Family Travels: The White House and Ford's Theatre

It was reasonably warm today, which helped with our plans.

We jumped back on the Circulator bus and hopped off near the White House. But, our first stop was the Old Post Office Building, which is now the Trump Hotel. It was built between 1892-1899, to house the US Post Office Department Headquarters and the city's post office. It was almost demolished in the 1920s for construction of the Federal Triangle, but lack of funds in the Great Depression saved it. Despite hosting various government departments over the years, it again was slated for demolition. However, locals banded together to save it, and the Bell Tower is now the 3rd highest building in the city and offers great views of the city. There are also bells that were presented to the US Congress in 1976 to mark 200 years of independence (they were too heavy to be housed in the Capital Building).

The Old Post Office Tower is on the left

An old vault door from the old Post Office

9-storey atrium in the Old Post Office

The clock mechanism

Views towards the Washington Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial

Our next stop was the White House Visitors Centre, where Pita, Karl, Robin & I got two NPS Junior Ranger Badges: the White House and Presidents Park. There were interesting displays on areas such as the First Ladies, the staff, and shifting in (old Presidents used to have a week or so to move out whereas now the old is out in the morning and the new is in by that evening). Then, we got to see the White House (the oldest public building in the District of Columbia), the south side which is where Marine One lands, and the north side which is where the media tents focus on and is where you see things such as the former President greeting the new President.

The whole area is surrounded by old buildings, as well as parks. Several parks we have seen are covered by Canadian geese.

Dwight D Eisenhower Executive Office Building (originally the State, War and Navy Department Building, built 1871-1888)

US Treasury Building

Next stop was Ford's Theatre, which documents the story leading up to and after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth. As well as Lincoln, Vice President Johnson and the Secretary of State were also supposed to have been assassinated by accomplices. Booth expected to become a hero by killing Lincoln, and was surprised that he was reviled by the public instead. The actual theatre that now exists is not original. The facade is, as is the Petersen House across the street where Lincoln was taken after the shooting and where he ultimately died (the man who rented the room where Lincoln was taken was out that night - he returned the next day and slept in the same bed where Lincoln died that night). The inside of the theatre (the seats and stalls, even the one where Lincoln had been sitting) was sold to a theatre in Baltimore (which subsequently burned down), and the building was eventually turned into offices (badly, as some floors collapsed at one stage, killing about 22 people) before being refurbished as a replica.