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Traffic adjustments in downtown DC to aid cherry blossom visitors

By Ciara Wells

Blooming Yoshino cherry trees are seen in the afternoon sun, Thursday, March 23, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The branch of the National Park Service overseeing the National Mall announced Friday there would be changes to the flow of traffic in downtown D.C. this weekend to help move busy roads and get visitors to and from the cherry blossoms. Thousands will drive through and visit the area along the Tidal Basin daily to see the cherry blossom trees in peak bloom.

Starting at 6 a.m. Saturday, drivers on Ohio Drive through East Potomac Park near Hains Point will travel in reverse flow, the National Park Service said in a tweet. All traffic will enter the loop road on the Potomac River side and exit on the Washington Channel side by the East Potomac golf course.

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On Wednesday, drivers were stuck in traffic for over an hour just to cross the bridge into Arlington, Virginia.

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Organizers expect more than 1 million visitors over the weeks of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which runs through April 16. As a recommended alternate route, Metro has increased weekend service on its buses and trains, with fares ranging from $2 to $4. And for those who don’t want to go out and face the crowds, or the weird weather the area has been experiencing, you can view the trees from the comfort of your home on the Trust for the National Mall organization’s Bloom Cam. 

National Museum of the American Latino to be housed in historic Smithsonian building

By Neal Augenstein
The Smithsonian Institution has decided to put the National Museum of the American Latino into an existing, historic building, rather than constructing a new one. The Smithsonian Board of Regents on Monday designated the Arts and Industries Building, a 145-year-old redbrick Victorian structure located between the Smithsonian Castle and the Hirshhorn Museum, as the permanent site of the National Museum of the American Latino, which Congress authorized in 2020. In 2022, the Smithsonian narrowed its survey for permanent locations for the National Museum of the American Latino and the American Women's History Museum to four locations near the National Mall on land owned by the National Park Service. The Arts and Industries Building, located at 900 Jefferson St. SW, was one of the four sites. New construction on National Park Service land would require congressional approval. However, since the Smithsonian already owns the Arts and Industries Building, the institution can place the National Museum of the American Latino in the existing building without additional legislation.
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