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A Clear Autumn Day on the National Mall

·Washington, District of Columbia, United States·#autumn#architecture#travel-photography#washington-dc#national-mall
The Lincoln Memorial, backlit by the sun, with a plane flying overhead and people on the steps.

Started at the Lincoln Memorial with the sun sitting directly behind the roofline, so the whole front of it stayed in shadow while planes on the National Airport approach kept crossing behind the columns. People were spread out on the steps the way they always are, half of them taking pictures of each other.

From there we walked the length of the Reflecting Pool. Barely any wind, so the Washington Monument held its reflection almost the full distance, with the Capitol dome tucked in small behind it. Cranes on the skyline past the Smithsonian towers.

The World War II Memorial had its fountains running and wreaths on the state pillars. The stop I hadn't done before was just south of it: the D.C. War Memorial, a domed circle of Doric columns from 1931, Vermont marble, 47 feet tall. It carries the names of 499 D.C. residents who died in World War I and it's the only District memorial anywhere on the Mall. It was also built to work as a bandstand, which nobody was using it for — just leaves coming down around it.

The Lincoln Memorial, back-lit by the sun, with people on its steps, green grass, and trees under a blue sky.The Lincoln Memorial stands under a clear blue sky, with many people on its steps and a grassy hill in the foreground.The Washington Monument rises over a long reflecting pool lined with trees and a wide paved walkway under a clear sky.The Washington Monument and its reflection in the long Reflecting Pool, with the U.S. Capitol and trees under a clear sky.The Lincoln Memorial rises beyond a reflecting pool, with people walking on a pathway and trees on the left.The World War II Memorial with pillars, wreaths, a fountain, and the Washington Monument under a clear blue sky.The World War II Memorial with columns, wreaths, fountains, and the Washington Monument under a blue sky.A domed, colonnaded stone monument stands on a grassy area with paths, surrounded by autumn trees under a clear blue sky.

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