Thursday, we had matinee tickets (2 pm) to A Christmas Carol at the Ford's Theatre. We had an early lunch and left for the Metro Center subway stop, so that we had time to walk there and see the museum at the theatre. This is an interesting part of DC with new buildings, old buildings, and the facades of old buildings blended into new buildings. We enjoyed the walk to the theatre and were able to see the exterior of the house (which is still there among the new buildings) where Lincoln died. The Petersen House at 516 10th Street is now a part of the National Park System (as are may sites in DC). It was the home of William and Anna Petersen. On April 14, 1865, when the President was mortally wounded, he was carried to the back bedroom and over 90 people came through the house to pay their last respects to the dying president. We did not have time for a tour of the interior. We cross the street and headed to the Ford's Theatre. We picked up our tickets at will call and then headed to the basement of the theater to see the museum exhibit. The exhibit was about the life of Abraham Lincoln and his presidency.
One of my favorite pieces, was a quilt that was raffled as a fund raiser to the Sanitary Commission during the Civil War. The Sanitary Commission was a precursor to the American Red Cross, helping to provide needed support to soldiers during the war. The quilt was auctioned off in 1864 in Philadelphia and was signed by 56 well-known people of the period, including the President and vice-President.
We did not have time to see all of the museum before we needed to head to our seats. The theatre is small by today's standards and all seats (even the balcony seats) have a good view of the stage. The Presidential Box where the actor, John Wilkes Booth sneaked into shoot the presidents; remains as it was on April 14, 1865. The exterior of the box is draped in an American Flag. The interior is closed to the public to protect it from damage.
The interior of Ford's Theatre
This rendition of The Christmas Carol was stellar and all the actors / actresses were amazing. There were school student groups seated near us and the were so well - behaved. This was an awesome experience.
After the performance, we had about an hour until our reservation at the City Tap at Penn Quarter for dinner. As we walked toward the restaurant, we noticed tents and a sculpture down and block and decided to check it out. We found a Winter Market Penn Quarter right outside of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. This museum sits in the Penn Quarter area away from the National Mall and the other museums. We did not have time to go in, but we did have time to enjoy the various crafts at the Winter Market. One of our favorites, was the photos of arranged Star Wars Legos. If your interested, check at Joe Shymanski on facebook. We also got our photo (thank you kind strangers), at one of the photo spots in front of the art museum. This is a really interesting area of DC, with so many interesting buildings. The current home of the Capitols Ice Hockey and Wizards Basketball teams was across the street from the museum. We have been hearing in the news about the teams moving to Alexandria. This is rather controversial. You can click the link to read more.
On our way to the City Tap, we passed one of the arches to China Town. There was definitely a different feel to the area. Our dinner was good and with our early reservations, it was not busy. After dinner, it was a quick walk to the Metro Center through a beautiful street decorated with white lights.
Friday, we had another big show at 7 pm. While Thursday, was cold for DC barely topping 45 degrees for a high, Friday was in the mid-50s and sunny. It felt so much more comfortable. We enjoyed the mile walk from our Red Line stop on the subway to the National Cathedral, where we had tickets to hear the King's Singers a Capella group perform. The groups is phenomenal and the acoustics in the cathedral were really good. This was a holiday performance that also included a tribute to the 100 years of Disney. The first half of the show was more traditional, while the second half was Disney and standard holiday fare. All of it was really good.
The King's Singers are a world renowned group that officially formed in 1968 with six recent choral scholars from King's College in Cambridge, UK. The initial group was made up of two countertenors, a tenor, two baritones and a bass, and the group has stuck to this singular formation ever since that debut.
We enjoyed the walk through a beautiful neighborhood with many Christmas lights. The view of the cathedral a night was spectacular. This was a fantastic two days of holidays shows.
The National Cathedral
No comments:
Post a Comment