Psychiatr News February 1, 2008
Volume 43, Number 3, page 28
© 2008 American Psychiatric Association
Exciting New Attractions Make D.C. a Must
Stephanie Whyche
New museums, monuments, and restaurants—and a new convention
center—have pumped up the energy in downtown D.C., where APA will hold
its 161st annual meeting in May.
A quiz: What does Madame Tussauds wax museum in downtown Washington, D.C.,
have in common with the city's Mandarin Oriental hotel? And what do these two
venues have in common with the District of Columbia's International Spy Museum
and the city's Washington Nationals baseball team?
Answer: They are among the numerous new wonders that have been born in the
nation's capital since APA members last met there in 1999.
Members and their families coming to APA's meeting May 3 to 8 can pose
with, hug, or even kiss waxed-cloned versions of some of their favorite
important people—from towering historic figures like Abraham Lincoln and
George Washington to eerily authentic contemporary celebrities like pro golfer
Tiger Woods, actress-comedienne Whoopi Goldberg, actor Johnny Depp, and that
most world-trekking famous twosome, actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
Madame Tussauds, Washington (its official name) is the seventh Madame Tussauds
wax museum around the world. It opened last October and presently showcases 50
lifelike human figures.
Then there is the Mandarin Oriental, Washington, D.C., an Asian-inspired
oasis of calm and pampered guests that opened on Maryland Avenue, S.W., in
2003. Some 200 rooms and suites (out of its total of 400) have been blocked
out for APA members to reserve for their May visit. And all the rooms have a
great view—either facing the Jefferson Memorial and Tidal Basin or the
Potomac River with a view of planes taking off and landing at Ronald Reagan
Washington National Airport or (at the higher floors) a beautiful view of
downtown Washington, featuring the Washington Monument. A big draw at Mandarin
for even nonguests is CityZen, reportedly AAA's only five-star restaurant in
the city (for two consecutive years). It features the award-winning cuisine of
executive chef Eric Ziebold
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The entrance to Hotel Monaco Washington D.C. exudes old-world charm with
its classical Roman palazzo–styled marble columns and ornate
façade. The historic building was formerly the city's Old General
Post Office (circa 1839).
Credit: Kimpton Hotels
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Meanwhile, APA members who venture to 800 F Street (a block away from the
J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building) will have to forget being open, honest, and
caring—traits that are part and parcel with being a good psychiatrist.
This is the International Spy Museum, the only one of its kind in the world.
The unspoken mantra that seems to echo in each passageway and exhibit room:
Trust no one! The museum is a stunning walk through world history
featuring real people and real objects dedicated to obtaining secreted
information through all manner of deception and state-of-the-art technological
stealth.
For stealth of a sporting kind there is the Washington Nationals baseball
team, which trotted into the city only a few years ago. Before that, from 1901
to 1971, D.C. was home to the aptly named Senators baseball team, a franchise
that despite a few high competitive moments played many losing seasons.
Between 1971 and 2004 professional baseball took a hiatus here. But bats began
cracking balls again in 2005 and crowds started cheering when the Nationals
(formerly the Montreal Expos) came to town. If all goes as planned, the team
will have moved into its new, 41,222-seat Nationals Park stadium by March.
They will be playing the Pittsburgh Pirates, May 1 to 4.
These are not the only new attractions that have added energy and a
changing landscape to Washington, D.C., and even to its nearby suburbs since
last APA met there. A number of national monuments and museums also have
cropped up, as well as countless new clubs, lounges, restaurants, shops, and
hotels.
A good example of the new hotels, with a daring commercial twist, is the
District's Old General Post Office, a historic building at 700 F Street in the
heart of the Penn Quarter, near the refurbished National Portrait Gallery.
Through careful negotiation and adherence to historic preservation rules, the
building today houses the landmark Hotel Monaco. The hotel blends its historic
façade with an artsy, eclectically designed interior. With 183 rooms
and suites it is the largest and the latest in a half dozen untraditional,
boutique hotels to open in the city over the past several years as conceived
by the Kimpton hotel chain.
Of course the main new venue is the Washington Convention Center itself,
the site of APA's annual meeting. It opened only four years ago. It's situated
in Northwest D.C. between 7th and 9th streets, N Street, and Mt. Vernon Place,
not far from the glitzy lights of Chinatown and the city's big
sports/entertainment complex, the Verizon Center, which is in the midst of
celebrating its 10th anniversary. The massive state-of-the-art convention
center is a contemporary-designed structure that covers 2.3 million square
feet spanning five levels. (It lies only a block or two from the footprint of
the city's old convention center, which after being imploded turned into a
parking lot.) By the way, the new convention center is not named for George
Washington, the country's first president, but for the late Walter E.
Washington, the city's first mayor under home-rule governance.
Look for more in-depth, pre-APA annual meeting coverage of the host city
and the annual meeting's scientific program in the next issue of
Psychiatric News. 
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