CROSSING THE POTOMAC: WASHINGTON

CROSSING THE POTOMAC: WASHINGTON FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE RIVER Story and photography by Margaret & Eric Anderson

The older monuments depicted so often in photographs and movies include the Lincoln, the Jefferson and now the FDR Memorial. The Lincoln, a favorite with all the visitors, overlooks the Reflecting Pool, the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol. Inside, the 19-foot marble statue of the 16th president is flanked by details of his Second Inaugural Address and the famous Gettysburg Address.

For some reason the Jefferson is not visited so often; the 19-foot statue of the third U.S. president stands beneath a marble rotunda, surrounded by passages from the Declaration of Independence and other famous Jefferson writings. The Franklin Delano Roosevelt memorial on a 7.5-acre site near the Jefferson Memorial, depicts the 12 pivotal years of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's presidency through a series of four outdoor gallery rooms. And of course, the Washington Monument dominates the city from every point.

Union Station gives a change of pace and some light relief. For almost 100 years it has been the entry to the nation's capital. Each year, 24 million visitors enjoy shopping, entertainment, and an international variety of food in this Beaux Arts transportation hub. Across the river lies Arlington, Virginia. Arlington has 190,000 inhabitants but parts of it still feel like small town America. The original downtown of Northern Virginia, it didn't start growing till the late 1940s when waves of immigrants came after World War II. Arlington has changed. Clarendon, for example, one of several communities within Arlington has formed an Alliance that promotes entertainment events like its own Mardi Gras and its "April 16 Tax Blues Night" (which has for its slogan "Why should the tax man have all the fun?") With those, and its Mom and Pop restaurants, Clarendon is humming. You can eat at the Café New Delhi (Indian 703-528-2511), busy because it offers great food at reasonable prices. Or you can dine more elegantly at the Hyatt where chef Edmund Rek has established his reputation for Mediterranean fare at the hotel's Mezza 9 restaurant. Arlington hotels run about $30 a night less than comparable hotels in DC yet, with the area's efficient Metro transportation system, are actually closer to Ronald Reagan (National) Airport. Furthermore, Arlington may be safer than many DC streets in the evening, there seems less crime west of the Potomac.
	West of the Potomac. Fort Myer is home of the Old Guard, (the senior regiment in the U.S. Army). Its museum shows the regiment's famous past, and its stables house the caissons used in ceremonial presidential funerals.