THE AWAKENING OF A GIANT
Visit secretdcbook.com to discover additional surprises, secrets, and sordid stories about our nation’s capital and its surrounding area.
WHY IS THERE AN ENORMOUS BEARDED MAN EMERGING OUT OF THE EARTH AND INTO THE POTOMAC RIVER?
Few adults can claim that they would enjoy being awakened by a gaggle of screaming and over-excited kids clambering on top of them. Add on the additional layer of being nearly submerged in sand while surrounded by incessant construction noise, and that’s a sure-fire recipe for one disgruntled wake-up. “The Awakening” sculpture, a gigantic statue emerging from a man-made beach along National Harbor’s waterfront, wears his annoyances on his cast-aluminum sleeve, surely knowing that no relief is in sight.
Constructed from five cast-aluminum pieces and measuring more than 70
feet across and 15 feet high, “The Awakening” was created in 1980 to portray a bearded man trapped on Earth who has been aroused. Artist J. Seward Johnson’s colossal creation is comprised of a man’s head, hand, outstretched arm, bent knee and foot that’s been arranged to suggest that he’s breaking free from Earth. The aluminum sculpture was previously buried at the public parkland at Hains Point in Washington, DC and was owned by the Sculpture Foundation, an organization that promotes public art. The foundation sold the colossal sculpture for a whopping $740,000 and subsequently dug it up from its previous residence and transported it by trucks to its current waterfront home. Conveniently located across the Potomac River from the District and Alexandria, VA, National Harbor has burgeoned as an expansive multi-use waterfront development.
While no real restoration was needed when “The Awakening” arrived at
National Harbor, a small change to the art installation was needed. When the sculpture resided at Hains Point, the five pieces were slightly askew, causing the figure to be anatomically incorrect. When the statue’s wire base was reburied in the man-made beach, one of its legs was marginally moved. “The Awakening” instantly became a popular attraction of National Harbor and continues to be a major draw today.
ADDITIONAL THINGS TO KNOW:
Where: National Harbor: 153 National Plaza, Oxon Hill, MD
Getting There: National Harbor is accessible from the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, I-495, I-95, and I-295, as well as by water taxi from Washington, DC and Alexandria,VA.
Distance-friendly Bonus: “The Awakening” is outside, free, and great to explore with kids!
Noteworthy: Parts of the sculpture’s five pieces are shiny from decades of tourists’ touches.