise on the USS Princeton when one of the ship’s guns exploded.

Admission is free. Self-guided walks are encouraged.  Look for walking tour maps in the mail box, just inside the mail gate.

Congressional Cemetery
1801 E Street, SE, Washington, DC, 20003

Date
Monday, November 6, 10:00 a.m.  The band may start a bit later.

Hours
Cemetery hours daily 10:00 a.m. until dusk.

Parking
Free public parking is available on the E St and Potomac Ave side of the cemetery. 

Post from: The DC Traveler

Over 600 horses and riders from around the world will be competing, including former Olympians and World Champions.

Tickets start at $15 for day passes and $20 for evening passes.

The Washington International Horse Show
October 24-29
Verizon Center, 601 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004 (between 6th and 7th NE) 
Hours: Event hours vary by day.
Nearest Metro subway station: Gallery Place / Chinatown (the Metro station is part of the Verizon Center) – Red, Yellow and Green lines 

Photo credit: flickr 

Post from: The DC Traveler

During President Kennedy’s term, he had the Rose Garden, located just steps from the Oval Office redesigned to accommodate functions and ceremonies.  It was later used for events such as the signing of the Israel-Jordan peace treaty in 1994.  Lady Bird Johnson renamed the east garden for Jackie Kennedy and Pat Nixon first opened the gardens to periodic public tours starting in 1772.

The Annual White House Fall Garden Tour happens Saturday and Sunday, October 26-27 starting at 10:00 am on Saturday and Noon on Sunday with tours ending at 4:00 pm both days.   The tours will include the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, Rose Garden, Children’s Garden and the South Lawn. There are also several military bands scheduled to perform.

Free timed tickets are required and are offered on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 8:00 am each day at the Ellipse Visitor Pavilion (15th NE and E Street NE).   Plan on arriving VERY early to get tickets for this popular annual event.  If you need multiple tickets, plan on having everyone in your party (including the little ones) at the Pavilion, as the National Park Service will distribute only one ticket per person.  Plan on leaving backpacks and other large items behind as only strollers, wheelchairs and cameras are permitted and smaller personal items. If the weather is bad, the tours may be cancelled.

For more infromation about the upcoming garden tours or White House tours, contact the White House Visitor Center for 24-hours recorded information at 202-456-7041, or for live information from 7:30 am – 4:00 pm daily at 202-208-1631.

Have you even heard the phrase “a rose garden strategy”?  It implies the sitting president is hiding on the White House grounds and avoiding traveling to face the people. 

Photo credit: flickr

Post from: The DC Traveler