National Building Museum: More than Bricks

Building exterior from 5th Street.

West view of the Great Hall from second level

View from F Street, location of main entrance

Though the visit to the National Building Museum was to see the LEGO exhibition, the building that houses it is itself worth more than a few glances. Based on designs of a Roman palazzo, the red brick exterior hides a stunning interior atrium.

The atrium known as the Great Hall is dominated by eight colossal Corinthian columns painted to resemble marble. They are among the tallest interior columns in the world at a height of 75 feet. Step up to the second floor and visitors can definitely experience that 'wow' factor of the vast space.

The hall is much sought-after for gala events including the annual Christmas in Washington celebration attended by the President and First Lady and one location of the official Presidential inaugural balls.

Detail of Corinthian columns.

Preparations underway for the annual Christmas
in Washington event.

Also of note is a frieze sculpture (decorative band on the outside wall) in a continuous 1,200 feet (365 meters) parading over 1,300 figures. The sculpture depicts the Civil War.

Formerly the Pension Bureau building and completed in 1887, the structure has housed various federal government offices and was even considered for demolition when it fell into disrepair in the 1960s. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969, Congress created the National Building Museum and renamed the building as such in 1997. The purpose of the museum is to educate people about the built environment and its impact on their lives.

More info at nbm.org. Hours: Mon-Sat 10am-pm; Sun 11am-5pm. Admission is free; $5 per person donation suggested. Admission for special exhibitions. A Firehook Bakery and Coffee House located at the museum with seating in the Great Hall. The Judiciary Square Metro subway station is located across the street.

Ground level view of Great Hall

Detail of Civil War frieze over main entrance.

One of four markers representing the art of building
located at each corner of the location of the museum.

LEGO Architecture Reaches New Heights

So many choices, so little time. That is the predicament with far too many museums and monuments to fully experience in the average visit to Washington, D.C. The must see list for most visitors include the Washington Monument or the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum or Natural History Museum. But dig further and there may be other unheralded attractions that may suit your interests. See it because you want to not because you have to.

Picking up the latest Where Washington edition from the hotel, there was feature about a LEGO exhibit at the National Building Museum. Still a child at heart with a fondness for the classic toy and an interest in architecture, I was there.

(image above & below: brickapolis)

Called LEGO Architecture: Towering Ambition, the exhibit features the classic brick toy constructed into 15 buildings from around the world by an architect who is also one of eleven LEGO Certified Professionals worldwide. Each model is assembled with details that reveal each buildings intricate design. It's a wonder how each one is made. Makes one want to pick up a LEGO set and to try your hand at your own design.

Empire State Building, New York City
(model height: 7'6"; LEGO pieces: 12,200)

The exhibit includes a play area filled with tons of bricks and a shop to purchase sets in the LEGO Architecture Collection. The collection features Rockefeller Center, Sears Tower, John Hancock Center, Empire State Building, Space Needle, Guggenheim Museum, Fallingwater and the White House.

The height of the displays range from 3 feet to 17 feet with the model of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai constructed using 450,300 LEGO pieces.

The exhibit opened July 3, 2010 and runs until September 5, 2011. Visit nbm.org for more information. Admission to the National Building Museum is free but there is $5 admission to this special exhibition. Tickets are available at the museum's information desk Mon-Sat 10am-4:30pm; Sun 11am-4:30pm.

White House model under construction

2 World Trade Center, New York City
(model height: 7'0"; LEGO pieces 14,250)

Transamerica Pyramid, San Francisco
(model height: 4'0"; LEGO pieces 4,800)

Gateway Arch, St. Louis
(model height: 3'0"; LEGO pieces 3,200)

Chicago Spire (project on hold), Chicago
(model height: 10'0"; LEGO pieces 17,450)

Sears Tower, Chicago
(model height: 9'6"; LEGO pieces 5,850)

Burj Khalifa, Dubai
(model height: 17'6"; LEGO pieces 450,300)

Caribou Coffee: Coffee Beyond the Siren's Java

Ever since Starbucks bulldozed its way across the country and around the world, I've rebelled a little and patronized other major coffee shops that are unique to the area I'm visiting. In London it may be the local coffee shop or the neighborhood Costa Coffee, in Toronto has the Second Cup or back home in Honolulu it'll be a visit to the Honolulu Coffee Company. In Washington DC it's a chance to visit Caribou Coffee.

