Ole Wreck of a Bloomingdale House

On another alley walk I found this gem that surely is a thorn in the side of its neighbors. I didn't go around and check out the front of this house but the back was this lovely ole wreck of a thing, with busted windows, broken fence, rotting upper floor walls and a big tree trunk with vines growing all over. I think I was in one of the alleys behind First Street NW but I can't be sure. You just know it's home to a lot more creatures than humans: it's sure to have a few birds and a mouse or two who have taken up residence, and maybe one of those mysterious raccoons I keep hearing about.
 

A Freedom Tower for September 11

View from Hudson River of  new Tower under construction

I was in NYC recently and we took a short cruise on the Hudson River to see the city. There was a Tour Guide on the boat who provided interesting details about what we could see onshore. I was surprised to learn from him that at the site of the World Trade Center Twin Towers a new tower was being built so I snapped this photo of the building under construction. The guide referred to it as the "new Freedom Tower."  I forget exactly what the tour guide said but one of the new towers would be 1776 feet higher which is either one foot taller or one floor more than the original Twin Towers.  I haven't looked this up so if someone reading this knows, please comment below. I think it's significant that this week there's a media frenzy about the mosque and Quran burning but surely the real story is the resurrection of a new huge tall building and its surrounding area, an incredible marvelous feat of engineering. This is evidence of growth and change that is taking place right before our eyes and that may be blinded by media perception wars. Truly, it is amazing that a new building is going up at this site and will be as high or higher than what was there before. It would be with trepidation that I would go up in it;  the tallest glass building I have been in is the (new) John Hancock tower in Boston, MA. That's made of the shiny blue glass and there are floor to ceiling windows in the offices from which you can see all the way out over Boston Harbor. So, if I have the courage, when this new World Trade Center tower is finished, I might go up in it. I bet the view will be fantastic!   I found an animation of what the World Trade Center zone will look like built up in the future. The "butterfly" building is going to be very curious and I look forward to the museum and all the other features they are planning. There is nothing really like this in Washington, D.C., and that's what makes New York so unique.

Inside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building

There's something about being inside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building that makes me think that I've stepped into the story of American history being made. After all, such meetings are not every day occurrences and I don't get invited that often. But it's the high ceilings, painted walls and columns, mouldings and lighting fixtures that are so elegant and ornate and old and I always get the sense that I'm walking where other really important people have  walked before. I like the highly polished waxed marble floor of diagonal black and white squares that you think are going to be slippery but they're not. Shoes always clickety-clack when you walk to the room where you are to meet the President's staff and there's been more than one occasion when I've got lost on the wrong floor or down the wrong corridor before finding out from a passing friendly staffer where I am supposed to be. I've probably been in this building a couple of dozen times over the past 20 years, but each time I am impressed with its grandeur. I don't always remember what the meetings are about or what happened, but I do remember the place. Is that mysterious or what?

The Riches Under Ground in DC

All over the city there are entrances to DC under ground where we can park our gleaming vehicles safe from the weather, fender benders, thieves, and parking ticket ladies. Down fluorescent-lit, hot and fumy, steeply curved ramps we hide away our cars while we go off and shop, or work, or whatever.  But you do have to calculate in the time it takes to park and retrieve the vehicle whenever you plan an activity, one of which is to be waiting for your car to be brought to you. In fact, I'm sorry to say that I have driven my car a couple of times downtown, parked it underground and gone home on the bus forgetting about my beloved car altogether!  I always feel a bit sheepish about picking it up the next day but I know it's been well taken care of and at least I knew where it was once I got home and hubster asked "honey, where's your car?" Another odd thing is that all these entrances and ramps downward look very similar and there's been a few times when I forgot which underground garage I parked in or how to get back into the garage to retrieve the vehicle. Sometimes the stairways and elevators open up into another building above ground or there's no apparent pedestrian way out of the depths.  Then, of course, there's the problem of remembering which floor level it was parked on if you are allowed to self-park.  There's something very odd about wandering about in an underground parking lot looking for your car even if you do have an electronic key that you can beep for the car. There's just been too many movies or urban legends where people get run over or robbed or shot in parking lots and something about the low ceilings and minimal lighting creates a scary atmosphere. These garages are deep, and if you've seen a building constructed you know how big the hole in the ground is when they plan for these. There's a whole world in DC that's underground, filled with shining metal objects worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in the aggregate, guarded by very few custodians, and that we just take for granted as part of our 21st century world. Just imagine, for instance, trying to explain an underground car parking lot to Leonardo Da Vinci, or Genghis Khan or someone even a hundred years ago. They'd probably say it wasn't possible, even if they understood its feasibility. Another amazing wonder of our city.