On your map, find and CIRCLE both History Museums, the National Gallery of Art, the National Air and Space Museum, and the Smithsonian Institute. From towering dinosaurs to exotic live insects, the Smithsonian Museum offers a dazzling array of exhibits, interactive displays, and rare specimens. It also houses the Hope Diamond, the largest diamond ever discovered, a whopping 45 carats! (FYI, a 1 carat diamond will probably run you $2,000 - $3,000). Some images are displayed below:
The other building, slightly to the north and east is the National Gallery of Art. It is perhaps the most important art museum in the United States, as it houses original works by Van Gogh and portraits of the presidents.Now, examine the western part of the Mall below:
The "spike-shaped" monument is the Washington Monument. Find and CIRCLE the Washington Monument on your map.The round monument in the bottom of the picture is the Jefferson Memorial. Find and CIRCLE this on the map as well. Now, let's look north
Find and CIRCLE the White House on your map. We're not going to focus on the White House as much, as it's a topic by itself entirely, but important to note.
Let's focus on the Washington Memorial. Answer the questions below.
- The Washington Memorial is called an "obelisk". It's from an original Egyptian model and quite common, as you can find them in almost every major city, including London, Paris, the Vatican, and even New York. There are 27 "famous" ones across the world. What is the significance of the shape? Why would people want to build something that looks like this?
- The Washington Monument was built to honor the death of President Washington in 1799. Originally, the plans called for a "horse statue" and then a "pyramid". But in 1836, Robert Mills, a Freemason from South Carolina came up with a plan to build a giant obelisk structure, 600 feet tall, surrounded by 30, 100 foot obelisks, supposed to represent the 30 founding fathers. Its image is below:
- Sadly, because of its $17 million dollar price tag (modern dollars), it wasn't built. Mills downgraded his design to a single 500 foot obelisk. After years of planning, money raising, and even theft (Yes. Members of an anti-Catholic movement broke in to steal some of the obelisk's stone work, as Pope Pius IX donated a block of marble in 1854), the monument was complete by 1884. It looks like this today.
- At the top of the monument is what's called a "capstone". It's trianlge shape is designed in the common "All-Seeing-Eye" format, which was very common among the Freemasons at the time. The capstone can be seen here:
- The capstone was finally set in place on December 6, 1884. Inscribed on its face are the words "Laus Deo" which means "Praise God".
- Now, the "All-Seeing-Eye" is a very common symbol in our American history. Think: Where else have you seen it? (ANSWER THE QUESTION ON YOUR OWN, and see if you're right by clicking here on this link.)
- What do you think the "eye" represents? In other words, whose "eye" is it?