Take A Trip To D.C.'s Indoor Beach, Where It's Always 75 And Sunny
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Take A Trip To D.C.'s Indoor Beach, Where It's Always 75 And Sunny Museumgoers play in the 10,000-square-foot exhibition called "The Beach" at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. Noah Kalina/National Building Museum hide caption itoggle caption Noah Kalina/National Building Museum Museumgoers play in the 10,000-square-foot exhibition called "The Beach" at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. Noah Kalina/National Building Museum The nation's capital is sweaty and sweltering right now, but Washington locals and visitors can find a seaside getaway in the most unlikely of places. In the middle of downtown D.C., the National Building Museum has installed a 10,000-square-foot indoor "beach" that has attracted kids, tourists and workers looking for an out-of-the-ordinary lunch break. "What we've got here is a big, white box 200 feet by 50 feet," explains Cathy Frankel, vice president for exhibitions. "We have it carpeted with our sand, which is more like white AstroTurf. You can walk around here on the beach. It's always 75 degrees and sunny here." The exhibition includes lounge chairs and 700,000 white plastic orbs in the museum's Italian Renaissance style building. Noah.Kalina/National Building Museum hide caption itoggle caption Noah.Kalina/National Building Museum The exhibition includes lounge chairs and 700,000 white plastic orbs in the museum's Italian Renaissance style building. Noah.Kalina/National Building Museum The beach -- situated in the museum's Great Hall amid massive Corinthian columns -- consists of a snack bar, white lounge chairs with umbrellas and a pool of 700,000 white plastic balls, up to 3 feet deep in some places. "It took a full day for the entire staff to unload all the boxes of balls into the ocean," says Chase
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Transcript of Take A Trip To D.C.'s Indoor Beach, Where It's Always 75 And Sunny
Take A Trip To D.C.'s Indoor Beach, Where It's Always 75And Sunny
Museumgoers play in the 10,000-square-foot exhibition called "The Beach" at the National BuildingMuseum in Washington, D.C.
Noah Kalina/National Building Museum
hide caption
itoggle caption
Noah Kalina/National Building Museum
Museumgoers play in the 10,000-square-foot exhibition called "The Beach" at the National BuildingMuseum in Washington, D.C.
Noah Kalina/National Building Museum
The nation's capital is sweaty and sweltering right now, but Washington locals and visitors can find aseaside getaway in the most unlikely of places. In the middle of downtown D.C., the NationalBuilding Museum has installed a 10,000-square-foot indoor "beach" that has attracted kids, touristsand workers looking for an out-of-the-ordinary lunch break.
"What we've got here is a big, white box 200 feet by 50 feet," explains Cathy Frankel, vice presidentfor exhibitions. "We have it carpeted with our sand, which is more like white AstroTurf. You can walkaround here on the beach. It's always 75 degrees and sunny here."
The exhibition includes lounge chairs and 700,000 white plastic orbs in the museum's ItalianRenaissance style building.
Noah.Kalina/National Building Museum
hide caption
itoggle caption
Noah.Kalina/National Building Museum
The exhibition includes lounge chairs and 700,000 white plastic orbs in the museum's ItalianRenaissance style building.
Noah.Kalina/National Building Museum
The beach -- situated in the museum's Great Hall amid massive Corinthian columns -- consists of asnack bar, white lounge chairs with umbrellas and a pool of 700,000 white plastic balls, up to 3 feetdeep in some places.
"It took a full day for the entire staff to unload all the boxes of balls into the ocean," says Chase
Rynd, the museum's executive director. "We thought it was going to be really simple. ... No, it waswork."
On a recent afternoon, Cindy Guan and Olivia de Fouchier -- two interns from the Justice Department-- stop by for a dip. Dressed in business attire, they take off their shoes and wade into the oceanalongside throngs of screaming kids. "I thought it would be a great way to have fun in the middle ofthe day," says de Fouchier. "This is wonderful."
Rynd says he wants to give visitors a new and fresh perspective of the formal and elegant museuminterior. "We were really intent upon using our space in different ways," he says.
Sitting on the white "sand" with friends visiting from Juneau, Alaska, Ellen Canopy thinks it'sworking: "It's kind of neat being surrounded by this beautiful building -- being here at the beach andlook around and see these gold columns and beautiful windows," she says. "It's a beautiful place. It'sa neat concept."
http://www.npr.org/2015/07/09/421359521/a-trip-to-the-beach-wheres-its-always-75-degrees-and-sunny?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=fineart
