Memorial Bridge Statues
Originally uploaded by rgb48
Despite the fact that I am a grownup and tell myself that I am too mature for such things, my inner 12 year old always giggles at the subtext of naked men on horseback and their naked female companions when I drive over the Memorial Bridge.
As I was perusing the intarwebz today, looking for more information about these figures, I learned a curious fact about the bridge itself from Wikipedia:
Although the bridge was part of the 1901 McMillan Commission’s plan for restoring Pierre L’Enfant’s original plan for the capital, two decades passed before construction was initiated. President Warren G. Harding was caught in a three-hour traffic jam while on his way to dedicate the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, because the previous wooden bridge could not handle the traffic. The ensuing turmoil led to appropriation for the bridge construction.
Clearly, traffic jams are not a recent development for DC. It seems President Harding had not learned the joy of getting law enforcement officers to shove the citizens out of his way.