The skating rink is open daily, mid-November to mid-March. The rink opens for the 2009-2010 season on Nov. 14, 2009.
Admission for each two-hour session, which begin on the hour, is $7 for adults and $6 for those 12 and younger, 50 and older and students with valid ID. Skates can be rented for $3, and locker rental costs 50 cents with a $5 deposit. A season pass is available for $195.
The skating rink is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays. Even though the rink closes at 11 a.m. on weekends, the gallery stops selling tickets at 9 p.m. Rink staff advise buying tickets for that last skating session by 8 p.m. Children under age 12 must be accompanied by an adult on the ice.
The Buzz: The National Gallery's Sculpture Garden is one of the Mall's peaceful sanctuaries -- offering bench seating, lush landscaping and a view of 17 contemporary sculptures. A fountain marks the center of the garden for most of the year, but an outdoor skating rink takes its place from November until March.
The Collection: The garden's sculpture collection includes Sol LeWitt's "Four-Sided Pyramid," a blocky, geometric form, and Claes Oldenburg's "Typewriter Eraser, Scale X," which playfully depicts the antiquated object. Perhaps most striking is Alexander Calder's bright red abstract work, "Cheval Rouge (Red Horse)."
Background: In his original design for Washington, architect Pierre L'Enfant envisioned an oasis where the National Gallery's Sculpture Garden now stands. But the garden as we know it didn't officially open until 1999.
The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation provided funds for the garden in 1996. A skating rink was incorporated into the design since one had been operating at the site since 1974.
Ice Skating: For information about Ice Skating costs and rentals, see the Skating Rink tab above.
Directions/Parking: Parking is scarce, but two- and three-hour parking can be found along the inside of the Mall. The closest Metro stops are Judiciary Square (Red Line), Smithsonian (Blue and Orange lines) and Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter (Yellow and Green lines). The Circulator bus stops at 4th Street and Madison Drive and at 7th Street and Constitution Avenue NW.
--Julia Beizer (July 10, 2007)
