Our free walking tour of the Mall and Tidal Basin continues.
We took our free walking tour on a typical Spring day in D.C. The cherry blossoms were blooming and the weather was nice--blue skies with a cool breeze.
While the day was typical, the date was significant. The date was April 4, 2018, which happened to be the 50th anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Our tour included a visit to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, completed in 2011 and located next to the Tidal Basin. When we arrived at the memorial, television crews and reporters were camped there waiting for another of many ceremonies that took place at the memorial that day. The reporters were from the U.S. and around the world. We visited the memorial between ceremonies and were able to experience it without distraction.
The centerpiece of the memorial is a very large statue of Dr. King (pictured below).
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| Stone of Hope by Li Yixiin (2011) (front view) |
The granite statue, the Stone of Hope, appears to be cut from a larger piece of granite located behind the statue. The larger piece of granite symbolizes the "mountain of despair" in the quote on the side of the statue.
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| Stone of Hope by Li Yixiin (2011) (side view) |
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| The Stone of Hope in front of the Mountain of Despair |
The statue of Dr. King is positioned across the Tidal Basin from the Jefferson Memorial. Perhaps King and Jefferson are in perpetual dialogue? We guess they would have a lot to talk about.
Thanks for joining us on our free walking tour of the Mall and Tidal Basin.
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