Sunday, July 06, 2008
Washingtonism
George Washington commissioned Pierre Charles L’Enfant to design the basic plan for a federal district in 1791. After disagreements with the local and federal governments, L’Enfant essentially had his work stolen from him before dying disgraced and forever unpaid. Despite this, many lacquered or otherwise laminated copies of said plan litter the city’s streets in alleged reverence for the author of this impressively imagined space.
Thomas Jefferson dreamt the nation’s new capital would become an “American Paris” and, with its low and dense skyline, wide boulevards, vast green spaces and general Baroque style, the city center of Washington, DC is certainly the closest thing to that. DC certainly looks unlike most American cities, aside from, perhaps, Savannah or New Orleans, in that high-rises and bland corporate architecture don’t plague the place.
Washington is the physical embodiment of the nation: the veneer of the state and of our national identity. While walking past the imposing state agency headquarters, seeing the place where the vice-president allegedly works, and fearing the absurd amount of police presence everywhere in the city, I could not help but feel the power of the monolithic federal government. The major cabinet level buildings (Treasury, Justice, Energy) are heavily fortified, so much so that average citizens cannot get within shouting distance. A sort of militarized zone surrounds the White House itself, as only pedestrian traffic is allowed in the general vicinity, and teams of dimly-dressed men and fierce dogs silently patrol the trees just beyond the black iron fence that keeps anyone from interfering with the process of democracy. Such is life during wartime.
One moment of wonderful irony came when Mr. Fishtank wondered aloud about the carbon footprint of the monstrous EPA headquarters (almost certainly the largest building after the Pentagon and Capitol). I don't have a picture of the EPA, but here's one of the good ol' home of the DoD:
Alright, enough with the cynicism and mistrust. Instead, I offer a humorous look at part of America's shameful past. At Mount Vernon, in addition to viewing a twenty-minute, Ford-sponsored, Lifetime–esque dramatization of George Washington’s rise to prominence and centuries of Presidential China (including Reagan’s!), I got to see this incredible sign:
I'll post some more photos once I have them.
Thomas Jefferson dreamt the nation’s new capital would become an “American Paris” and, with its low and dense skyline, wide boulevards, vast green spaces and general Baroque style, the city center of Washington, DC is certainly the closest thing to that. DC certainly looks unlike most American cities, aside from, perhaps, Savannah or New Orleans, in that high-rises and bland corporate architecture don’t plague the place.
Washington is the physical embodiment of the nation: the veneer of the state and of our national identity. While walking past the imposing state agency headquarters, seeing the place where the vice-president allegedly works, and fearing the absurd amount of police presence everywhere in the city, I could not help but feel the power of the monolithic federal government. The major cabinet level buildings (Treasury, Justice, Energy) are heavily fortified, so much so that average citizens cannot get within shouting distance. A sort of militarized zone surrounds the White House itself, as only pedestrian traffic is allowed in the general vicinity, and teams of dimly-dressed men and fierce dogs silently patrol the trees just beyond the black iron fence that keeps anyone from interfering with the process of democracy. Such is life during wartime.
One moment of wonderful irony came when Mr. Fishtank wondered aloud about the carbon footprint of the monstrous EPA headquarters (almost certainly the largest building after the Pentagon and Capitol). I don't have a picture of the EPA, but here's one of the good ol' home of the DoD:
Alright, enough with the cynicism and mistrust. Instead, I offer a humorous look at part of America's shameful past. At Mount Vernon, in addition to viewing a twenty-minute, Ford-sponsored, Lifetime–esque dramatization of George Washington’s rise to prominence and centuries of Presidential China (including Reagan’s!), I got to see this incredible sign:
I'll post some more photos once I have them.
# posted by workplex @ 21:04 
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