Reflections by the Mall: Monuments and their Memories

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Reflections by the Mall: Monuments and their Memories

Washington, D.C. audio tour: Reflections by the Mall: Monuments and their Memories
This is a 1.5mi walking tour
It takes an average of 120 mins to complete.
$11.99
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About the Tour

If you’re interested in exploring DC memorials quite thoroughly, this tour along the Mall’s Reflecting Pool is for you. We’ll be walking along some of the city’s newest ground that honors the country’s greatest sacrifices.

We start our tour where the city founders started the city. Our path begins at the vortex of the meridians used to map the new capital city. From what is now the base of the George Washington Monument, we wind our way through the memorials that surround the National Mall's Reflecting Pool.

Highlights include:

  • The stones honoring the country’s Greatest Generation
  • A garden commemorating the nation's rebellious founders
  • The stark simplicity of the black wall representing the Vietnam era
  • A dedication to the president who maintained this country's union, in spite of civil war
  • A walk through the fields of Korea alongside the soldiers of every war
  • Bonus tracks that expand on theme of ‘Controversies and Compromises’ that each and every memorial has experienced

It’s easy to assume that structures built of granite & marble are unchanging. But that’s hardly the truth about the sites along this walk. Memorials have an initial intent, but new threads to their meaning are woven into their walls all the time.

Our discussions along this walk are a deep dive into the meaning built into these stones. We’ll read the symbolism that the designers intended to be found, as well as add some of our own. We’ll highlight unique stories of the women and men who participated in the events being commemorated. And most importantly, we’ll participate in a continuing conversation that spans generations.

Because America’s national narrative is not set in stone, even if these sacred sites are.

For those interested in viewing the sites along the tour pathway, I’ve created a supplemental video that can be found on my YouTube channel

PLEASE NOTE: From spring 2024 the Lincoln Memorial will be undergoing major reconstruction. The structure will still be accessible to the public, and the content of this tour connected to the Lincoln Memorial will still be visible and relevant. However, as the work progresses, some areas within the grounds will be restricted. This construction project is due to be completed in 2026.

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Tour Producer

For travelers who want more than directions and highlights, these audio walking tours offer a deeper way of engaging with place. They invite listeners to slow down, read landscapes carefully, and explore how history, design, and human choices shape what we see.

With a background spanning archaeology, international education, curriculum design, and professional guiding, Amy approaches sites as layered texts rather than static landmarks—places shaped by intention, conflict, and change over time. Her tours focus on process as much as outcome: how memorials are conceived and built, how cities evolve over time, and how meaning is constructed through space, symbolism, and use. Rather than delivering a single authoritative narrative, she provides context and interpretive tools that encourage close observation, reflection, and independent thought.

She has spent more than two decades working across the United States, Europe, and the Middle East, including sixteen years based in Egypt as an educator and school leader. She has participated in archaeological excavations in Egypt, Israel, and the United States, supervised field schools, and translated academic research into accessible public history. As a certified tour director and licensed guide in New York City and Washington, DC, she has led adult and student groups through historically complex environments, balancing thoughtful interpretation with the realities of movement, logistics, and place.

Her VoiceMap tours are designed for curious listeners who value depth, nuance, and context—people interested not only in what they are seeing, but why it looks the way it does, and how our understanding of place continues to evolve over time.

Preview Location

Location 16

Lincoln: Top of Steps

You’ve reached the top. As magnetic as the pull inwards towards the statue is, take a moment to look out and across the Reflecting Pool. 



You may even want to take advantage of an empty space along the steps and have a seat for a few minutes as you catch your breath. The...
Read More

How VoiceMap Works

Major Landmarks

  • District of Columbia

  • National Mall

  • Washington Monument

  • Jefferson Pier Stone

  • World War II Memorial

  • Constitution Gardens

  • Signers' Memorial

  • Vietnam Women's Memorial

  • Vietnam Veterans Memorial

  • The Three Servicemen Statue

  • Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool

  • Lincoln Memorial

  • Korean War Veterans Memorial

  • World War I Memorial

  • D.C. War Memorial

  • Tidal Basin

Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.
  1. Total distance
    2km
  2. Distance back to start location
    1km

Directions to Starting Point

This tour begins at the Jefferson Pier, which is within the grassy area between the base of the GW Monument and the WW2 Memorial. Car parking in this section of the city is not realistic. Approaching the tour starting point by foot is the most practical. The closest Metro stop is the Smithsonian, although the Federal Triangle stop is also within range. If approaching the city by car, most parking garages are located in the eastern sectors of the city. The closest to this tour's starting point are located in the Federal Triangle area (north of the Mall) or the neighborhood of the new Spy Museum (south of the Mall). Both areas are just off of 12th St.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

There's a sweet memorial to Einstein located very near to the Vietnam grounds, as well as a small rotunda dedicated to DC war veterans in the woods between WW2 and Korea. The tour's path is within an area of the city where there are no traditional business, so coffee shops and restaurants are not to be found along the way. There is a small food kiosk within the Daniel French traffic circle at the end of the tour. If continuing on to the Tidal Basin memorials, there are walkways leading in that direction. It would be approximately 10 more minutes of walking to arrive to that area.

Best time of day

This walk is unique in that the beauties of the locations are amazing both during the day and at night. All of the sites visited are open-air parks that are accessible 24 hours a day. Park Rangers are only present and available during the days, but the lighting of the memorials in the evenings is quite atmospheric.

Precautions

Be aware of scheduled events and national holidays that may effect the size of crowds within the city, as well as at specific memorials. Road closings are frequent, although typically only impacting motor vehicles. Pedestrian walkways are almost always open. The tour's path is along consistently flat walkways. All memorials are handicap accessible. On occasion the elevator at the Lincoln Memorial is out of service.

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App Store Review
“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”
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Questions and Reviews

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