A Visit to the Newseum - Part 1

I've been trying to get to the Newseum for over a year now, but, well, with little ones in tow, I don't get into the District very often. For my birthday, I asked to go. Unfortunately, with Cecilia and Felicity sick last week, our planned trip was postponed. But, happily, we were able to go today. It was definitely worth the effort to go.

Upon entering, in the main foyer, you are met with history. There is a piece of the Berlin wall on display that you are invited to touch.



The text says, "This is an original fragment of the Berlin Wall, the concrete barrier that separated communist East Germany from democratic West Germany for 28 years. The graffiti on the wall's west side - some of which you can see on this piece - provided a vivid contrast to the untouched east side, a testimony to the struggle between open and closed societies. On Nov. 9, 1989, the wall was toppled as communist regimes fell across Eastern Europe. To mark the 20th anniversary, we invite you to touch this piece of history, and then go downstairs to view the largest display of Berlin Wall pieces outside of Germany."

So downstairs we went. But we did two other exhibits before getting to the Berlin Wall exhibit. First we went to G Men and Jounalists: 100 Years of the FBI. This was the exhibit that had received a news article and first piqued my interest in the museum. Included in the exhibit was the local D.C. sniper's car.





It was from inside the trunk of their car that they shot and killed in the area in which we live.

The exhibit also had a segment on Nichols and the Oklahoma City Bombing.



One impressive section was on the Unabomber.

It included his infamous shack from which he built his bombs.



The next exhibit we went to particularly interested the girls as Snoopy and Charlie Brown made an appearance.

They have a hall devoted to Comics. Can't go wrong with peanuts.

Then we got to the very impressive Berlin Wall exhibit. The West side:



The East Side:

The East Germany Guard Tower:





Cecilia and my dad inside the guard tower:



Looking up inside the tower:

There was also a fallen statue of Lenin:









There is also a neat exhibit on Abraham Lincoln and his assassination. The photograph used by those who searched for John Wilkes Booth:



An original playbill from Our American Cousin:



The view from the top floor overlooking the main atrium. You can see a news satelite and a news helicopter suspended.