Founded in 1992, Caribou Coffee is the second largest specialty coffee and espresso retailer in the United States after Starbucks with 415 coffeehouses in 16 states and the District of Columbia. Inspiration for the start of the company came while the owners were in Alaska's Denali National Park. The caribou is a wild reindeer in North America widespread across the Arctic and Subarctic, hence the company name was born.

That inspiration is carried into the feel of the store as if visiting a ski lodge. Besides the array of classic hot and cold drinks and teas, the coffeehouse carries a selection of bakery goods. An order of an Americano (my coffee drink is simple) and one of their specialty Daybreaker Bou Breakfast Sandwiches provided the boost to begin my day. This daybreaker contained a chicken-apple sausage and eggs topped with melted cheddar cheese on a brioche roll, an alternative to McD's Egg McMuffin.

This location at 13th & G Streets is one of six locations in DC. More info at cariboucoffee.com.

The National Christmas Tree: A Green of Lights

National Tree on The Ellipse (park on the south side of the White House)

On the way back from the Kennedy Center, the taxi driver commented about the tree lighting ceremony near the White House the night before. He recommended I see the tree and lights which I didn't even think of planning to do. That was my cue to request for a detour to Pennsylvania Ave to see the National Christmas Tree.  

Despite the late hour of 10pm, others had the same idea as I approached the swell of the crowd around the tree. Like a star in the dark of night, the glow of the tree lights was inspiring. The tree is a Colorado blue spruce planted in 1978 when the tree was 15 years old and 30 feet tall. Today the tree stands almost 42 feet tall. Prior to 1978 cut trees served as the National Tree. Dotted around the tree were smaller lit trees representing each of the U.S. states and territories.

The tradition of the National Tree began in 1923 when President Calvin Coolidge pushed the button to light the first tree, a cut Balsam fir. Since this tradition began, each president has participated in the lighting of the tree. More info at thenationaltree.org.

After braving the crowds and the freezing temperature it was very quick walk back to the Hilton Garden Inn but not before pausing at the White House and the courtyard of the Willard Intercontinental to soak up the holiday feel of the evening.

White House from Pennsylvania Ave.

Courtyard at the Willard

Stage Door at the Terrace Theater: Norm Lewis

During the concert (see previous post), Norm Lewis shamelessly touted his CD release "This Is the Life". It's first solo CD and why not advertise that copies will be sold in the lobby. As a measure of enticement, Lewis would appear after the performance to autograph copies.

Performer Norm Lewis & The Hopeful Traveler

It was not yet 9:30pm and it was unlikely I would be planning anything else on this cold evening, or so I thought (see next post), so why not stand in the growing line for an autograph. I first saw him perform in my first visit to New York City in 1995. "Miss Saigon" was heading into it's fifth year on Broadway and Lewis was performing the role of John. The role has one of the more powerful numbers in the show. The song is "Bui Doi"about the children of American soldiers and Vietnamese mothers. Again Lewis had applied his powerful voice to the show stopper.

See Lewis in Les Miserables: The 24th Anniversary Concert Live from the O2 Arena on DVD or Blu-ray.

Norm Lewis at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater: Spotlight Performance & Venue

This post includes a review of the Norm Lewis concert and information about the Terrace Theater.

Barbara Cook's Spotlight: Norm Lewis

Norm Lewis possesses a unique and powerful voice and uses that voice to deliver a vocal performance that is effortless. Live at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater as part of its Spotlight series, Lewis commands attention with his baritone voice even if the songs are ones heard countless times before.

Lewis is currently performing the role of Javert in “Les Miserables” in London’s West End and recently performed the same role in the show’s 25th Anniversary Concert at the O2 arena. His recent Broadway credits include the revue “Sondheim on Sondheim” and surviving the shortcomings of the stage adaptation of “The Little Mermaid” where he portrayed King Triton.

Lewis as Javert in the Les Miserables
25th Anniversary Concert

The song set for the concert included many numbers from his CD recording “This Is the Life” with a few other numbers added for good measure. At one moment he began to sing to a few lines of “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” which immediately stirred applause. But it was only a segue way into one of the night’s highlights, his signature number “You Must Be Loved” from his breakthrough 1997 performance in the musical “Side Show". It’s a number that builds in vocal intensity and his version is unlikely to be matched.

