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General Highway History

Left Nav - History

Pennsylvania Avenue Temperance Statue

Just across 7th Street is a smaller sculpture to "Temperance." This piece honors the fight to stop people from drinking alcoholic beverages. Some people consider this the ugliest statue in Washington, D.C., but it stands today where it has for over 100 years. For many of those years, the sculpture stood in front of the Apex Liquor Store.

Pennsylvania Avenue Grand Army of the Republic

You stop at a street vendor to get a hot dog and soda. You will see vendors all along Pennsylvania Avenue, selling everything from ice cream to souvenirs of Washington.

Crossing Pennsylvania Avenue again, you walk back to 7th Street to see two more Civil War statues. One honors the Grand Army of the Republic. That was a name for the Union army that fought to keep the country together.

Pennsylvania Avenue Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

In the northwest corner of the National Archives grounds, at 9th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, you stop to read a marble block in a small grassy plot: "In Memory of Franklin Delano Roosevelt 1882-1945." He is the only President to serve more than two 4-year terms in office. He was elected and re-elected four times. This marble block is the only memorial in the city to President Roosevelt (although a larger memorial is being planned). The President once said he only wanted a memorial marker about the size of his desk, and that is what this marble block is.

Pennsylvania Avenue Past Prologue Statue

At 7th Street, you come to the National Archives building. That is where our Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights are on display, the cornerstone documents of the United States. The National Archives building rests on the spot where Tiber Creek used to flood Pennsylvania Avenue in the early 1800's. This is where Dr. Gunton's young druggist lost a shoe in the ooze in 1807. The pavement is solid today, and there's no chance you'll lose your shoe.

Pennsylvania Avenue Federal Trade Commission

The Federal Trade Commission occupies the block between 6th and 7th Streets on the south of Pennsylvania Avenue. At the corner of 6th and Pennsylvania, you look up at a statue symbolizing man harnessing trade.

Pennsylvania Avenue Duck at Fountain

As you walk out of the park, a little girl turns her back to the fountain and tosses a penny over her shoulder into the pool. Her grandmother says, "Now don't tell me what you wished for."

Pennsylvania Avenue Andrew Mellon

Instead, you cross the street again to take a look at a nice fountain in a small park in honor of Andrew Mellon. He was our Ambassador to Great Britain from 1932 to 1933 and a Secretary of the Treasury.

Pennsylvania Avenue Canadian Embassy

On your walk, you will see many United States flags. The Maple Leaf flag of Canada is the only flag you will see from another country and it is located on the grounds of the new Canadian Embassy on the other side of Marshall Park. The embassy is next to the city's Employment Services Building. It is a dull building that you walk right by without really noticing. Nothing catches your eye.