Washington, DC

September 2002

Business took me to Washington, DC approximately a year after the 9/11 attacks. I took these photos as I squeezed a little time away from a conference to record my impressions of our nation's capital.

   Traveling around, it felt like a city under siege.

A view of the capital dome at night. Security was tight around the capital. I felt like I was constantly watched.

A spectacular night view from the steps of the Capital, looking toward the Washington monument. This was one of the most impressive sunset scenes I had ever witnessed. What was weird was there was a group of guys speaking Russian nearby, so there was this strange kind atmosphere to the scene.

The Lincoln Memorial at night.

Walking up the steps toward the memorial was pretty far out.

I think the thing that impressed me about many of the monuments was not how large everything was; rather, it was about how fragile everything seemed and that the monuments just punctuated our attempts at not recognizing this basic fact. How fragile we really are.

A statue near the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial.

So many names on the Wall....

From the subway underneath Washington. It seemed to capture the paranoia well.

Ironically, my hotel was at the base of Rock Creek Park, where Shandra Levy's body was found. I didn't go in the park.

This was the sight looking toward DC from JFK's grave in Arlington National Cemetery. Unfortunately, the photo does not do the view justice.

JFK's grave. Jackie O's grave is next to it.

Changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

A view of part of Arlington National Cemetery. The place was huge.

Then of course there was the Pentagon. Security was tight.

This is the section that was destroyed on 9/11. They rebuilt very quickly.

Some of the mementos at a makeshift shrine near the Pentagon, commemorating the lost.

I didn't get why, but there was a lot of Betty Boop stuff.

So fragile. So very fragile.

Walking back to the subway, military police stopped me and briefly questioned me.

DC was interesting, but it was so SERIOUS. From people in the subway to walking around the White House, everyone was almost depressing to watch. Of course, this was after Afghanistan and before Iraq, so maybe people in DC knew a little too much about what was to come. Barricades and security. That's what I remember in DC 2002.