Throughout the 75-minute concert, Lewis was always confident and affable but also pushed the edge of cheesiness with his hip-thrusting dance into the audience with Tom Jones’s “It’s Not Usual.” Even with unusual choices of “That’s Amore” and “That Old Black Magic, the audience ate it up. However there was likely a good portion of the audience with a mental checklist of show tunes they wanted to hear instead. One excellent number from his career “The Painter’s Song” from the 2002 Broadway musical “Amour” was absent.

Pianist Darius Frowner was the only musician on stage and participated in some fun repartee when there some confusion on the next number to perform. In songs from his CD, Lewis applied his silky voice to a brassy version of “Before the Parade Passes By” from "Hello Dolly!" to a slow-tempo remake of “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” from "My Fair Lady".

He revealed he does have an all-time favorite song in the plaintive “We Live on Borrowed Time”. In other hands the song could become a retread of something performed at weddings. In the hands of Lewis, he delivers it tenderly with the perfect swell of emotion.  (One night only 12/10/10 7:30pm; all seats $45)

Terrace Theater: The Venue

As a Bicentennial gift from the people of Japan to the United States, the Terrace Theater was constructed on the Roof Terrace level of the Kennedy Center in the late 1970s. The 513 seat theatre hosts intimate performances of theater, chamber music or dance/ballet. 

A generous grade in the seats allows for perfect sight lines from all seats but spacing between rows lacks any comfortable leg and foot room. The entrance is at the rear of the theater and all rows are accessed via steps. An interior of deep colors and velvet seats gives the theater a luxurious feel. Gifts from Japan dot the theater's lobby. A concession stand is set up in the States Gallery and the Roof Terrace is open until 10pm to enjoy before, during an intermission of after a performance.

Roof Terrace just steps from the Terrace Theater

KC Cafe: Dinner On Top of the Kennedy Center

This first freezing night in Washington, DC had to be convenient. So rather than heading from the hotel then to a restaurant for dinner then to the theater, I would combine the latter two. The Kennedy Center offers two dining options. The elegant Roof Terrace Restaurant or the casual KC Cafe.

I've come to learn that the restaurants within an entertainment venue tends to become very crowded as show time approaches so I headed to the center before 6:00pm. The KC Cafe was not busy at all but as the hour progressed towards 7:00pm, most tables were occupied.

The Cafe's service is cafeteria style. Different counters offer various dishes. Request for a dish, pick up any drinks and pay at the register. Find a table and enjoy. All entree dishes are served on actual plates with silverware and not the fast food containers and plastic utensils one would expect. There should be everything to fits anyone's palate from salads to pasta to meat and fish.

My entree choice this evening was a penne pasta dish with a side caesar salad ($14.95) which I have no complaints about and a bottle of San Pellegrino ($2.99). The mini pecan pie ($5.95) with whipped cream and Starbucks coffee ($2.50) ended the meal on a satisfied note. If I'm ever at the center for another performance, I'll make it a point to dine here again for both the food and convenience.

By the way since the restaurant wasn't crowded at all I took my time to enjoy my entree. After finishing that I went back to the counters to pick a dessert and cafe. When I returned to the same table the staff had already cleared my used entree dishes.

More info at kennedy-center.org. Hours: Daily 11:30am-8pm. Click here for a virtual tour of the cafe. Online menu is unavailable. A online menu is available for the Roof Terrace Restaurant.

The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts

The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts is one of the most majestic and grandest performing arts centers in the nation. Opened in 1971, it honors the nation's 35th president (1961-1963). The center is among the busiest in the nation hosting over 2,000 events a year in its seven venues, foyer, galleries and terraces attracting an audience of over two million a year.

One of the most inspiring aspects is stepping into the center and walking along the Hall of States with flags for all 50 states or Hall of Nations with flags for nations with which the United States has diplomatic ties. These 270-foot-long corridors which reaches 63 feet in height is breathtaking. Both lead to the stunning Grand Foyer featuring chandeliers, mirrored walls, red carpet and windows facing the Potomac. The foyer serves as the lobby for the center's three main venues: the Eisenhower Theater (1,100 seats), Opera House (2,300 seats) and Concert Hall (2,442 seats). Also on the main level is the Family Theater (324 seats).

