Your Papers Please! - German-American Heritage Museum Opens
Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 2:28PM 
photo uploaded to flickr by GAHFUSA
No two ways about it, this was a crazy weekend in DC. Teabaggers, Immigration advocates, and anti-war protesters descended upon our fair city, all to the backdrop of the House's historic vote on health care reform. Coupled with this, the weather was insanely cooperative, and the Mall and surrounding areas were were packed with people just out to enjoy the weather and see some of the best DC has to offer.
So I wouldn't blame you if you missed this little tidbit. On Sunday, the German-American Heritage Museum held their grand opening, naturally in a quiet and orderly fashion. The Museum is in downtown DC, on 6th Street directly across from the Verizon Center. It's a fitting spot for the Museum, as this section of town was once well known to Washington's German-American community. The building itself was built by John Hockemyer, a local grocer, Civil War veteran, and German emigre, and served as a private club for German-Americans.
Now, I'll be frank. Few people are going to want to make a special trip to see this Museum. It's features well put together exhibits, rich in textual detail, but it's small; occupying only a portion of the second floor of a not terribly large building. But if you have a few minutes to kill before a event at the Verizon Center or Shakespeare Theater, it's well worth twenty minutes of your time. I imagine anyone that's gone to kindergarten, drank a Budweiser, or eaten a hot dog is at least tangentially aware of the contributions of German-Americans to our cultural brew, but you may very well learn a thing or two on top of that. And, if nothing else, the Museum does an excellent job laying out the origins of the whole German as the National Language urban legend.
We look forward to seeing what special events and exhibits the Museum brings in coming years, and welcome them to the city.
And finally, double bonus points if anyone can anyone tell me where the German-American Friendship Garden is.
Admission is free, and the Museum is open Tues-Thurs 11-6, Wed 2-7, Sat-Sun 12-5 (closed Mondays).
