Intern Reflects on Washington
1. Adams Morgan, located between 18th Street and Columbia Road: This young, hip-and-happening neighborhood hosts a plethora of bars and clubs, thus, it gets very busy on the weekends. It’s also located only about a mile away from the Adams Morgan/Woodley Park Metro stop on the red line. Most places only allow the 21 plus crowd. During the day, the multicultural (largely immigrant) neighborhood is alive with delicious smells and interesting sights. Editors of the Washington Post City Guide recommend stopping by the Amsterdam Falafel Shop or Cashion’s Eat Place for good food. I recommend Madam’s Organ for a cool place to play.
2. Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park, located between 16th and 15th Streets and Euclid and W Streets: Meridian Hill Park, maintained by the U.S. National Park Service, will have you in the heart of Northeastern D.C. and Columbia Heights, which also happens to be the nearest Metro stop on the green line. The park was crime-ridden in the 1980s, but community action largely has changed that. On the weekends, the park comes alive with sports games and music. On Sunday evenings, good weather permitting, a community, drum circle forms and entertains large crowds. Locals call the park Malcolm X Park, in part because some of the drummers began playing to commemorate Malcolm’s death. I recommend taking along a buddy and not going into the park after dark, as crime still can be a problem.
3. National Museum of Health and Medicine, located on the Walter Reed Army Medical Center campus in Northwest D.C.: I know I said there’s more than museums, but this place is different, promise. The Takoma Park Metro Station on the red line is closest to this odd and morbidly amusing museum, but I’ll warn you that it is quite a walk. I’ll also caution anyone with a weak stomach from entering some of these exhibits. The museum houses more than 5,000 skeletal specimens and 10,000 preserved organs, all of which were diseased or injured. (These include a preserved scrotum that was infected with elephantitis.) For those not concerned with the weird and wonderful medical world, history buffs will find the displays of Civil War medicine fascinating.
4. Chinatown, located (most centrally) on H St. NW: Take the Metro to the Gallery Place/Chinatown stop on the yellow and green or red lines, and you’ll emerge to find more than enough to fill up an entire day. Aside from the National Portrait Gallery and the American Art Museum, the Verizon Center – home to Washington Wizards basketball and plenty of concerts – and the Spy Museum are all in the neighborhood. A fun place to catch a show is the Shakespeare Theatre Company, and Olsson’s Bookstore hosts a number of chats with authors just a few doors down. All of this, and I haven’t even mentioned the food. If you’re feeling really adventurous, take the Metro a few stops north to the historic U Street, where Washington jazz had its heyday and the likes of Duke Ellington got his start. Looking for a tasty treat? Stop by Ben’s Chili Bowl, serving great dishes since the Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½50s.
5. The National Mall: A lot of people won’t recommend visiting The National Mall at night, but I will. I’ll also recommend doing it with a group of people because crime frequently occurs there at night. Once you’ve assembled your posse and have your cameras ready, take the Metro to the Smithsonian stop on the orange and blue lines. It brings you directly to the mall. Taking pictures of the Capitol building is fun, though you’ll need some special camera equipment to capture it in the dark. However, the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial are gorgeous to photograph at night, not to mention the crowds are much less treacherous once the sun goes down.
While this is no comprehensive list of D.C. places to visit, they are places I enjoyed. If you’re still not satisfied, take a walk along embassy row where you can gawk at the amazing architecture.
