Late in September 2004 the last piece of open real estate on the National Mall was filled up with the new National Museum of the American Indian. Given that there were so many people in town for the pending inauguration festivities (I've never seen so many Portapoties in a row) visiting the new Museum required that we stand in line for a while to get through security (just purse/backback checks). That delay gave us time to appreciate the gorgeous lines and texture of both the architecture and the landscape.

But that was only heightened by the visuals inside. I could have stared for hours at the detailed craftsmanship of the massive copper sculpture surrounding the ground floor tribal circle made to represent a wooden fence threaded with birch bark. Don't get me started on the design of the elevator doors, the matching theme inside the elevators and the stonework on the floors...

We headed straight for the 4th floor. We were there for over 2 hours and I only saw half of the exhibits just on that floor alone.

I wanted to publically thank all the designers involved in this fabulous celebration of history. I was particularly impressed with the multimodal design to be experienced in the Lelawi Theatre. An intimate circular setting (tiered bench seating in the round), at the center was a 4-sided logpole frame with a coarse cream woven blanket hung from each side. These served as projection screens...well, some of them. Under the frame was a large, lumpy rock-like piece that also served as a screen, and the domed ceiling overhead served as a screen as well. Literally, you would have to see the exhibit over and over again from different angles to take in all the visual projections. And it wasn't overdone.

The last item that I got to take in, that I just kept staring at, was a document signed by George Washington. In such an informal/comfortable environment, it seemed like such an important piece of history to be randomly mixed in with all the other artifacts. For a girl not used to being steeped in the history of America, it inspired an awe or two.

I guess maybe I should head to the National Mall more often on weekends. The price of admission (free) is certainly affordable.