The National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C.

2017

Washington, DC

National Cherry Blossom Festival

Each year Washington, D.C. celebrates the gift of ornamental cherry trees from Tokyo, Japan.  In a ceremony on March 27, 1912, First Lady Helen Herron Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese Ambassador planted a pair of trees, the first of thousands which were shipped to the city.  

The sender writes:

Though this year's blooms were a little "whimpy" compared to the average year, they were still beautiful and even magical!  Spring certainly is gorgeous here in our nation's capital!

This postcard is postmarked on March 29, 2017. 

USA stamp 2016

Colorful Celebrations

Forever First Class

Two Postcards of The White House, Washington D.C.

The White House
Washington D.C.

The White House was designed by James Hoban and sits on beautifully landscaped grounds.  This house has been the home of every President since John Adams.  The President and his family live on the second floor.  The West Wing is used for daily political and national business.  The east wing is where the First Lady meets guests.

Photo: D. O'Clair

This unused postcard is from 2015.

The White House, Washington D.C.

From the time of John Adams to the present, the White House has been the home of the presidents.  The cornerstone was laid in 1792, and it was constructed of Virginia freestone.  During the war of 1812 it was set afire by the British and only the walls were left standing; when restored, the exterior was painted white to hide the scars of the fire.

This postcard is postmarked in 1947.

USA stamp 1938

George Washington 1789-1797

1 cent

The Men's Room in Washington D.C. are Responsible for Leaks

Men's Room .  Senate Chambers . U.S.Capitol
Responsible for High Level Leaks in Washington since 1873.

Foggy Bottom Ale
Washington D.C.'s Hometown Beer

This funny 'Go Card' advertising postcard is unused. 

Smithsonian National Postal Museum, Mailboxes in Washington D.C.

Smithsonian
National Postal Museum

Beginning in the 1950s, many cities offered separate mailboxes for local and out-of-town mail to speed processing.  Marketing photo's like this promoted their use to increase efficiency.

The sender writes:
How adorable is this postcard displaying the old Post Boxes here in D.C.?!  I might just frame this one, I love it so much!

This is postmarked in 2016 from Washington D.C. 

USA stamp 2015

Coastal Birds

Spoonbill

Postcard Rate

Washington D.C. - A Lantern Press Postcard

Washington D.C.
Night Scene
Lantern Press Original Poster
Image # 43875

The sender writes:
I spent the past four days in DC and came across a bunch of Lantern Press Postcards.  The poster designs are my new obsession.

(I agree with her - lantern press cards are usually stunning :D )

This is postmarked in 2016.

USA stamp 2004

Kwanzaa, 37

Old Ebbitt Grill, A Restaurant in Washington D.C.

Old Abbitt Grill
Washington DC
A Historic Landmark since 1856

Located two blocks from the White House, Old Abbitt Grill has been a natural gathering place for presidents and generals, lobbyists and theatergoers since 1856.  The menu, which changes daily, includes homemade pastas, fresh seafood, entree salads, hamburgers, deli-style sandwiches and fresh baked desserts.  The Oyster Bar serves fresh select oysters from both coasts in season.

Sit down to a taste of history in the causal elegance of Old Abbitt Grill, or reserve the Cabinet Room or the Atrium for a private party.  Open daily for breakfast, lunch, dinner, after-theatre fare and weekend brunch.

The sender writes:
This is one of the restaurants my friend and I ate at this weekend.  Their crab cakes and creme brûlée are amazing!  After eating here we walked right over to the While House and then to the Washington Monument.  I still love exploring the National Mall!
P.S. - The postcards at this restaurant were free!  That's my kind of restaurant!

This is postmarked in 2016.

