Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the Civil War. With the housing boom that followed the Second World War, Rosslyn became a suburb
of Washington, known for its garden apartments.
From Rosslyn, cross Key Bridge to Georgetown. The bridge was named for Francis Scott Key, au-
thor of the lyrics to the national anthem. Stop in the small park at the end of Key Bridge with a bust of
the poet.
The C&O Canal towpath through Georgetown is a quiet respite from the busy streets above. At 31st
Street, the path leads up to the road, where you can make your way down to the Washington Harbour
and along the boardwalk with its beautiful view of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing
Arts. A living memorial to JFK, this is Washington's premier performing arts center, featuring the Na-
tional Symphony, opera, plays, and ballet.
As you continue along the river, you will pass the Watergate complex of hotel, offices, and posh
condominiums. But it will always be most recognized as the site of the infamous Watergate scandal of
1972.
After passing under the Roosevelt Bridge, a small terrace provides views of Arlington Memorial
Bridge on the left. Built in 1932, the bridge symbolizes the connection of the North and the South,
with the Lincoln Memorial on the Washington, D.C. side and Arlington House, the home of Robert E.
Lee, on the Virginia side. Arlington House sits on a hill in what is now Arlington Cemetery. The house
belonged to Lee and his wife, Mary Custis, great-granddaughter of Martha Washington. They lived
there until the outbreak of the Civil War, when the family moved to Richmond. When taxes were due
on the property, Mary Custis Lee was unable to travel to Washington to pay them as it meant crossing
enemy lines, and the property was repossessed by the government. When land was needed to bury
those fallen at the Second Battle of Manassas, Montgomery Meigs, a classmate of Lee's at West Point,
decided to use his property to create a cemetery, a way of getting back at Lee for leading the Confeder-
ate Army. After the war was over, the Lees' son fought the decision and won, but the land had become
a cemetery and the family did not return. Ironically, Meigs is interred at Arlington Cemetery; Lee is
not.
The three spires in the distance are the top of the US Air Force Memorial, located near the
Pentagon.
Return via the same route. Or, perhaps instead of the canal towpath, you might want to walk up to
M Street and window shop or stop for a bite to eat in Georgetown before heading back across the river.
