Wender·Vista
National Mall
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited States
from the Capitol steps to the Lincoln Memorial

National Mall

— the country's front lawn.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“Two miles of open lawn between the Capitol dome and the Lincoln Memorial. Pierre L'Enfant laid out the line in 1791; the McMillan Plan in 1901 cleared the railway yards that had grown across it. The Washington Monument rises in the middle, the reflecting pool catches it, and the Smithsonian museums line both sides. Cherry trees come in around the Tidal Basin in late March.

from the studio
National Mall
— bring it home

National Mall, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about National Mall

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The National Mall runs about three kilometres east to west between the United States Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial, in the federal core of Washington, D.C. The line was sketched by Pierre Charles L'Enfant in his 1791 plan for the new capital, then re-cleared and formalised by the McMillan Plan of 1901, which removed the Pennsylvania Railroad's tracks and station from the lawn. The Mall is administered by the National Park Service as part of National Mall and Memorial Parks. The Washington Monument, a 169-metre marble obelisk, stands at the crossing.

— the stone

The civic architecture of the Mall is built almost entirely in white marble and limestone, chosen for legibility at distance and continuity with classical models. The Washington Monument carries Maryland marble from two different quarries; the colour shift around the 46-metre mark dates to the twenty-year pause in construction during and after the Civil War. The Lincoln Memorial holds 36 Doric columns of Colorado Yule marble, one for each state at the time of Lincoln's death. The Capitol dome is cast iron painted to read as stone.

— the visit

The Mall is open at all hours and free to walk. The Smithsonian museums — Air and Space, Natural History, American History, African American History and Culture, and the National Gallery — all keep free admission and run roughly 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The closest Metro stations are Smithsonian and Federal Triangle on the Blue and Orange lines. Cherry blossom peak around the Tidal Basin usually falls between March 20 and April 15; the Park Service publishes a forecast in early March.

— where
United States · Washington, D.C.
— within
National Mall and Memorial Parks
— elevation
10 m · 33 ft
— position
38.8895° N · 77.0353° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
1 km E
United States Capitol
legislative building
2 km W
Lincoln Memorial
memorial
at the lake
Washington Monument
obelisk
1 km S
Jefferson Memorial
memorial
1 km SE
Smithsonian Castle
museum building
N
National Mall
United States Capitol
Lincoln Memorial
Washington Monument
Jefferson Memorial
Smithsonian Castle
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about National Mall — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The Mall runs about three kilometres east to west, from the United States Capitol building to the Lincoln Memorial. The Washington Monument stands at the crossing, with the reflecting pool extending west toward Lincoln.

Pierre Charles L'Enfant sketched the open axis in his 1791 plan for the new capital. The Mall was re-cleared and formalised by the 1901 McMillan Plan, which removed the railway tracks that had crossed the lawn.

Yes. The Mall itself is open at all hours and free. All Smithsonian museums and the National Gallery of Art keep free general admission. The major monuments — Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson — are also free.

Construction paused in 1854 over funding and the Civil War, and did not resume until 1879. The marble from the second quarrying campaign weathered differently from the first, leaving a visible colour change around the 46-metre mark.

Peak bloom around the Tidal Basin usually falls between March 20 and April 15. The 3,000-plus trees were a gift from the city of Tokyo in 1912. The Park Service publishes an updated forecast each early March.

The National Air and Space Museum, Natural History, American History, African American History and Culture, the Hirshhorn, the Freer-Sackler, and the National Museum of the American Indian. The National Gallery of Art also lines the north side.

— about the piece in your home

It carries well for someone with ties to the city: a former staffer, a Smithsonian regular, a parent who walked the Mall with their kids. The piece names the civic centre without making it political. A Medium frames well.

The stained-glass palette suits Federalist Traditional, Library Traditional, and Modern Civic rooms. Walnut and brass carry the colour. The work also sits well in a Capitol Hill rowhouse study with a deep green or oxblood wall.

Above a standard sofa, a Large reads as the anchor. A four-tile Mural carries a wide dining wall. Above a console table, a Medium framed in walnut sits at eye level. The Triptych reads well across the Mall's long axis.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish anywhere the tile meets moisture. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, so steam and splash do not affect the image.

A soft microfibre cloth and water. No solvents, no abrasives, no glass cleaner. The thin glossy finish stays smooth, so a quick wipe lifts most household residue with little effort.

Yes. Reid Wender paints every WenderVista piece in the studio's stained-glass and alcohol-ink language. Nothing is licensed in; each place enters the atlas once and the work is finished in the Knoxville studio.

The deep blue, gold, and stone palette sits inside the current Federalist and Library Traditional revival, paired with walnut, brass, and oxblood leather. The work also reads well in a more restrained Modern Civic study.

— if this one stayed with you

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