| CAPITAL LETTERS 2006Washington, DC, November 10 to 12, 2006 | 
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| CAPITAL LETTERS 2006Washington, DC, November 10 to 12, 2006 |
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Best Western Capitol Skyline Hotel 10 I St. SW, Washington, D.C. 20024 (202) 488-7500 Hotel rate: $119/night No commuter fee
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Note that 10 I St. SW, Washington, D.C. 20024 is sometimes written 10 Eye St. SW, Washington, D.C. 20024 to clarify that the name of the street is the lone vowel, capitalized, that is also the overused first-person pronoun.
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The Best Western Capitol Skyline Hotel is just a few blocks south of the Capitol building. The view from rooms on the north side is quite nice, so request a room on the north side if feasible. There are 3 airports serving DC, and the nearest airport (DCA, known as National Airport to locals and Reagan National to the uninitiated) is a stone’s throw away (a really long throw, think young Superman) across the Potomac river. Cabs from DCA are cheap. Dulles (IAD) is far out in Virginia, and BWI is far out in Maryland, but there are shuttles into the city (not so cheap), and BWI has free shuttles to MARC and Amtrak trains, which go to Union Station (on the Metro’s Red Line). MARC is a similar train from the same station, but much cheaper than Amtrak ($6 one way instead of $11 or more). |
Directions to the hotel from the nearest airport (DCA): Cabs are cheap. Alternatively, follow signs to Metro (via ramps, pedways*, mechanized walkways, and/or the shuttle marked Metro), take any train toward DC (yellow line or blue line). The Navy Yard station (Half Street exit) is closest, and can reached by transferring from the yellow line to the green line at L’Enfant Plaza, but the Waterfront SEU, L’Enfant Plaza, Federal Center SW, and Capitol South stations are all within a few blocks of the hotel.
*Note:
YAWPED is acceptable, PEDWAY is not.
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The best way via Metro
is probably to take the blue line from the Airport station directly to Capitol
South (both stations are on the blue line), turn around when exiting, and
head south (on 1st St SE) to E St, then make a right to head west to South
Capitol St. Turn left, heading south, and the hotel is one block ahead on the
right, just past the huge playground, at the intersection of South Capitol
and I Sts. If you get lost on the way, call Austin Nichols (202-557-4735) for
directions. |  |
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From the northwest, take Connecticut Ave south from the Beltway (I-495), and turn left on Porter St (the two-syllable street names follow the three-syllable names, and stay in the left lane after you pass Upton and Tilden, as Porter is coming right up). Follow Porter down across Rock Creek, and at the mural on the retaining wall on your left, turn right on Adams Mill Rd. Get in the left lane after you turn, and stay straight (follow the sign) for Irving St. Take Irving St about a mile, or about 12 or 14 blocks, and turn right on Georgia Ave. Georgia Ave heads south and turns into 7th St NW, which runs straight south through the National Mall. After you cross the Mall (at which point you also cross from NW to SW; don't turn on I St NW before you cross the Mall), you will go over the Southwest Freeway (395 North). A block after the overpass, make a left on I St SW, and drive 6 blocks to the hotel at 10 I St SW (on your right, just past Half St SW and just before South Capitol St). |  The mural at the intersection of Porter St and Adams Mill Rd. |
 | The tournament hotel is in the upper right corner of this photo (directly south of the Capitol building), which looks east across the National Mall. The National Gallery (DC's answer to the Louvre) is the pair of buildings closest to the Capitol building on the left (the north side of the Mall) and the Air and Space Museum is directly across the mall. The Hirshorn (MOMA and Guggenheim rolled into one) is just west of (below) Air and Space, and looks a bit like a concrete doughnut. There's a newer museum (not in the picture) just east of Air and Space, the National Museum of the American Indian, which isn't very good, but has one of the better cafeterias on the Mall. A favorite from childhood is Natural History, across the Mall (northeast of Air and Space), with a greenish dome, and it has an enormous collection of dioramas, skeletons, and artifacts, plus some of the most famous gemstones in the world, and a live Insect Zoo. Museums are free and open daily 10am-5:30pm. Here is a useful map, suitable for downloading and printing. The tangle of large office buildings just south (to the right) of the Mall, that dominates the top half of the photo, is mostly composed of government agencies, including the FAA, HUD, Education, HHS, Agriculture, SSA, and others. Just to the right of the Capitol building (just south) is a trio of House Office Buildings. The Library of Congress and the Supreme Court wrap around behind the Capitol building (just east of it) and the Senate Offices are to the left (just north). |
| The Washington Monument
is the giant obelisk in the middle of the picture,
and the tallest thing for miles.
The Lincoln Memorial is east of it (at the bottom of the picture) and
the Jefferson Memorial is south of it (surrounded by water).
The Korean War
Veterans and Vietnam Veterans Memorials flank the Reflecting Pool (narrow rectangle) between the Washington Monument and
the Lincoln Memorial, close to Lincoln.
The Einstein memorial is across Constitution St from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, off the left edge of the photo, on the
grounds of the National Academy of Sciences.
Restaurants Las Placitas (517 Eighth St. SE) and Montmartre (327 Seventh St. SE) are both walkable from the hotel (walk north to E St and turn right, then 7 blocks east to the Eastern Market area, where there are a bunch of restaurants). The diner in the hotel is pretty good, if you like diners. There is a shopping mall and a terrible movie theater at Union Station, four blocks north of the Capitol building. All in all, there's quite a lot to do, and here is a ranking of touristed sites. |
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