I have written before about my enjoyment of walking. Spending time walking through a city, exploring the character of neighbourhoods and putting together that mental map in your head is a genuine pleasure to me. Today we set out to find the Roman Catholic cathedral in Washington DC.
Living a five minute walk from the anglican cathedral it seemed appropriate to go and see the Catholic equivalent up close. It was going to be an impressive building: you can see it from my roof terrace. A quick check of Google Maps told us it was an hour and a half away. So we started walking east.
The first hour or so was retracing previous steps. Walking to Woodley Park, then crossing Rock Creek and cutting across to Columbia Heights. Then we were in new territory. It was lower-rise, a different character to our more familiar environs around Cathedral Heights, Glover Park and Georgetown. We saw the Children’s National Hospital with its modernistic main building. Then we came across the Catholic University and then the Roman Catholic cathedral. Or rather, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The building was as grand as I’d expected having seen it from a distance. The colourful dome and architecture had more in common with St Mark’s of Venice and the Christian design you’d see in the eastern Mediterranean.
Going into the basilica and it was all mosaics, friezes and frescoes. Absolutely stunning. The one word which came to mind was opulence. There was clearly plenty of money spent on building and decorating the basilica, but the effect of that investment was very impressive. As we arrived, some kind of ceremonial was taking place complete with organ music which added to the drama of the decor. A worthwhile destination for the walk.
Walking on, heading loosely towards the Capitol and some public transport home, we crossed into Northeast DC from the Northwest. Proceeding through residential streets, we started to find some more industrial buildings and by complete chance happened across the Lost Generation Brewery. A great little microbrewery with good beer and a good vibe (needless to say, logged on Untappd). After hydrating, we headed into the NOMA neighbourhood and the regeneration which the area is known for was very apparent. We found DC’s answer to New York’s HiLine, walking down the Red Line track and finding our way to the NOMA station. Overall a great walk, with highlights both anticipated and unexpected. A great endorsement for exploring a city on foot.
Commonplace 