Quiet District

I went downtown early in the morning one day to the Newseum , on a metro train filled with commuters.  I got off at the National Archives, and was surprised to see how suddenly still and quiet the square was.  The metro escalator delivers you right onto the Navy Memorial Plaza:    

Lone Sailor Statue

The figure is cast from old pieces of eight different US Navy Ships.  The Navy likes to do symbolic things like that, and I love them for it. 

Bronze Reliefs of Naval History at Memorial Plaza.

There is almost *never* a clear view in the photo lens here.  It is a very busy place.  Usually there isn't much time to be still or quiet.  But, the small corridor between the National Archives / Navy Memorial & Newseum was nearly empty.

This is my favorite view....

......a peek into the inner workings of a restaurant and a pastry chef moving bags of flour.  I watched him for a few moments.  :-)

Newseum itself was very interesting, while admittedly not the most uplifting place.  I was reminded again of just what makes the front page -- usually less-happy stories.   

I thought this was one of the most interesting displays in the whole building, though:

A map of the world, color-coded by country and level of freedom in speech & press.  There were some surprises there on the wall -- look at Mali, bright green on a sea of.... not-green.  And hooray for Chile and her handful of green friends speckled throughout South and Central America.

I felt a little sobered by this display, actually -- there is so much I take for granted every day, and so much loaded inside the blessing of freedom that I can hardly comprehend all that has taken place to secure that. 

How fitting, then, that the metro stop gives one a chance to see the Navy Memorial, prior to reaching the Museum of News.  

:-)