USA stamp 2002

U.S. Flag, 37 cents

Titanic and Olympic - Surpassing the Greatest Buildings

Surpassing the Greatest Buildings and Memorials of Earth
The White Star Line's New Triple-screw Steamers

"Olympic" "Titanic"
Largest and Finest in the World
(See Over)

the back reads:

Interesting Comparisons
read from left to right

1. Bunker Hill Monument, Boston - - 221 Feet High
2. Public Buildings, Philadelphia  - - 534 Feet High
3.  Washington Monument, Washington - - 555 Feet High
4. Metropolitan Tower, New York - - 700 Feet High
5. New Woolworth Bldg, New York - - 750 Feet High
6. White Star Line's Triple Screw Steamers Olympic and Titanic - - 882 1/2 Feet Long
7. Cologne Cathedral, Cologne, Germany - - 516 Feet High
8. Grand Pyramid, Gizeh, Africa - - 451 Feet High
9. St. Peter's Church, Rome, Italy - - 448 Feet High

This postcard is a pre-sinking Advertising Titanic / Olympic postcard

Greetings from the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.

Greetings from the Smithsonian

Large Letter postcard from Washington, D.C. - 

With more than 142 million objects in its vast collection, the Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest complex of museums and research facilities, with 16 museums and galleries as well as the National Zoo.

postmarked in 2007 with Liberty Bell 'Forever' stamp

Smithsonian Museums on The Mall in Washington D.C.

Smithsonian Museums on the Mall

The Mall
The National Mall, a tree-lined, grassy space, was part of Pierre L'Efants 1791 plan for the city of Washington.  Today it stretches from the Capitol to the Washington Monument and is lined on either side  with buildings of the Smithsonian Institution.

unused, printed in 1990

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I have been here a few times, and each time I want to stay longer. There is sooooo much to see!

Two Postcards of Union Station in Washington D.C.

Union Station, Washington D.C.
The Union Station was built by the U.S. Government, the Pennsylvania R.R. and the Baltimore and Ohio R.R.  The cost of the land building and terminal improvements exceeded $18,000,000. and the structure is the finest railway station in the world.  The building is of white granite, is 760 feet long, and 343 feet wide.

unused
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Washington D.C.

Union Station
This is the main hall of Union Station

Photo 1997 by Werner J. Bertsch

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Washington Union Station is a train station and leisure destination visited by 32 million people each year in the center of Washington, D.C. The train station is served by Amtrak, MARC and Virginia Railway Express commuter rail services as well as by Washington Metro subway trains and local buses. It opened in 1907 and is also the headquarters for Amtrak.

Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.

Lincoln Memorial
Washington, DC

Architect Henry Bacon designed the Lincoln Memorial in the style of the Doric temples of ancient Greece.  Surrounded by 36 columns, the memorial houses the 19-foot sculpture of Lincoln by Daniel Chester French.

Photographer - Dai Hirota

unused, from 2011
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Modeled on the Greek Parthenon, the Lincoln Memorial was designed by Henry Bacon and completed in 1922.  Its 36 Doric columns represent the number of states in the Union at the time of Lincoln's assassination in 1865.  In the center hall of the structure sits a 10-foot tall statue of Abraham Lincoln (left), flanked by the Gettysburg Address and his second Inaugural Address.  It is located at the west end of the Mall on the banks of the Potomac River and is the site of many historical events, such as the Dr. Martin Luther King "I have a dream" speech.

postmarked in 1999 with 20 cent stamp
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Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.

In This 'Temple As in the Hearts of the People for Whom He Saved the Union the Memory of Abraham Lincoln Is Enshrined Forever

postmarked in 1950 with a 1 cent George Washington stamp

President Abraham Lincoln, Birth and Death in Postcards

The White House

and

The Log Cabin in which Abraham Lincoln was born

Rock Spring Farm Kentucky,

Feb. 12th, 1809

This postcard is postmarked in 1910 with a 1 cent stamp.

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Ford's Theatre National Historic Site

Washington, D.C.

President and Mrs. Lincoln attended the performance of "Our American Cousin" on the evening of April 14, 1865. While seated in the Presidential Box, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.

Color Photo: Steve Tuttle, Alexandria, VA

This card is unused and from 1991.

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Ford's Theatre National Historic Site

Petersen House Where Lincoln Died

Washington, D.C.

President Abraham Lincoln lay dying in Willie Clark's small room through the night of April 14, 1865. Surrounded by his family and members of the Cabinet, he died at 7:22 a.m. on April 15, 1865. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton said, "Now he belongs to the ages."

Photo: Steve Tuttle

This unused postcard is also from 1991.

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Abraham Lincoln received America's first large, state-run funeral. His original coffin of black walnut, black broadcloth, silk upholstery, and silver trimming cost $1,500.

