SURPRISE ARCHITECTURE

I have a horrible sense of direction.  Apparently, my sister and brother-in-law have a bit of it, too, because when we arrive in DC, we promptly head the wrong way off the subway.  It's not entirely our fault.  We are searching for D Street.  What we don't know is that there are four different D Streets in DC.  Yes.  Four.

The bad news is that we are almost late to meet my niece when she gets out of work.  The other bad news is that DC is having a wicked cold spell -- cutting winds, icy temperatures -- and we are absolutely chafed right through our clothes down to our skulls and every bone inside of our bodies.  The good news is that we are from New England, so screw the cold weather.  The other good news is that our confusion yields outstanding tourist results.

We wander off and on between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, running into such gems as Ben Franklin, the Department of Justice, The US EPA, and everyone's favorite organization the IRS.  Suddenly, tucked in the midst of Grecian style architecture, we stumble across a building that looks more like it belongs in the backstreets of Boston.  The brick building has large arched windows, and I surmise that it may have been a fire station.  The building boasts a simple, archaic inscription near the top: U.S.S. Co.

Turns out the U.S.Storage Company is an old storage building, and it is the tallest structure on DC's Square 348.  Built in the late Romanesque style, it is an architectural masterpiece in the neighborhood, and I stop in my tracks to take its picture.  The building is only 110 years old, but it looks older by design.  I briefly imagine how incredibly cool it would be to see the inside of the U.S.S. Co. or perhaps live close enough to see it every day.  Yes, it is that aesthetically pleasing.

Thank you, horrible sense of direction!  Without you, we would've missed all the cool stuff we manage to fit in as we weave our way back to the exact spot where we already have been.  My niece is meeting us back near the subway station by the US Navy Memorial, another sight we would've missed had we headed straight for the tourist traps.  Thank goodness the memorial is at the Metro -- no chance to mess up that sight, even with our dismal location challenges.