DC by Candlelight

On Friday night we decided to go and see the new Batman film. Unfortunately, so did the rest of DC's population, so we ended up not going to the cinema until 11:45, which gave me a perfect opportunity to do a bit of night-time exploring.

I've said before how DC is just a lovely city to stroll around, and I much prefer walking everywhere to taking the Metro, but it's especially true when the sun starts set and dusk falls - all of the important buildings and monuments are wonderfully lit up and the whole place takes on a completely different and spellbinding atmosphere. I started off walking up to the White House as the sun was setting to get my 'West Wing DVD Boxset' shot of it, before heading down to the Mall.


The Mall is impressive in the day time, the sheer scale of it is amazing. But at night it has a new quality as you can't see the bits in between the lit up parts, everything becomes disconnected and a little more mystical. There were a group of Falon Gong supporters sat by the Washington Monument, each wearing yellow and holding a single candle, which made for a spectacular sight in the early evening light. It's a shame the photo can't capture the music they had playing at the same time.


Afterwards, the Monument itself was subtly lit and with the flags surrounding the base the place felt oddly serene. Again, I think the lack of any view beyond the immediately lit up areas focuses attention more on what's there. That was certainly the case at the World War Two Memorial, which although lovely, isn't as memorable as the others by day, but at night with the fountains and water spouts all lit up, it becomes something pretty much completely different.




The same's true of the Lincoln Memorial. It's impressive by day, but in my view it gets eclipsed by the other things on the Mall, but at night, it's white simplicity means it stands out above everything else, both inside and out. There are still hundreds of people around, but the atmosphere again is completely different, just a lot more laid back and relaxed.



The White House though almost goes in the opposite direction come night. Whereas I think nighttime brings out the Lincoln and World War Two Memorials, I think it underplays the White House, but I think that's probably intended. By just lighting up the building and not the gardens, and with having to stand so far away, it recedes into the background and takes on a subtly that it doesn't have by day.


DC is so different by night, and I think I probably prefer it then. It's a shame then that on the whole places are so much quieter in the evenings as it can only mean people are missing out on sights that they think they've already seen, only they really haven't.