The Newseum

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit the Newseum, DC’s museum about the news. Not only is it architecturally stunning, but it is situated in between the White House and the Capitol so the president is forced the view the First Amendment (which is carved in stone on the front of the building) on his way to work. I spent a few hours there, so I’ll hit my favorite parts of my trip:

1. Berlin Wall

The Newseum has the largest collection of the Berlin Wall outside of Berlin. They also have a guard tower. Once the guard reached the top of the tower, the ladder helping him get up there would be taken away so that he couldn’t leave. Apparently, many guards in East Germany would take the job, only to escape into West Germany. Without a ladder, the guards had no hope of escaping, as the guard tower reaches up three stories.

Western side of the Berlin Wall

Eastern side of the Berlin Wall

2. View from the top of the Newseum

The Berlin Wall is on the base level of the Newseum, so you take a glass elevator to the top floor and then work your way down. The balcony has a beautiful view of the Capitol and DC. Even though it was freezing outside, we went out to take a look.

View from the top, with the Capitol straight ahead and the Canadian embassy on the left. This is also where I watched the Roe v Wade protestors march the other day.

Kaia & I at the top of the Newseum

3. Map of the Freedom of the Press

This map, constantly updated, represents every country’s laws about the press. Green represents a free press, yellow represents a partly free press, and red represents a completely unfree press.

Freedom of the Press

4. 9/11 Exhibit

The 9/11 exhibit was extremely powerful in its presentation. I don’t want to ruin the exhibit for my two readers (hi, Mom and Dad), but I’ll include this picture of the top of one of the Towers.

This picture isn’t lopsided; I just took it at an angle

In addition to these, the Newseum also boasts a printing press, a portion of the Woolworth’s counter from the famous sit-ins, and a mockup of Tim Russert’s office. My visit to the Newseum serves as a great launching pad for the rest of my museum outings.