Many D.C. residents don’t realize there’s much more to see here than the popular presidential memorials, art galleries and Smithsonian collections. Did you know there is dinosaur play-park, a peaceful place of pilgrimage, and a shrine to a once-popular pastime? You can discover these hidden treasures, and many more, with “More Unusual Attractions — The WETA Guide.” WETA’s latest in-house production takes viewers through 18 sites that will surprise tourists and residents alike.
In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the capital of the free world, there’s a house of refuge: the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America. Many Americans wish they could make the pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but can’t afford the trip. “You can get a taste of it here,” the documentary notes.
| On TV |
| ‘More Unusual Attractions — The WETA Guide’ |
| When: 9 p.m. Friday, replay 9 p.m. Monday |
| Channel: WETA |
A very different sort of tribute can be found in Virginia, at the National Firearms Museum, run by the National Rifle Association. Like many Washington museums and monuments, it offers lessons on American history. “It tells the story of Americans and their guns and the role they’ve played in the development of the country,” a curator explains.
Not that WETA ignores the thing many visitors seek — presidential history. Theodore Roosevelt Island, just off the George Washington Memorial Parkway, turns out to be the largest presidential memorials in the area. And it offers a respite from the beautiful but towering buildings of the city. And once you’ve had a moment of introspection at the Lincoln Memorial, you can travel up to Petworth and see President Lincoln’s Cottage, where he and his wife spent many hours.
The WETA doc explores 18 places in just a half-hour, but it still manages to give information that will make any visit more meaningful. Take the House of the Temple, the headquarters of the Scottish Rite Masons in America. Many have driven by the building designed by John Russell Pope on 16th Street NW. But did you know that there are three stairs, a landing, then five stairs, a landing, seven stairs, a landing, and finally nine stairs and a landing? Those numbers are important to masons, indicating their goal of moving “upward in thoughts and actions.”
There’s plenty for kids — and the young at heart — as well. Dinosaur Land just outside Winchester, Va., allows visitors to get up close and personal with fiberglass replicas of the now-extinct species.
Sadly, what looks like one of the most fun-filled sites is leaving the District. The WETA doc introduces the National Pinball Museum while the Who’s classic “Pinball Wizard” plays. Founder David Silverman notes that the machines were all American-made. “Every game tells a story,” he says.
You won’t have to go too far to play, though: The museum is moving from the Shops at Georgetown Park up to Baltimore and should be open in a couple of months.
