The Schumin Web - Photography - The Awakening at Hains Point

The Awakening is a statue in East Potomac Park, at a place called Hains Point at the very end of the park. East Potomac Park is a public park along the banks of the Potomac River in Washington DC, occupying a jalapeño-shaped peninsula between the Potomac River and the Washington Channel. East Potomac Park contains a public golf course, picnic areas, other recreational areas, and at the very end of the park, is The Awakening, a unique statue created by J. Seward Johnson. The statue is designed to appear to be much more than it actually is. It depicts a giant poking out of the ground upon waking up from a slumber. As such, his head, both hands, his right knee, and his right foot are visible.

Getting to the statue was more complicated than what I usually do. Usually, I will take Metro to the nearest station, and then walk from there. However, it was not so easy. See, there are no Metro stations anywhere near the park (the nearest is Smithsonian), plus East Potomac Park in itself is a very long park with water on three sides. And with my schedule that day, I needed every second I could get, making walking from the Metro impractical. So from the 12th and Independence entrance to the Smithsonian Station, I hailed a cab, and had the cabbie take me straight to the statue. Easy enough. Coming back, though, since cabbies didn't exactly come into the park normally, I had to call a cab, wait for the cab, and then got the cabbie to take me back to the Smithsonian Station so I could catch the train to go on to my next target, which consisted of urban scenes in Northwest DC.

All in all, it was an interesting visit. Join me now, and see...

Surrounding East Potomac Park is the Potomac River on one side, and Washington Channel on the other side. The Washington Channel connects the Potomac River with the Tidal Basin.

As you can see, East Potomac Park is a peaceful place. There's water on both sides, and trees above.

There's also the issue of bits of wood here just like at the waterfront, but not nearly as much has collected here.

Additionally, all kinds of watercraft, sailboats in this case, grace us with their presence.

One thing to note, though, is that East Potomac Park is prone to flooding, being right in the middle of the Potomac River. According to the Washington Area Roadskaters Web site, East Potomac Park is one of the first things to go underwater if there is any kind of flooding. I'm guessing that this debris is left over from an episode of flooding...

Meanwhile, a father and son take time to fly a kite...

Looking across the Potomac River, one can catch a glimpse of the Virginia side of the Potomac, with Arlington County (Rosslyn neighborhood pictured here), and the City of Alexandria in clear view.

And at last - The Awakening!

The item most visible on The Awakening is the statue's right arm. It is the tallest part of the statue. According to a few DC residents, there are some people daring enough to climb up to the hand. I wouldn't recommend it, personally.

That one hand really is a dramatic sight, don't you think?

The left knee is a popular play-spot for the adventurous. Many not only attempt to climb up to the top to say they've done it, but the knee also serves as a makeshift slide.

And judging by how smooth the leg is, I'd guess a lot of people have been sliding.

The right foot is also popular with climbers, mainly to get a unique kind of seat. Here, you can see a person sitting in the big toe.

And for those who can't climb up on their own, a father helps his daughter up to the hot spot.

The other hand is a popular spot for people to be photographed at...

...and also for climbing.

Note the amount of detail in this statue, particularly to emphasize the texture of the fingernail.

The eyes were an interesting creation... in order to create the proper "look" of eyes with a single-color material, instead of a normal texture, the eyes sink in and then have a ridge in the sunken-in area.