Tag Archives: National Memorial

Hamilton Grange National Memorial

November 11, 2021 Raven About The Parks 2 Comments

Overview

Anyone who has watched the musical Hamilton is familiar with the life story of Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton Grange National Memorial is the only National Park Service (NPS) site dedicated to this “founding father.” It is also the only one of 45 National Memorials built by the person it honors. What you may not know is that his historic home in New York City has been moved twice, once in 1889 and again in 2008.

Highlights

Museum, tour, statue at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church

Must-Do Activity

The Grange gets its name from the Hamilton family’s ancestral home in Scotland. Built in 1802 on a 32-acre estate in Upper Manhattan, Hamilton only lived there two years before being shot and killed in an infamous duel with Aaron Burr. Today you enter the home through the basement where the NPS runs a museum. Access upstairs is available on guided tours or during daily “open house” hours, but you must leave large items in lockers.

Best Trail

None

Instagram-worthy Photo

The Grange was tucked between St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and an apartment building until 2008 when the NPS moved it to St. Nicholas Park, part of the original 32-acre estate. A statue of Alexander Hamilton still stands where the house resided for more than a century.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/hagr/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

It is easiest not to drive into New York City, instead opt to take public transportation.

Camping

None

Federal Hall National Memorial (New York)

Saint Paul’s Church National Historic Site (New York)

Explore More – After resuming his law practice in 1795, Hamilton represented free and enslaved African Americans and defended a newspaper editor sued for slander by which future president?

Pennsylvania

Flight 93 National Memorial

September 9, 2021 Raven About The Parks 2 Comments

Overview

One of the most emotionally difficult places we have ever visited is the Flight 93 National Memorial in southwest Pennsylvania. Most readers remember the details of September 11, 2001 vividly and the feelings of that day still resonate. Thanks to the courage of the 40 passengers and crew aboard United Flight 93, the airplane crashed only 18 minutes short of its target in Washington, D.C.

Highlights

Museum, Memorial Plaza, Wall of Names

Must-Do Activity

Even if you never saw the Hollywood film, the story of Flight 93 is well known. The National Park Service (NPS) has put together a high-quality museum near the airplane crash site and the memorial itself is simple yet strong. One wall is inscribed with this excellent quote: “A common field one day. A field of honor forever.” The focus is on the bravery of the 33 passengers and seven crew members that stood up to the four hijackers that tragic morning. Since it is essentially a mass grave, the actual crash site is off limits except to family members of the victims, but it is marked by a large boulder visible from the Memorial Plaza. We left after our visit feeling both saddened and empowered.

Best Trail

An allée (formal walkway) leads from the NPS visitor center past the 40 Memorial Groves of trees (planted in 2012) to the Memorial Plaza and the Wall of Names. You can also drive to the parking lot at the visitor shelter next to the Memorial Plaza.

Instagram-worthy Photo

The names of the Flight 93 passengers and crew are on the 40 marble panels of the Wall of Names (the NPS visitor center is visible in the background).

Peak Season

Summer and the September anniversary

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/flni/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads paved

Camping

We camped on state forest land near Stoystown, Pennsylvania.

Related Sites

Johnstown Flood National Memorial (Pennsylvania)

Fort Necessity National Battlefield (Pennsylvania)

Gettysburg National Military Park (Pennsylvania)

Explore More – Where was the United Airlines flight from Newark, New Jersey bound for on September 11, 2001?

District of Columbia

National Mall and Memorial Parks

July 8, 2021 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

National Mall and Memorial Parks

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1965

6,547 acres

Website: nps.gov/nama

Overview

Part of Pierre L’Enfant’s 1791 design for Washington, D.C., his “grand avenue” was not fully realized until the 1900s when a train station was removed to fully open up two miles of grass between the U.S. Capitol and Lincoln Memorial. Today, America’s front lawn is lined with National Park Service (NPS) memorials and Smithsonian museums. The 2003 Reserve Act declared the National Mall a completed work of civic art and restricted further construction after completion of the World War II Memorial. However, in 2014 the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial was dedicated at its eastern end.

Highlights

Lincoln Memorial, Reflecting Pool, Washington Monument, World War I Memorial, World War II Memorial, Ulysses S. Grant Memorial, District of Columbia War Memorial, U.S. Capitol

Must-Do Activity

There is no official visitation count kept for the National Mall, but if there was its 30-million annual visitors would make it the number one busiest site in the entire NPS system. Not far from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where he gave his most famous speech in 1963, is the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, one of the numerous NPS sites located here. The National Air and Space Museum is one of several awesome galleries of the Smithsonian Institution, containing Charles Lindbergh’s The Spirit of Saint Louis, an Apollo Lunar Module, and the original Wright Brothers flyer used in 1903. There is so much to see and do, you could easily spend more than a week exploring.

