Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. Our nation's capital! We might not like what's going on there most of the time, but it can be a fun place to visit. My first experience was during a school field trip (taking a bus all the way fromPennsylvania), and it was very exciting!
Anyway, today I have two vintage pix from D.C., starting with this 1947 photo of the Capitol building. Construction began in 1793, and continued for many years through various expansions. The cast iron dome (which weighs nearly 9 million pounds) was added in 1863. The giant Slurpee machine was added in 1974. I love the old cars, the old-fashioned stop sign and the general park-like ambiance.
From "sometime in the 1950's" we have this nice picture of the Jefferson Memorial. I always assumed it was built as a tribute to Jefferson Airplane, but it turns out that we once had a President named Thomas Jefferson. Who knew! I wonder if he liked tacos.
Franklin Roosevelt encouraged the idea of a Memorial to T.J., and this Beaux-Arts style building began construction in 1938; it was officially dedicated by F.D.R. in 1943. The bronze statue of Jefferson was added in 1947.
8 comments:
I'm afraid the fine motor vehicles in the first picture are a bit too old for me to I.D. But in the second picture, we have a lovely 1952 Chevrolet, sitting next to a 1953 two-tone DeSoto - It's Delightful-! It's Delovely-! It's... DeSoto. And on the far right, we see part of another two-tone beauty: a 1955 Dodge. (I think I"m gonna go out and have my fleet of vehicles painted in fabulous two-tone paint schemes).
The car parked closest to the stop sign is a 1948 Ford. The one with the yellow plate is a 1933 Plymouth. But, check out the vintage jeep just behind the roof line of the Plymouth.
You said the stop sign is "old-fashioned". We still have those all over our state (South Carolina). Some things never change.
CoxPilot
That first pic of the Capital is so peaceful - no fences, no protesters, no lobbyists to be seen anywhere.
Did you know that the 1974 Slurpee machine replaced the Soda Fountain in the Capital cafeteria? Unfortunately, many of the soda Jerks are still in Congress.
Bill in Denver
I don't know about tacos, but I do remember when President Jefferson moved on up to the East Side, to a de-luxe apartment in the sky. Inspiring.
Where's the Weezy Memorial?
Bill in Denver
Cox Pilot - You are good-! And now that you've done the heavy lifting - don't you mean a 1939 Plymouth-?
Nanook, I love those two-tone paint jobs as well. I just went to a great car museum here in L.A. (The Petersen Automotive Museum), if you ever get the chance you need to go there.
CoxPilot, weird, I figured that the familiar stop sign was pretty much the same all over the country.
Bill, you are right... I was going to put up a Google image of the same view today, but it's kind of ugly, so I didn't bother.
Melissa, I wanted to make a Weezie joke, but Bill In Denver beat me to it.
Nanook: Your absolutely right. 1939 it is. I was going by memory because my Dad had a '33, and I thought it was the same. After actually searching on the web, I see differences. Always ready to learn something new. Thanks.
CoxPilot
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