Newseum, Washington, DC

[htmb]

One of the most fabulous places I visited on my recent trip to DC was the Newseum. I'm going to get started with a few photos and will fill in with some narrative later.




On the edge of Judiciary Square, the Canadian Embassy is a open, airy and attractive building.




Fronting the street next door is the Newseum, a museum of news.

Newseum Blends High-Tech With Historical

One of the top attractions in Washington, D.C., the Newseum's 250,000-square-foot news museum offers visitors a state-of-the-art experience that blends news history with up-to-the-second technology and hands-on exhibits. The Newseum Institute serves as a forum for First Amendment study, exploration and education. The Newseum is a 501(c)(3) public charity funded by generous individuals, corporations and foundations, including the Freedom Forum.

The mission of the Newseum is to champion the five freedoms of the First Amendment through education, information and entertainment.

Newseum (source)














And all of that was just on the outside. Inside there are several floors filled with interesting and revealing visuals.







Visitors are invited to start on the basement level where they can watch a short orientation video, see several temporary exhibitions, and then be whisked to the top floor in huge elevators.

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I tried avoiding The Anchorman exhibits, but signs were in several spots.




Traveling down to the bottom level, this is the first display I came to:

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It struck me as a bit ironic, considering the times.


The Newseum houses the largest unaltered piece of the Berlin Wall outside of Germany.





There is also a three-story East German guard tower that had been located near Checkpoint Charlie.







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Across the concourse, in direct contrast, was a temporary exhibit of the photos of Jacques Lowe.

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And, in the northeast corner, a gallery devoted to the reporting of major criminal activities.

The FBI’s efforts to fight crime and its starring role in popular culture are examined in an exhibit now at the Newseum. With more than 200 artifacts — including the Unabomber’s cabin, Patty Hearst’s coat and gun, and engine parts and landing gear from the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center — nearly 300 photographs, dozens of historic newspapers and interactive displays, the exhibit reflects the sometimes cooperative, sometimes combative relationship between the FBI and the news media.

Newseum source















Sorry I couldn't get a better photo of Richard Reid's actual shoe bombs, along with a mock of cross section. I was surprised to see the shoes were really heavy duty hiking boots.

[Deleted]

Great photos. I've known the Newseum website for years for seeing the front page of any newspaper in the world, but I didn't know that it was a physical place.

[htmb]

It is a seven story, 15 gallery, 15 theater, FABULOUS place. I wish I had visited earlier because there's just so much to see. My one mistake was in going on my last free day. Though the Newseum is a non-profit, ticket prices are not cheap. I only learned too late that tickets are good for entry on two consecutive days. I missed much more than I saw on my first visit, and in doing this report I'm learning just how much was neglected by me. I also advise anyone visiting to enter just as the doors open at 9:00 AM like I did, to have the whole museum to yourself before the school tour groups arrive. Even though it's a very large place and I didn't feel crowded, it's still nice to enjoy the first few quiet moments in the morning of any museum.

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After viewing the lowest/concourse level I had a huge glass elevator all to my self for the ride to the top floor.











Stepping out onto the top floor terrace into the cold early morning air, I was able to get a great view of the interesting and varied skyline.

[mich64]

Great photos and information htmb, is confirming my attraction to visiting here.

[htmb]

Mich, I think as long as you avoid the summer months when the city tends to be hot, humid, and overcrowded, you would really enjoy Washington, DC.

Two things I've done with family that turned out to be very enjoyable were the river cruise and a chocolate tour in Georgetown. The cruise was a fancy brunch. Not typically my thing, but we were celebrating a milestone birthday and it was something the family member really wanted to do. A cruise minus the meal for the river views, and lunch or dinner at a restaurant later would be less expensive.

Photos of Georgetown in my "Cherry Blossom" thread were actually taken on a two hour chocolate tour. It was a nice walk with a bit of history thrown in and, though I enjoyed it, the organized tour is not really my thing. Family member got a big discount with purchase of groupon tickets and the chocolate samples were good.

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Walking through one of the galleries.

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[Deleted]

We will probably not see another news event as photogenic as 9/11 in our lifetimes. That's probably a good thing.

[bjd]

Here I was thinking that what struck me most were the photographs from the civil rights walks and the student demonstrations. Perhaps school groups visiting, glued to their smartphones, will realize that previous generations were involved in politics and willing to put themselves on the front lines, as demonstrators are still doing in many countries.

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I found the account of photographer Bill Biggart's actions to be extremely moving and personal.

The students I observed, most of whom have no memory of 2001, appeared very attentive and interested in this display, and many of the others.

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Admission to the Newseum is free to groups from surrounding schools. I think it would be a great place to take a class for a field trip, and there are all different types of educational materials available to teachers.

[Deleted]

Are all of the displays exclusively in English? Frankly, I will not criticise this if so, because that is the language of the country, but I am forced to remember the complaints of so many tourists when they come to France and the museum items are not automatically translated into English. In modern museums such as this one, I still hope there are multilingual interactive screens.

[htmb]

As far as I remember all displays were in English except in the case of newspapers printed in their original language. There is a guide to the museum written in several language :

This guide is available in Chinese, French, German, italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish as well as Braille and large print upon request at the information desk.

And on a different note, the museum is fully handicapped accessible.

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Honoring journalists from around the globe who have been killed while on assignment.

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The video/audio clips were certainly a favorite part for me. How complicated life seemed back during my college days, but certainly nothing compared with today.










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Not a very good capture by me, but certainly a memorable moment in the history of my country.



















Young people were very interested in using the mock studios.




And that was the extent of my visit. Now back out to the National Mall where buses line the street in front of the Museum of Natural History.

[bixaorellana]

Whew!!!

I have been dying to have the time to really devote my full attention to this thread. Having just completed viewing, I say again, whew!

Htmb, I knew this would be impressive, and that you would cover it fully & intelligently & that of course it would be interesting. What I did not expect was to be so extremely engaged and so very moved by this thread.

Thank you for letting us see so much of this remarkable place. I love how everything is BIG and that the big issues have ample and varied coverage. I was amazed as a kid when I found out that the Smithsonian had The Spirit of St. Louis hanging inside its building. But my gosh, the Newseum actually has part of the Berlin wall inside, along with other amazing, if sobering, artifacts. So much of this was like having parts of my life flash before my eyes, a feeling probably others share.

The photos are outstanding. Really, they're downright astounding considering that you were not only shooting inside, but in many cases taking pictures of pictures. To be perfectly honest, I never had much interest in visiting Washington, DC. But this thread, this museum, and these excellent views of the surrounding area have certainly changed my attitude.

Stellar job of reporting, so well done. Thank you!

[htmb]

Thank you, Bixa. I certainly appreciate your kind comments.

One fact I failed to mention was that photography is not only encouraged in the Newseum, the use of a flash is also permitted. I never used my flash for various reasons, but it's sure nice to be able to take photos of anything and everything.

There are also lots of short, interesting videos on the Newseum website for those interested in more information. If course, it may be problematic if you are expecting a language other than English.  

[kerouac2]

I just found out today that Newseum had closed and that the building is being sold.

[htmb]

That is really sad news.

[bixaorellana]

No! How tragically appropriate in this age of fake news, cooked news, and alarmist snippet news for the mentally lazy.

Just this morning I was again bemoaning to myself the infantile capsule headlines the New York Times now uses -- headlines preceding articles written with no regard to the style book, if one even exists any more. The goal of true journalism was always to present the facts in a clear, well-written way with no attempt to sway the reader.

The loss of a museum whose mission ... is to champion the five freedoms of the First Amendment through education, information and entertainment should be cause for outrage. (italicized phrase from the OP)