Best Trail

One of the greatest overlooks of the National Mall is from the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial (part of George Washington Memorial Parkway), located across the Potomac River in Arlington, Virginia. It is a bit of a walk from the National Mall, but the view is especially breathtaking at night.

Instagram-worthy Photo

At some point during your visit, do yourself a favor and come after dark. It is nicely decorated each December (but you might need a tripod for photographs).

Peak Season

Summer, and also weekends during the National Cherry Blossom Festival (March-April)

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/nama/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

As with most NPS sites in Washington, D.C., it is easier to walk or take the Metro than find parking for your car.

Camping

There are no NPS campgrounds in the Washington, D.C. area, so it might be best to head for Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.

Related Sites

Lincoln Memorial (District of Columbia)

World War I Memorial (District of Columbia)

World War II Memorial (District of Columbia)

Korean War Veterans Memorial (District of Columbia)

Explore More – The Tidal Basin (home to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial) is considered part of the National Mall, so when were the famous cherry trees (a gift from Japan) planted there?

South Dakota

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

June 24, 2021 Raven About The Parks 4 Comments

Overview

Completed in 1941 after fifteen years of work, this granite outcrop had the 60-foot tall faces of four prominent American presidents blasted and chiseled into its façade. The mountain is named for a New York attorney who visited the Black Hills to inspect mining claims in 1885. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum originally carved Thomas Jefferson over George Washington’s right shoulder, but the granite there had flaws and the figure was blasted away.

Highlights

Grand View Terrace, Avenue of Flags, Sculptor’s Studio, Evening Lighting Ceremony

Must-Do Activity

Mount Rushmore National Memorial is inspiring to see during the day, but for the full effect do not miss the Evening Lighting Ceremony offered May to September. Held in the outdoor amphitheater, this audiovisual presentation is one of the most patriotic events held at a National Park Service (NPS) site.

Best Trail

Leaving from the Grand View Terrace, the 0.6-mile Presidential Trail forms a loop with 422 stairs that gets closer to the carvings for a unique perspective and access to the Sculptor’s Studio.

Instagram-worthy Photo

If you keep a sharp eye, you may spot mountain goats around the park. Not native to South Dakota, they were introduced to the Black Hills in 1924 and have successfully adapted to their new environment.

Peak Season

Summer, especially 4th of July weekend

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/moru/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

No admission fee, but there is a $10 parking fee (America the Beautiful Pass not accepted)

Road Conditions

All access roads are paved, but there are size limits on the Norbeck Highway due to tunnels.

Camping

There are campgrounds in Wind Cave National Park, Custer State Park, and Black Hills National Forest.

Related Sites

Jewel Cave National Monument (South Dakota)

Minuteman Missile National Historic Site (South Dakota)

Badlands National Park (South Dakota)

Explore More – In the 1920s, who was the most controversial inclusion of the four presidents featured: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, or Roosevelt?

Pennsylvania

Johnstown Flood National Memorial

May 27, 2021 Raven About The Parks 1 Comment

Overview

May 31, 1889 was the infamous day when a dam broke sending a 40-foot wall of water downstream, leveling multiple towns and killing more than 2,200 people. The earthen South Fork Dam was designed for a lower lake level, was poorly maintained since 1853, and was completely ignored by the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club (with wealthy members such as Andrew Carnegie and Andrew Mellon). Clara Barton’s newly formed American Red Cross sent a staff of 50 doctors and nurses to assist with recovery efforts, which took years.

Highlights

Museum, film, South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club Historic District, Grandview Cemetery

Must-Do Activity

Start your visit at the National Park Service (NPS) museum at the dam site in South Fork, Pennsylvania. The 35-minute film shown there is not appropriate for young children. A driving tour leads around the dry lakebed to the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club Historic District. Much of the Little Conemaugh River downstream is not accessible by roads, but be sure to drive downstream to Johnstown to visit the Grandview Cemetery and, if you have time, the Johnstown Flood Museum (admission fee). Every year since 1989 on the anniversary, the NPS lights 2,209 luminaria in memoriam.

Best Trail

There is a trail that follows a portion of the Little Conemaugh River and leads to Staple Bend Tunnel, part of Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site.

Instagram-worthy Photo

A memorial to the unidentified victims of the May 31, 1889 flood stands in Grandview Cemetery in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.