. . . seen a "forgotten" memorial to a friendship on the rocks. In 1928, the Cuban government presented President Calvin Coolidge with a piece of the Havana memorial, commemorating the USS Maine and the start of the Spanish-American War, that had been destroyed by a hurricane. The urn, misplaced for almost 50 years after it was moved to make way for the 14th Street bridge, was found in a National Park Service warehouse in 1996. Now the memorial, which honors America's assistance to Cuba in fending off Spain, sits in a semi-obscure spot awaiting the warming of relations between the two countries.
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The Cuban Friendship Urn was given to America in friendlier times.
(Matt Sheehan -- The Washington Post)
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The memorial to the USS Maine and Cuban Friendship Urn is in West Potomac Park on Ohio Drive SW.
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Know of a uniquely Washington area experience or a place you always take out-of-towners? Send a note to haventlived@washpost.com. For previous features, go to www.washingtonpost.com/haventlived.
