Washington D.C. 4th of july
May 6th, 2019, 07:01 AM
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Washington D.C. 4th of july
My wife and I are thinking to go to DC for the 4th of july (trump says it will be the best ever)....where is a good place to see the fireworks? on the grass(the mall) or is there a good hotel,restaurant,etc. would appreciate any feedback Thanks !!
May 10th, 2019, 09:08 AM
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I've only gone once and sat on the lawn in front of the Capitol Bldg as that is where the concert takes place, and I wanted to hear that most. It is a bit far from the fireworks (prob about 1.5 miles), but still looked fine to me. But if you want to be closer, you have to be on the Mall somewhere closer to the Wash Monument, of course.
If you are asking if you can view the fireworks from a hotel or restaurant, not likely. There are only a couple such places that would even have a view of it (I presume you are talking rooftop) and they charge a lot of money of course for those bookings The W Hotel is one, I think maybe the Watergate another.. The Watergate only charges around $250, but I"m not really sure how great a view you would get from there, maybe it would be fine. The W Hotel charges a bit more than that. No hotel/restaurant is going to let you sit there for free during such an event. THere are no hotels/restaurants lining the Mall itself, it is Federal property and the closest ones are a block or two away. And then buildings would block your view of the sky since that is in the middle of the city, more or less. Most hotels/restaurants are much farther away than a block or two.
It really depends on your transportation, also, if walking (I would guess that's the case), that limits you to around the Mall area). Public transportation is very very crammed afterwords so ideally you don't have to take metro back, although I have and you can, you just have to wait a long time for a free car and it is very crowded in the station and on the stairs to it, it is kind of scary, actually.
In Virginia, there is decent viewing from the Iwo Jima memorial (it's on a hill) and Netherlands Carillon areas (I've heard, haven't been there myself), which would only be convenient if you were staying in NoVa, I guess. And that's really just as far away from them as the steps in front of the Capitol Building, so I still prefer that area for the music concert. Otherwise, you have nothing to do but sit around from the time you get there until the fireworks, and you have to get there early to get a spot.
If you are asking if you can view the fireworks from a hotel or restaurant, not likely. There are only a couple such places that would even have a view of it (I presume you are talking rooftop) and they charge a lot of money of course for those bookings The W Hotel is one, I think maybe the Watergate another.. The Watergate only charges around $250, but I"m not really sure how great a view you would get from there, maybe it would be fine. The W Hotel charges a bit more than that. No hotel/restaurant is going to let you sit there for free during such an event. THere are no hotels/restaurants lining the Mall itself, it is Federal property and the closest ones are a block or two away. And then buildings would block your view of the sky since that is in the middle of the city, more or less. Most hotels/restaurants are much farther away than a block or two.
It really depends on your transportation, also, if walking (I would guess that's the case), that limits you to around the Mall area). Public transportation is very very crammed afterwords so ideally you don't have to take metro back, although I have and you can, you just have to wait a long time for a free car and it is very crowded in the station and on the stairs to it, it is kind of scary, actually.
In Virginia, there is decent viewing from the Iwo Jima memorial (it's on a hill) and Netherlands Carillon areas (I've heard, haven't been there myself), which would only be convenient if you were staying in NoVa, I guess. And that's really just as far away from them as the steps in front of the Capitol Building, so I still prefer that area for the music concert. Otherwise, you have nothing to do but sit around from the time you get there until the fireworks, and you have to get there early to get a spot.
May 29th, 2019, 12:44 AM
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The Mall is very long. At one end is the Capitol Building which houses the US Congress. That end is where the concert PBS televises nationally, and the one Christina is referencing. We went in 2012, and if you click on my name, you can find my old trip report and scroll down.
But there are actually other concerts put on by the Armed Forces bands. They are at different times.
If you care more about the fireworks, you want to choose a place closer to the other end of the Mall than the Capitol Building. Fireworks from the Capitol Lawn are kinda small and faraway and not visible in some areas of the lawn due to the trees. You do hear the orchestra live, which was pretty darn cool.
When we went, the area to see the Capitol concert was roped off. We had someone there by about 2 pm-ish to get in line, put a blanket down and hold our spot. The rest of our group came later. But they will only let you in for so long. You can, however, use a restroom while there. There was a row of port-a-potties.
The year we went, the other end of the mall was torn up as they re-finished the pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial and did other repairs. So it was really up in the air how much seating there would be. Since I did not visit that end, I can't speak to the experience.
Finally, we found the crowds leaving to be very orderly. I had fears this would be like the nightmare stories of Time Square and it really was not. There was waiting to take the Metro. But it wasn't some kind of drunken pushing mob. I was very impressed also with security. You can sign up for alerts closer to the day and they will send out alerts.
But there are actually other concerts put on by the Armed Forces bands. They are at different times.
If you care more about the fireworks, you want to choose a place closer to the other end of the Mall than the Capitol Building. Fireworks from the Capitol Lawn are kinda small and faraway and not visible in some areas of the lawn due to the trees. You do hear the orchestra live, which was pretty darn cool.
When we went, the area to see the Capitol concert was roped off. We had someone there by about 2 pm-ish to get in line, put a blanket down and hold our spot. The rest of our group came later. But they will only let you in for so long. You can, however, use a restroom while there. There was a row of port-a-potties.
The year we went, the other end of the mall was torn up as they re-finished the pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial and did other repairs. So it was really up in the air how much seating there would be. Since I did not visit that end, I can't speak to the experience.
Finally, we found the crowds leaving to be very orderly. I had fears this would be like the nightmare stories of Time Square and it really was not. There was waiting to take the Metro. But it wasn't some kind of drunken pushing mob. I was very impressed also with security. You can sign up for alerts closer to the day and they will send out alerts.
May 29th, 2019, 05:48 AM
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I’ve gone to the mall a couple of times and found it to be busy but not crowded, and agree with the previous poster about the metro (we took it home). We watched the fireworks from Constitution and 15th (standing)
May 29th, 2019, 03:24 PM
#12
The local (and national) news is very fuzzy on what is being planned for a large scale event that is a little more than a month away and encompasses a lot of transportation and security issues for three states and the District of Columbia.
We normally walk down from our Foggy Bottom place to Constitution & 23rd (just above the Lincoln Memorial) to see the FW. We will bail if 45 makes that end of the National Mall his narcissism show. Ugh.
We normally walk down from our Foggy Bottom place to Constitution & 23rd (just above the Lincoln Memorial) to see the FW. We will bail if 45 makes that end of the National Mall his narcissism show. Ugh.
