Mini-Adventure

This afternoon I decided to walk home from work, since the sun was out and it seemed like a relatively nice day, which would be a first for this week, which has been rainy and cold (and it was cold when the sun went and hid itself under a cloud nonetheless).  On my way home I passed Smithsonian Castle and, seeing a bit of a garden behind it, thought I would go see what it was.

It turns out this is the Enid A. Haupt Garden, and it covers over four acres, sandwiched in between the Smithsonian Castle (the iconic red building in the background) and Independence Avenue.  The garden is divided into several sections, one centered around a fountain, one inspired by the gardens of China, and one (through which you approach the castle from Independence Ave.), a Victorian formal garden, complete with topiary:

Across the street you can see the monstrous (both in size and aesthetic) hulk of the Department of Energy; in the foreground, the formal garden.  I learned from one of the signs that this is technically a rooftop garden.  As the garden's website puts it:

While wandering its brick paths, admiring the parterre and hanging baskets, or splashing in the fountains, few visitors to the Haupt garden realize that they are standing on the roofs of the National Museum of African Art,  the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, and the S. Dillon Ripley Center (International Gallery).

Indeed!

After perusing the remaining flowers, I walked over towards a building that, earlier, I had noted was closed for renovations, following the path above (that odd shadow on the path is actually a palm tree - they're more resilient than you think.  They grow in Scotland too, you know.)  The building in question is the Arts and Industries building, and can be seen in the background - I followed it along towards the right, where I saw a sign informing me of what I already knew - that it was being renovated.  So I took a picture:

Not too bad for a cell phone, eh?  Underneath that central arch is an entrance to the building (closed, of course), which possessed and interesting set of cast-iron gates.  As readers of this blog may have noticed, I have something of an obsession with cast iron architectural features, especially ornate lamps and gates.  So, a picture of the gate:

Neat old wooden doors too.

After snapping a few pictures, I continued on my way home, which meant crossing Independence Ave.  You may or may not have noticed in the picture of the formal garden that the Energy building (the monstrosity in the background - Brutalism at its worst) is on stilts.  This means you can walk under it.  You can also drive under it.  On a road.  Once you get to the other side, this is what it looks like:

Might we be in East Berlin?  I think so.

This is L'Enfant Promenade, part of a massive complex referred to as L'Enfant Plaza; both are named after Pierre Charles L'Enfant, who drew up the original blueprint for the city of Washington (it was not followed in its totality, but L'Enfant is most definitely to blame for the District's periodic diagonal streets).  L'Enfant Plaza is mostly office towers, although there is apparently an underground mall as well.  Even during the day, the area feels dead - at night it's so quiet it's been nicknamed the Valley of the Tombs.  I prefer to think of it as my own personal trip behind the Iron Curtain.  (For more about L'Enfant Plaza, go here.)

Speaking of dead things, guess what this is!

If you guessed "the headquarters of the US Postal Service," you'd be right!  Seems appropriate that it's located in the "Valley of the Tombs," no?