Day Fifty-Two

Today we decided to head into Washington to the Mall and see the newest of the Smithsonian Museums, the Native American History Museum. Wow - it was impressive and well worth the time spent. We first put coins in the meter to give ourselves two hours, but ended up feeding the meter a couple more times so that we could spend enough time there and include a short walk through the NationalGallery to view the early American artists. I think my favorite is still John Singer Sargent. What a portrait artist he was. There were also a couple of John Winslow Homer paintings that are also some of my favorites. We had a wonderful time together.

It began to rain a little as we found ourselves back at the car and figuring out what we'd do next. I thought the best use of time would be to explore the old Burges stomping grounds on Capitol Hill. We did manage to locate the Burges home where William Gregory Burgess lived until he married in 1904. The home is on the 1900 Census as 1107 Park

Place NE and is right between Constitution Ave and 2nd St. It's a small street that parallels both, connecting the two. The street is charming and this is where, in 1900, Will Burges listed his occupation as "bicycle repairman." It's so close to the Capitol and I could just imagine all the happenings around there in the early 1900's.

We then went on to the house listed in the 1910 Census where the young Burges couple lived with their two children George and Margaret. It was located on 1425 Pennsylvania Ave SE and I say "located" because it is not there anymore.

There is a convenience store on the corner and

several vacant lots on which, I believe their house would have stood. It would have been a real treasure to find but I'm sure this isthe fate of many homes in the area. So we headed to the last location my grandparents settled into before heading West - 118 C Street SE which also does not exist. The Library of Congress absorbed the side of the street where 118 would have been. I did get a picture of 119 on the opposite side of the street.