Expedition 8: The Northwest Navigations, Pt. III

Back at it on journey #8!

Once more, a successful expedition! Metro Journey 8 took us through more fascinating destinations throughout Northwest D.C., including places in Chinatown. This newest blog is your newest adventure through the Capital. And since it's an adventure, who knows where we'll start?

Part I: A Museum of American Architecture 
At this point y'all, I'm just used to getting up at 2:00 in the morning for these trips. Just kidding, I woke up at like 7:00...I think. Anyways, this expedition required we the group meet at around 9:45 at Judiciary Square station. After an blessedly peaceful ride there, Trent, Cortland and I met up with the group at the first destination of the day, the National Building Museum. The link to their website isn't working, so here's the Wikipedia information. 

Museum from upper floor

 The Museum, formerly known as the Pension Building, was a brick structure constructed in 1887 and designed by the U.S. Army Quartermaster General. It served that purpose until the 1960's, when it fell into a state of disrepair and was nearly destroyed. Along with backlash from conservationists and a suggestion to renew the use of the building, it became a display to exhibit the building arts. By 1980, it was what is now known as the National Building Museum. It was a massive museum, with large pillars on both sides of the ground floor, and a square design for the upstairs exhibits. We got our tickets to explore around and headed upstairs to one of the rooms. There were displays with intricate Lincoln Log contraptions along with loose pieces that we toyed with (purely out of nostalgia, probably).

Couldn't resist, could you?

We explored the rest of the upstairs rooms except for the ones that were occupied with field trip kids. Then we took a picture in front of the fountain and headed out for our next stop, or to you, part 2!

Part II: Our Candy Crush Saga
I couldn't resist with that title, sorry. After the National Building Museum, we made our way through a bit of Chinatown to It's Sugar. A popular (not to mention expensive) candy store, It's Sugar was founded in 2006 by Jeff Rubin, and in the past 10 years has expanded exponentially, with locations all over the country, and even several outposts in South America. The small store we visited in Chinatown had a unique selection of candy and some quite strange ones that I'd rather not eat. We spent about thirty-seven years in there picking and choosing candy (no adult supervision meant we all went crazy buying it) and eventually left around 11:30 as it was time for lunch...

We...were...ADDICTED! Just kidding :)

Part III: A Tragic Theatre and Lincoln's Final Lodge
After an unhealthy lunch (McDonald's), we had to visit a few more spots in and around Chinatown. One such spot was the Friendship Archway. Back in the 1930's, many Chinese immigrants began to move into the area, leaving behind plenty of art and Asian structure. At its peak, Chinatown extended from G street to Massachusetts Ave. Later in 1986, the city dedicated the Friendship Archway to a local architect named Alfred Liu. After passing by the archway, we made it to the Ford Theater. Built in 1861 in place of an abandoned First Baptist church, the theater quickly gained notoriety and began to host some of the more popular shows and musicals.  President Abraham Lincoln frequently visited the theater, and was tragically shot and killed there by John Wilkes Booth in April of 1865, shortly after the end of the Civil War. Once we arrived, we toured the basement museum of the theater, which had plenty of information on Lincoln himself. After a quick look at the theater itself, we were on our way to the next POI. 

The group at the Ford Theater

     
Next up: the Petersen House. This was the house President Lincoln was carried to after being shot by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln died there the following morning, and now the place has been made into a small museum with displays about what followed Lincoln's death along with much information about his legacy. 

A stack of Lincoln books glued together

Part IV: A Trading Company and a Departure
After the Ford Theater and the Petersen House, we had one more spot to visit: the Da Hsin Trading Company. Their website doesn't have much information, but it's a Chinese store with small odds and ends, a few exotic foods, and some cool swords too :P. We stayed a few minutes, then headed out to make our way home. 

In the back of the Trading Company store

And that was about it! Sorry if I forgot anything. Metro Journey #8 was a success, and we had fun along the way once again. I'm really enjoying this class and the places it's taking me, and I'm excited to keep journeying. Until next time, reader!