Review of our visit to Newseum in Washington DC

[Miss Marty]

Labor Day Weekend - the first Saturday of September 2015
Decided to take a day trip to Washington DC to tour Newseum

Newseum is located between the U.S. Capitol and the White House (beside the Canadian Embassy on the former site of National Hotel
at 555 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, in Washington, DC 20001.

I first called and ask about parking and was told the Entrance to the Newseum underground parking garage is on C St and on weekends there is a flat rate of $15.

Note: You get a parking ticket when you first drive in
You pay before you leave in the hallway by the elevator.

We took The Baltimore Washington Parkway southbound towards DC Came into town from Capital Hill section of the city to Pennsylvania Ave.
Spotted the building and drove around the block before entering the garage.

As we traveled down into the underground garage, we were surprised to see how small it is!
There is only one level with really tight parking spaces, they offer complimentary valet parking.
We parked and took the elevator up to the street level, walked outside and entered Newseum
C St entrance. This entrance is mainly used for garage parking guests and bus tour visitors.

We received our tickets ($45) and picked up a brochure/map.

Next stop, Security where you walked thru a metal detector.
Bill had to check a small knife. I signed in with our name
and address and the guard placed it in a plastic bag,
put it in a box and held it until we finished our tour.
Next time, we know not to bring it or to just leave it in the car.

Once inside Newseum we were amazed at the building`s interior!
Very Impressive!

Since we have never been here before, we did not know what to expect.

We rode one of the three beautiful glass elevators (stainless steel trim) to the top floor.
An elevator operator - security guard - controls it when you first get on. Since no one else was waiting. We had the entire elevator to ourselves.

First Stop

Level 6
The view from the Terrace Balcony is beautiful. The low dome of John Russell Pope`s magnificent 1941 National Gallery of Art is directly across the way.

This terrace offers a panoramic view of one of America’s most famous streets. An 80-foot-long exhibit rail tells the history of the people and events that played a role in shaping the avenue, Washington, D.C., and the nation itself.

Level 6
Front Page Gallery
Every morning, various newspapers from around the world electronically submit their front pages to the Newseum to be part of Today’s Front Pages online exhibit.

Level 4
9/11 Gallery
This gallery explores the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001

Level 3
There is a Journalist Photo Memorial Gallery that was interesting.

Level 2
I was really disappointed in “First Dogs: American Presidents and Their Pets” showcases images and stories about some of the top dogs who have resided at the nation’s most prestigious address since it was simply photos lines up along the floor. You can also purchase a cute little First Dog Stuffed Animal at the Gift Shop.

Level 1 - Great Hall
The Great Hall of News - This soaring, 90 foot-high atrium showcases breaking news on a 40 foot by 22 foot high-definition screen. The latest headlines are continuously updated on two electronic news zippers. Suspended from above are a satellite replica and a Bell helicopter, (KXAS-TV) two icons of modern news gathering and transmission.

Concourse Level
The Berlin Wall Gallery. Featured are eight 12-foot-high concrete sections of the original wall - the largest display of unaltered portions of the wall outside of Germany. A three-story East German guard tower that loomed near Checkpoint Charlie -Berlin’s best-known East-West crossing - stands nearby.

On the Concourse Level
There is a four minute orientation film that explains the Newseum's numerous exhibits, galleries and programs. You are suppose to do this first.. However, we did it last..

There is a food court where you relax and enjoy a light snack & beverage.
We missed the 4 D Movie and the FBI Exhibit was closed for renovation.

We enjoyed our Labor Day weekend visit to Newseum but found some exhibits very boring.
I doubt if we would go back again especially since admission and parking are so expensive.

Newseum is a nice place to visit while on vacation in DC

 

[DaveNV]

Your experience there was very different from ours.

We were there in June of 2014, and spent an entire day, from doors opening to doors closing, and still had more to see. I found it fascinating, some exhibits more interesting than others, but all very worthwhile. The unspoken power of media to inform, and in some cases, influence public opinion, was amazing. Pervasive, subtle (or not), and never-ending.

I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit that had the front pages of world newspapers in file drawers. To slide open a drawer of a city that witnessed a major event, catastrophe, or celebration, and read the paper like a local would have, was pretty cool.

The exhibit that showcased personalities in media was quite interesting, as well. Beyond the well-known names, like Walter Cronkite and Barbara Walters, reading about some of the more obscure local on-air talent, showed how hard some reporters work to get the news out. And the tribute to the media professionals who had died in the line of duty was very sobering.

Probably the most overwhelming part of the Newseum for me, was the Berlin Wall exhibit. Not because it had so much of the Wall just sitting there, surrounded by those photographs of what it was like at the time, but because of the West vs. East sides. On the West side, the Wall was covered in graffiti and propaganda. On the East side, the Wall was bare, plain concrete. Extremely telling of how things were so controlled on the East side, and compelling at the same time, showing the efforts from the West to bring the Wall down.

We're going back to DC next June to see more of what we didn't have time to see last time. I don't know if we'll do the Newseum again, but it could easily happen.

Dave

 

[Free2Roam]

Nice review. I visited years ago when they were in the original location in Arlington VA. I haven't made it to the DC location.