The Museum of Funeral Customs is located at 1440 Monument Avenue, next to Abraham Lincoln's Tomb in Springfield, Illinois.

This unused postcard is from 2008. 

United States Pentagon

United States Pentagon

Aerial View of United States Pentagon, Potomac River and Washington, D.C.

Photo by R. Foulds

postmarked in 2010 with a USA 28 cent stamp

The sender writes:

The Pentagon is a very interesting building indeed! Above it you can see the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and almost the Capitol Building (the dome is cut off).

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The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia.

Designed by the American architect George Bergstrom (1876–1955), and built by general contractor John McShain, the building was dedicated on January 15, 1943, after ground was broken for construction on September 11, 1941.

The Pentagon is the world's largest office building by floor area, with about 6,500,000 sq ft (604,000 m2), of which 3,700,000 sq ft (344,000 m2) are used as offices. Approximately 23,000 military and civilian employees and about 3,000 non-defense support personnel work in the Pentagon. It has five sides, five floors above ground (plus two basement levels), and five ring corridors per floor with a total of 17.5 miles (28.2 km) of corridors. The Pentagon includes a five-acre (20,000 m²) central plaza, which is shaped like a pentagon.

On September 11, 2001, exactly 60 years since the building's groundbreaking, hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 was crashed into the western side of the Pentagon, killing 189 people, including 64 people aboard the plane and 125 working in the building.

1903 Wright Flyer, Smithsonian

National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution

1903 Wright Flyer

On a chilly windswept beach at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Wilbur and Orville Wright inaugurated the aerial age with their historical flight on December 17th, 1903. The Wright Flyer was the world's first heavier-than-air, powered craft to make a sustained controlled flight with a pilot aboard. With Orville at the controls and Wilbur observing, the first flight covered the distance of 120 feet and lasted 12 seconds. A total of four flights were made with the Flyer, the best traveling 852 feet in 59 seconds with Wilbur as the pilot.

Photograph by Mark Avino

Postmarked in 2007 with USA First -Class 'Liberty Bell Forever' stamp

The AIDS Quilt in Washington D.C.

The AIDS Quilt, Viewed from the Washington Monument - Washington D.C.

postmarked with Liberty Bell 'Forever' stamp in 2007

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Founded in 1987, The AIDS Memorial Quilt is a poignant memorial, a powerful tool for use in preventing new HIV infections, and the largest ongoing community arts project in the world.

Each "block" (or section) of The AIDS Memorial Quilt measures approximately twelve feet square, and a typical block consists of eight individual three foot by six foot panels sewn together. Virtually every one of the more than 40,000 colorful panels that make up the Quilt memorializes the life of a person lost to AIDS.

As the epidemic continues claiming lives around the world and here in the United States, the Quilt continues to grow and to reach more communities with its messages of remembrance, awareness and hope.

Malcolm X Park (Meridian Hill Park) in Washington D.C.

Malcolm X Park, Washington, D.C. 1989
Photograph by Calvin Stewart (age 17)

This postcard is postmarked in 2009.

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Meridian Hill Park is a structured urban park located in the Washington, D.C. neighborhood of Columbia Heights in the United States. The park was designed and built between 1912 and 1940. This 12 acre site sits on a prominent hill 1.5 miles (2.42 km) directly north of the White House. The park has also been unofficially known as "Malcolm X Park" by some city residents.

Clay Model Tarantula from The Smithsonian

Tallulah Tarantula, a clay model, created for a video that demonstrates how tarantulas see, hear, taste and smell. A suitor, who has come to court her, has given her a box of chocolate flies.

Photo by Chip Clark
Clay animation by Olive jar, Inc.

National Museum of Natural History, Spider Exhibit

the sender wrote:

The Smithsonian was incredible!!
the spiders were gross.

postmarked in 2001 from Washington D.C. with 1st class 'flag' stamp

Happy 4th of July!!

Washington, DC - Every year on the Fourth of July at nightfall, a spectacular fireworks show takes place over the nation's capital. The Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and the United States Capitol (l-r) provides an inspiring setting for the Independence Day celebration. - postmarked in 2006 with 'Common Buckeye' stamp