Dear Colleagues,
I am off to Washington, DC, with my family next week. Any heraldry we might want to see while there?
Also, any other tips on things to see in DC would be most appreciated.
Plenty of U.S. arms and other eagles carved on government buildings, but for other heraldry you might want to hit Washington Cathedral (Episcopal). Worth a visit in any case. There are also some interesting renderings of state arms in the various party rooms of the Mayflower Hotel (they might let you look around when nothing’s scheduled) and at DAR Constitution Hall. The made-up arms to represent the different functions of the Department of Commerce, carved on the facade of the building (at the corner of 14th and Constitution NW) are kind of interesting, and a few Washington heraldic items are on view at Mt. Vernon.
As for non-heraldry….
Not sure how old your kids are, but I’d hit the Smithsonian in the following order:
Natural History
American History
American Indian (if you have an interest)
Air and Space
I love spending time on the Mall. The Washington Monument is okay. The Jefferson Memorial (while a bit of a hike) is in a gorgeous setting. And the Lincoln Memorial…let’s just say pictures don’t do it justice.
Wear comfortable shoes and spend some time walking around. Even if you don’t go inside any of them, the Capitol, Supreme Court, Library of Congress, etc. are all nice to see.
Kenneth Mansfield;81723 wrote:
As for non-heraldry….
Not sure how old your kids are, but I’d hit the Smithsonian in the following order:
Natural History
American History
American Indian (if you have an interest)
Air and Space
My kids always would have put Air and Space first.
I was very disappointed in the Museum of the American Indian, partly because I thought the displays (while often visually striking) are confusingly organized and very poorly labelled, and partly for reasons that are totally off-topic and potentially inflammatory.
Joseph McMillan;81727 wrote:
I was very disappointed in the Museum of the American Indian, partly because I thought the displays (while often visually striking) are confusingly organized and very poorly labelled, and partly for reasons that are totally off-topic and potentially inflammatory.
+1.
You may want to pop in at the Folger Shakespeare Library. I recently purchased a poster of a "sieve portrait" of Elizabeth I, which featured a nice painting of her arms in the upper corner, for a few bucks…
David
Joseph McMillan;81727 wrote:
My kids always would have put Air and Space first.
I did, too, when I was a kid, but my oldest loved the Natural History Museum. I guess the lesson here is to ask your kids what they’d like to see. 
Joseph McMillan;81719 wrote:
Plenty of U.S. arms and other eagles carved on government buildings, but for other heraldry you might want to hit Washington Cathedral (Episcopal). Worth a visit in any case. There are also some interesting renderings of state arms in the various party rooms of the Mayflower Hotel (they might let you look around when nothing’s scheduled) and at DAR Constitution Hall. The made-up arms to represent the different functions of the Department of Commerce, carved on the facade of the building (at the corner of 14th and Constitution NW) are kind of interesting, and a few Washington heraldic items are on view at Mt. Vernon.
These sound like great sources. I hope you can take photos of some of these and post them on the forum when you get back.
A little of hearaldry, when my daughter was 5 or so we did a run up to DC. Her favorite president was lincoln. So we went to the lincoln memorial and we are standing at the foot of the statue and my daughter says, "Doesn’t he DO anything?"
<sigh>
Thank you all for the great suggestions. We had limited time, but packed quite a bit in. The National Cathedral was breathtaking. I’d seen it before, but I always love to go back. My dream is to publish a book detailing every inch and every decoration in the place. The Commerce Building, as Mr. McMillan said, was a treat.
The "coolest" heraldry I saw, though, was at the National Portrait Gallery in this painting of LL Cool J: http://face2face.si.edu/my_weblog/2009/11/now-on-view-ll-cool-j-by-kehinde-wiley.html
A arms in the portrait are a bit small to see (at least for me)—what is the design?
I think I can see a portable radio and a pair of boxing gloves.
Michael F. McCartney;81836 wrote:
A arms in the portrait are a bit small to see (at least for me)—what is the design?
Per Pale Sanguine (to differentiate from the red gloves?) and Or overall a pair of Boxing Gloves Gules on a Chief Argent a Boom Box Or embellished Azure.
As near as I can tell. Yuck.
Ah, but when you’re standing there…actually before the work itself…still yuck.
Kenneth Mansfield;81840 wrote:
Per Pale Sanguine (to differentiate from the red gloves?) and Or overall a pair of Boxing Gloves Gules on a Chief Argent a Boom Box Or embellished Azure.
As near as I can tell. Yuck.
Ouch!—sorry I asked…another case of "ignorance (or possibly myopia) is bliss"
Some potential "eye candy" is best left unwrapped—or in this case, maybe unrapped.