The Terrace level includes the more intimate Terrace Theater (513 seats), Theater Lab (399 seats) and Terrace Gallery, home to the KC Jazz Club. This upper level includes center's two restaurants: KC Cafe and Roof Terrace Restaurant. Don't forget to take in River Terrace on the main level or West Roof Terrace which offers stunning view of the Potomac.

My first visit to the center was in 2003 to see a revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical "Tell Me On A Sunday" starring Alice Ripley ("Next to Normal") at the Eisenhower Theater.  During the visit I joined in one of the guided tours and took in a Theatre Lab performance of "Shear Madness", a madcap comedy whodunit, that has played the center for 20 years and over 10,000 performances making is the second longest running play in American Theater (#1 is the Boston "Shear Madness"). A return visit in 2008 included attending performances of the "Legally Blonde" tour at the Opera House and a center presentation of "The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber" at the Eisenhower.

The venue is location for the annual Kennedy Center Honors which celebrates five individuals who have spent their lives enriching the nation and world through the arts. The telecast continues to be one the most entertaining and classiest events on network television. The 2010 honorees were celebrated in a ceremony at the center just last week. These most recent honorees are Merle Haggard, Jerry Herman, Bill T. Jones, Paul McCartney and Oprah Winfrey.

Grand Foyer decked for the holidays

Visit kennedy-center.org for more information. Free guided tours given by Friends of Kennedy Center Tour Guides Mon-Fri 10am-5pm; Sat-Sun 10am-1pm. Tours depart every 10 minutes from the Tour Desk on level A near the main gift shop. Of added interest is a tour of the displays and artwork, many of which have been gifts to the United States from other nations.

If using the Metro subway, there closest stop is at Foggy Bottom is a good four blocks away. However the center does offer a courtesy shuttle that departs every 15 minutes.  Click here for more info about directions.

Washington DC via Taxi: A Fare Way to Travel

(image: WOLDCNews)

Washington, D.C. is a city where I often use a taxi. Maybe it's because my last two visits and this current one were in December or January and considering the freezing temperature during those months, this visitor from Hawaii just wanted to get to where he needed to as soon as possible. Also these visits were only for a weekend so making the most of each minute mattered.

The Metro subway is also a convenient way to travel but unlike other big cities the stops aren't as common as one would like. The west end of the National Mall and the Kennedy Center lack convenient stations. But regardless of either mode, the best way to see the attractions along the National Mall is to simply walk a good portion of it.

(image: Johnny Jet)

Fodor's.com succinctly explains about taxi travel in Washington DC:

Taxi Travel

You can hail a taxi on the street just about anywhere in the city, and they tend to congregate around major hotels. If you find yourself on a quiet street in a residential area, either walk to a busier street or phone for a taxi. Although it depends on your location and the time of day, a taxi ought to arrive in 10 to 15 minutes. There are a number of different cab companies in the city, and as a result, D.C. cabs do not have a uniform appearance (unlike New York's yellow cabs, for example). And you may find yourself in a taxi that's older and a bit rundown.

Most District cab drivers are independent operators and may ignore a potential passenger. Cabbies are also known for refusing to pick up passengers after learning of their destination, and the D.C. government rarely enforces the taxi laws that require drivers who are free to either pick up passengers or display an off-duty sign. If after several minutes you haven't been able to get a cab, your best bet is to find the nearest Metro station and take the subway or walk to a nearby hotel and get a cab there.

Fares

After 70 years of a zone system, taxis in the District are now on time and distance meters. The base rate for the first one-sixth mi is $3. Each additional one-sixth mi and each minute stopped or traveling at less than 10 mph. is 25¢. There is a $2 surcharge per piece of large luggage in the trunk and a 50¢ per bag handling charge. There is a $2 surcharge for radio dispatch and $1.50 for each additional person. During D.C.-declared snow emergencies, there is an additional 25% surcharge. The maximum fare for trips starting and ending in the District is $19 plus applicable surcharges.

Maryland and Virginia taxis also have meters. These taxis can take you into or out of D.C., but are not allowed to take you between points in D.C.

Taxi Companies

Diamond (202/387-6200). Mayflower (202/783-1111). Yellow (202/544-1212).