Its been a long time processing some of the hundreds….OK thousands… of shots taken in Washington this summer.  I hope you have enjoyed them and also learned a little about the rich history that accompanies these images.

The Smithsonian Castle.  Did you know that the Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum complex & research organization, consisting of a national zoo, nineteen museums and nine research centres? In 1826 James Smithson (British Scientist) left his estate to his nephew, who then died in 1836 leaving no heirs. According to Smithson’s will, should the nephew die without heirs the entire estate was to then be given to the United States to found the Smithsonian Institution…..and the rest, they say, is history.

Smithsonian Castle

Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963. The speech became the defining moment of the American Civil Rights Movement when it was delivered to over 200,000 supporters who had gathered for the March On Washington for Jobs & Freedom Rally. The speech lasted only seventeen minutes and has been regarded by scholars as the top American speech of the twentieth century.