Washington
Harry’s Bar, After Closing — Hotel Harrington, Washington, D.C., 2026
The shuttered entrance of Harry’s Bar and Family Restaurant, once a longtime street-level fixture of the historic Hotel Harrington in downtown Washington, D.C.
Harry’s opened in 1993 and became part of the hotel’s complicated local lore: a dive bar, tourist stop, neighborhood oddity, and, in its later years, a nationally noticed gathering place during the political unrest surrounding the 2020 election. The Hotel Harrington, opened in 1914 and long billed as Washington’s oldest continuously operating hotel, closed on December 12, 2023, ending a 109-year run. Harry’s stopped serving shortly before the hotel’s final closure.
Taylor Fritz | DC Open 2026
World No. 10 Taylor Fritz locks his eyes onto the ball just a split-second before string bed contact during his opening round match at the 2026 DC Open.
Fritz, seeded No. 3 in the tournament, kicked off his campaign on July 27, 2026, with a sharp, straight-sets victory over Belgium’s Zizou Bergs, taking the match 6-3, 6-4 on Rock Creek Park’s Stadium Court.
Emma Navarro | 2026 DC Open
Emma Navarro returns a backhand during her first-round match against Sofia Kenin at the Mubadala DC Open in Washington, D.C., on July 27, 2026. Seeded No. 8 in the tournament, Navarro won the match 6-0, 7-5.
Temple to Science: The Great Hall Dome, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC, 2026
The centerpiece of the National Academy of Sciences building in Washington, D.C., the Great Hall was designed by the esteemed architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue and dedicated in April 1924. This stunning interior dome is the hall’s signature feature, intended to evoke the grandeur of a classical Byzantine cathedral repurposed for the exploration of the natural world.
The intricate art in the dome was executed by the artist Hildreth Meière using Guastavino structural tile, which provided both structural integrity and a shimmering surface for her intricate mosaics. The Great Hall and its dome function as a visual encyclopedia. At the center is the Sun, surrounded by astrological signs and figures representing the four classical elements. A significant detail is the bronze text encircling the dome, which reads: “TO SCIENCE, PILOT OF INDUSTRY, CONQUEROR OF DISEASE, MULTIPLIER OF THE HARVEST, EXPLORER OF THE UNIVERSE, REVEALER OF NATURE’S LAWS, ETERNAL GUIDE TO TRUTH.”
The smaller, blue stained-glass windows depicted in the image are designed to give the illusion of open sky, reinforcing the concept of the hall as an open-air observatory.
First in Union: The 1868 Lincoln Statue at Judiciary Square
Standing outside the Historic Courthouse (now the D.C. Court of Appeals) in Judiciary Square, this marble figure of Abraham Lincoln is the nation’s oldest extant public monument dedicated to the 16th president.
Unveiled on April 15, 1868—the third anniversary of Lincoln’s assassination—it predates Daniel Chester French’s famous seated statue at the Lincoln Memorial by 54 years. The sculptor, Irish-American artist Lot Flannery, had known Lincoln personally and was actually in the audience at Ford’s Theatre on the night of the shooting.
Flannery portrayed Lincoln in classic oratorical posture as a statesman and lawyer, his left hand resting on a fasces symbolizing the preservation of the Union. Originally erected on a high column to place the president safely above reach, it was moved to this lower granite pedestal in 1923 following courthouse expansions.
Flannery’s statue was funded largely by grassroots donations from local Washington citizens shortly after the assassination. It represents a city’s immediate, localized grief for a president they had seen walking their streets just years before.
Window to the Cosmos
Looking up through the circular ceiling of the newly opened National Geographic Museum of Exploration in Washington, D.C.
Resurfacing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool — Washington, D.C.
A rainy Memorial Day view looking east toward the Washington Monument across the drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. As part of preparations for the nation’s 250th anniversary, the 6.75-million-gallon basin was emptied for repairs, leak mitigation, cleaning, and resurfacing. The project includes application of a new protective coating in a custom blue color that will replace the pool’s long-familiar gray floor. Tarps, equipment, and standing rainwater covered the site as work continued toward its planned reopening.
Viewing Niagra, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
A visitor stands before Frederic Edwin Church’s Niagara (1857) at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. When the painting debuted, audiences were stunned by its scale and sense of immediacy. Long before large-format photography, cinema, or digital media, Church created an experience that seemed to place viewers at the edge of the falls themselves. The exhibition traces how artists have interpreted Niagara over the last two centuries, from romantic spectacle to cultural symbol.
A Brother’s Hand
At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Veterans Day 2025, one veteran reaches out to another in a quiet moment of connection and remembrance — a gesture that speaks to loyalty and shared history that time can’t erase.
Harvest Moon Over the Iwo Jima Memorial, 2025
The October 2025 Harvest Moon rises over Arlington’s Marine Corps War Memorial, its glow breaking through clouds above the illuminated bronze figures of the Iwo Jima flag raising. In the distance, the Washington Monument and U.S. Capitol shine in alignment — a solemn reminder of sacrifice framed against the nation’s capital.
Harvest Moonrise Over Washington, October 6, 2025
The October 2025 Harvest Moon rises above Washington, D.C., glowing unusually large as it lifts into the pastel sky at twilight. From this vantage point, the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and U.S. Capitol align in a classic view of the National Mall, with the full moon appearing oversized on the horizon — a visual effect created by atmospheric perspective at moonrise.
