#tayloreling

Through my internship, I was able to get a tour of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is located right next to the West Wing of the White House.

Commissioned by President Ulysses S. Grant, it was built between 1871 and 1888 and was historically home to the Departments of State, War, and the Navy. If you look closely, the cast-iron doorknobs have little emblems of the different departments, depending on what side of the building you’re in.

The inside of the building is beautiful, and almost all of it is original, just restored. I think only some of the decorated skylights had to be replaced with replicas.  The one in the photo below is one of the originals.

The libraries of each department still function as libraries, and employees can use them freely. I believe the War library was the one specifically for books of law, and the State library (pictured) had all types of non-fiction you could imagine. The cast-iron railings were amazingly detailed, and the chandeliers gave the rooms a very old-fashioned feeling.

Walking through the building, looking up at the decorated skylights, and seeing such well-maintained rooms, made me wonder what it’s like to actually work in the building every single day, whether the architecture ever loses its charm.

Today the Eisenhower building houses the executive offices of the President, including the Office of the Vice President (pictured). It’s very convenient for officials who meet with top executives on a daily basis, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that it’s a stunningly beautiful place to work. -Taylor Eling

You can’t go to D.C. and not see at least one of its many monuments. The Washington Monument is even visible from across the river in Alexandria. It is good though that most of the major monuments and memorials are located pretty close to each other, including the Lincoln Memorial; Korean War, World War II, and Vietnam War Memorials; the Jefferson Memorial (pictured just below); FDR Memorial; and Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. I was able to see all of these in one day.

Be ready to do a lot of walking though; there aren’t any metro stops right around the memorials - I usually used the Smithsonian station, which is on the orange, silver, and blue lines, if I was in that area. If you do use the Smithsonian stop, you can start at the Jefferson Memorial (it’s got a beautiful view of the rest of D.C. from across an inlet, and the picture doesn’t quite do it justice on a sunny day) and then make your way to FDR, MLK Jr, the Korean War, Lincoln, the Vietnam War, up along the Reflecting Pool to World War II, and finally the Washington Monument, and you’ll have walked in a large loop.

The memorials are beautiful by day, but I’d also recommend seeing them at sunset or at night, if you have another person to go with you. The photos below are of the Lincoln Memorial at about 10 PM, and there were plenty of other people who also thought to see it at night! -Taylor Eling