A new shot of a by-now familiar scene, but today, when I wanted to take a picture of the Capitol through the gate, a Capitol Police officer told us to get away from the fence, which had never happened before. It’s bad enough that the people can’t get anywhere near “The People’s House,” but to be told that I couldn’t even stand near the fence made me pretty angry. Finally Tim said we just wanted to take a picture, so she relented and told us to take the picture and get out of there. I was appalled.

*****

Washington, D.C., the nation's capital, has become a city of fences. They're ugly and everywhere, depriving residents and tourists alike of access to major streets, sidewalks, green areas, federal buildings, landmarks and of course the US Capitol, which ironically is supposed to be The People's House, except that the people are no longer allowed anywhere near it. There are plans afoot to make the barriers permanent, although there has been push-back from the District government, residents, especially those on Capitol Hill, where we live, and some lawmakers.

The idea for this gallery was suggested by Raymond in Canada http://pbase.com/monminou/profile and I thought it was a good one. Some pictures were taken when we had 25,000 National Guard troops guarding the Capitol area, while others are more recent. I hope the opportunities for fence pictures become fewer in time, but I wouldn’t bet on that.

Best to view in "Original" because other versions resized by Pbase are decidedly
unsharp.

Sahraa in her snow nest, posted earlier: