STAR SPANGLED CITY

[Music] ladies and gentlemen tonight's america program presents robert taylor with a conclusion of our special one-hour tour of washington dc the first half hour was presented last week this is america's star-spangled city to always remember it is the dawn's early light the tomb of the unknown soldier at arlington cemetery it has been raining through most of the night until the rain has stopped we can still feel the chill and dampness of the gloomy morning mist the honor guard is attached to the first battalion reinforced third infantry the military dress is the army ceremonial uniform worn only by the first battalion this honor guard has been on duty for 24 hours and the prescribed ritual we are watching brief and solemn signals the changing of the guard although the duty is voluntary the first battalion does not issue a call for volunteers it doesn't have to oh [Music] this is a nearby scene the next day and the next and the next from sunrise until sunset they look at the flame and it brings back the handsome face with the blue eyes and the sandy brown hair they look at the flame and they hear again the haunting eloquence of the articulate bostonian the energy the faith the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it and the glow from that fire and truly light the world they come they look at the flame and they don't quite know what to say or what to do except remember after sundown [Music] this reserved parking sign is most commonly seen in the northwest sector of washington sometimes called embassy roll the lion and the unicorn help us identify the british embassy actually the road isn't one street but a huge area housing many important embassies more ancient lion crest adorns the entrance to one of the handsomest diplomatic centers in the capital the embassy of iran this sea date old mansion headquarters the russian ambassador and his staff but you'd never know it except for a modest 12-inch plaque the lion must be an international symbol of strength here the flag of ceylon one of the smaller embassies and occupying only half of the building the silanese lion reappears on a birthday cake for inside the embassy the ambassador and his guests are celebrating an anniversary of ceylon's independence very chic affair yet on an opposite wall a reminder of ceylon's ancient past a mask used in the old days to frighten away evil spirits equally traditional is the donna oil lamp the wheel represents the wheel of life the gold leaves symbolize the bodhi tree under which buddha attained enlightenment throughout the far east seven is considered the most auspicious of numbers the lamp has seven wicks which burn coconut oil [Music] the burning of the tapers ended the solemn period of prayer and meditation and we follow the ambassador and some 200 invited guests to a magnificent buffet the table bulges with specially catered delicacies primarily coal dishes such as lobster salmon and yes this is a small fortunes worth of caviar well you can guess what happened the guests made a bee line for an authentic ceilings dish prepared by the embassy chef curried rice and chicken now the chef looks grim he's the man in the turban sash it's because he hadn't expected nearly everybody to pass up the coal dishes and he was running out of the curry anyway it was a colorful affair made more so by the beautiful kimonos and sarees worn by the ladies yes embassy nightlife is glitter and gloss but invitations are not easily come by so at sundown after the shadows fall we face the typical vacationers dilemma what to see what to do where's the entertainment well frankly washington's nightlife doesn't offer anything lavish the accent is on small intimate restaurants and clubs let's concentrate on a few of the best and for a starter el bodegan a spanish restaurant which features paella a la valenciana a dish made up of chicken shrimps lobster clams and mussel cooked with rice in a saffron sauce the jolly owner circulates from table to table teaching newcomers how to sip wine from a porron he's about as spanish as you can be if you're an irishman by the name of bob callahan all right so you sip wine dine on paella and you're entertained by carlos ramos and luisa lapicosa [Music] [Applause] the tivoli offers entertainment of a different kind selections from italian opera by accomplished young singers such as missy von sapien this is from rossini's barber of seville [Music] the hexagon club is an amateur theatrical organization which donates his proceeds to charity jess barnett composes many of the club's original reviews which are not above satirizing local dc problems here's a [Music] be towed sample and no parking anytime taxi stands face preserved for two vehicles cars will be towed away left leg must turn right right no parking anytime except on sundays and saturdays in march from two to three a theodore roosevelt island bridge left flank turn right k street freeway closed for repairs merge left rock creek parkway back lane back up [Music] the name is port saeed the orchestra is greek the music is turkish the dance is egyptian and the dancer would naturally be called shahrazad it could only happen in the arabian nights or [Music] america [Music] [Music] star spangled surprises to the naked eye much of washington is merely a collection of federal buildings stately and old and even a bit uninviting hardly tourist attractions but don't you believe it for example the department of commerce all right what could this sprawling structure offer that would interest the vacation well just this the national aquarium located in the basement of the building that's right in the department of commerce and this 40 year old alligator snapping turtle seems just as puzzled as these youngsters are delighted at this unexpected discovery here's a sight for any fisherman's eyes four and five pound largemouth bass you don't see them this big very often these are long-nosed garfish the skin is so tough it was used to cover plowshares when metal was scarce in the pioneer days and that is not a tall texas tail the amazon leaf fish seems docile but when a small fish swims by it strikes with the speed of a cobra watch closely this colorful and unusual looking species is a lionfish a good fish to keep away from its fins are poisonous and capable of inflicting severe pain and even death the piranha needs no introduction let alone a dramatic buildup one of the most dangerous of all the species the real prize of the aquarium is this full-grown electric catfish native to african waters and the only catfish known to have electrogenic powers [Music] you know when we daydream about owning a building i guess this would be everybody's first choice the bureau of engraving and printing the place where they print money these are five dollar bills 18 to a sheet and visitors on the guided tours get a kick out of counting the sheets [Music] now here's a job to end all frustrating jobs spending eight hours a day handling twenty dollar bills in a stack of sheets so thick that a man can't lift it this is a final inspection checking for imperfections [Music] the bundles that pass inspection are cut into individual stacks now you know how difficult it is to count all fresh money the bills stick together yet here's a gadget that counts off a hundred new bills in three seconds at the washington navy yard we're going to stop off at one of the lesser known of washington's many worthwhile attractions the navy's historical display center these models were part of the collection belonging to president kennedy and this french empire dolphin sofa circa 1800 was made for the captain's quarters of the uss constitution old ironsides next the full dress uniform worn by admiral dewey and a solid gold cup presented to the admiral by new york city in 1899 made by tiffany it cost thirty thousand dollars at that time on a sadder note are these headlines of recent vintage the loss of the atomic submarine thresher the loss was tragic but finding the remains of the ill-fated sub was one of the brightest chapters in naval history [Music] after the disaster an eight-year-old boy made this crayon sketch of the thresher the navy would not trade it for a michelangelo the boy is the son of lieutenant commander john w harvey lost at sea with his self and her crew we don't usually associate rifles with the navy and in fact these are not us navy issue but listen these are the last two weapons that were fired against american forces in world war ii with them is the surrender flag which is the last surrender flag the japanese gave up during world war ii it occurred on the 22nd of june 1951 these men surrendered on the island of anatahan which is about 12 miles north of saipan they had been aboard a ship that was sunk by u.s navy dive bombers in 1944 and during the seven intervening years they had lived off the land of that tiny island the navy tried intermittently over the years to have them surrender but was unsuccessful until in 1951 they got insufficient letters from their relatives and newspapers from the homeland to convince these people that the war was really over and on that day the 22nd of june 1951 they came to the beach and surrendered thank you captain slade cutter the us naval observatory is as white as navy white and is located in the heart of embassy road inside we can synchronize our watches with the master clock of the united states the director of time services is dr louis markowitz the sounds which you hear are seconds pulses emanating from the master clock of the u s naval observatory in washington dc it is this master clock which is the fundamental source of standard time for the u.s it consists of a quartz crystal controlled oscillator which drives a motor and electronic equipment to give very precise time pulses this runs continuously its frequency or rate is checked every day against an atomic oscillator at the right this one was developed in 1956 and is known as a cesium beam atomic oscillator two such atomic oscillators would not differ by a second in a thousand years if they could run continuously personally i do not expect to complete such a test [Music] side lights and side trips americana in wax is what this building offers the national historical wax museum the first tableau depicts columbus discovering the new world a century and 15 years later we find pocahontas pleading for the life of captain john smith look closely and you can see the wax figure breathing a few generations later in the 1690s salem was the scene of the terrifying and shameful witchcraft trials but the next century brought enlightenment the declaration of independence and freedom and the patriot who regretted having only one life to give to his country also at the wax museum mark twain rocks on the front porch of his home gene harlow is seen as the star of hell's angels and elizabeth taylor as cleopatra is also a very lifelike wax favorite at the museum and speaking of actors this statue of the impish puck beckons us to the folger shakespeare library the mecca of every actor who visits washington and who has dreamed of interpreting shakespeare's many juicy roles the bard and his contemporaries wrote their plays with the old globe theater in mind and with good reason listen to library director dr louis b wright you're looking at a model of the globe theater this is shakespeare's most famous playhouse for this playhouse he wrote his most famous plays and you will observe that this stage is different from a modern stage it juts out into the audience and it has an area that's open to the sky the groundlings or people who paid a penny to get into this area or an unruly lot and they would uh sit there and munch nuts and shoot turnips and throw the debris at the actors if they didn't like them consequently shakespeare and all the other elizabethan dramatists had to write plays that kept not only the groundlings pleased but that pleased the audience who sat in these balconies and for that reason some of these plays are very rhetorical they have sensationalism dramatic details that seem alien to a modern play the stage had three different levels it had a in a playing place or in a stage where bedroom seems to be acted it had a balcony that you see there from which juliet could recite her lines so the conditions of shakespeare's stage had a great deal to do with the quality of drama that he wrote he had to keep his audience pleased and he did his best to write pleasing drama the library is full of shakespeareana the vinson copy of the first folio considered one of the most precious of all books in existence musical instruments dating back to the elizabethan period and here part of the costume used by the immortal edwin booth in his portrayals of richard iii now from the folger library in washington let's take a few side trips outside the city nearby alexandria population 100 000 was founded in 1749 the downtown section doesn't look at just a modern thriving city but old alexandria is charming this is captain's role so named because many of the houses on this cobblestone street once belonged to alexandria's sea captains alexandria's christ church dates back to 1773 and is the city's only remaining church of colonial times the church had many distinguished followers and their names or initials were scribed in silver on the rail of the pew they occupied these are the initials of robert e lee and hear the signature that identifies the george washington view on the west edge of the town you can't miss the tall structure atop a high hill the washington masonic national memorial it's worth a side trip if only to see this portrait of the president the only one made of him in his old age the chair below the portrait was used by him at mount vernon the flag in this sketch was the emblem used by washington's bodyguards the forerunners of today's secret servicemen in still another painting washington is shown in full masonic regalia using a silver trowel to lay the cornerstone of the capitol building the original trowel is preserved in this case together with other of the general's possessions this clock recorded the exact moment of washington's death his physician removed the heavy pendulum to stop the clock forever gadsby's tavern was the place for the elite of alexandria to meet it started as a coffee house in 1752 and became so popular that a second building known as the city hotel was added in 1790 the george washington birth night balls which originated while the president was still alive are still a gay event each february 22nd colorful costumes are worn and the man chosen to portray washington is by tradition well over six feet tall and as our friend here is doing he must take his role seriously gadsby's is more than just another institution is one of the country's best remaining examples of georgian architecture the father of his country and his wife martha are buried on the rolling estate that washington loved so well mount vernon this huge modern riverboat makes daily trips from the capitol to mount vernon it's a most enjoyable trip there's the added attraction of seeing more of the potomac than you would otherwise if you cross the river by car to be sure you'll hurry back to the star spangled city you'll miss too much worth seeing unless you do plan each day's itinerary carefully even now i'm thinking of the many places and things were forced to skip over quickly buildings hundreds are well known but how can we overlook the supreme court the judiciary arm of the government and the highest tribunal in the land or the headquarters of the fbi which incidentally has exhibits and guided tours open to the public you know there's more greenery than people think in washington at lafayette park for instance or by the banks of the potomac looking out at theodore roosevelt island a huge island smack in the middle of the river and if you're a green thumb addict you'll make a beeline for the botanic gardens many washington secretary has spent her lunch hour here admiring the azaleas and the wide variety of orchids and related flowers yes we've seen many memorials during the past hour but this one recalls an historic moment from our own time the raising of the flag on mount suribachi at iwo jima and for a living memorial washington maintains the john f kennedy playground where obsolete tanks and pilot trainers are used by the youngsters as standard playground equipment and then there's washington at wintertime especially when the snow is still fresh and clean some washingtonians think the capitol is at its loveliest at this time of year you know ladies and gentlemen i've been to washington many times but i saw more interesting things in places during this past hour than in all my other trips combined and there's much more to see than our time allowed us to show well family any questions yes dear when do we leave good night everyone if ursula has her way perhaps we'll be meeting you soon in the star-spangled city thank you and good night [Applause] so you