Tidal Basin

The body of a man was found floating in the Tidal Basin early Thursday, D.C. police said. Police did not immediately comment on the man's identity and had not yet determined how he died. The body was found near the spot where a tourist from Chicago disappeared while visiting with his family on Easter Sunday. It was was the second body to be pulled from water close to the Mall in the past six days, both near the cherry trees, whose blossoms can draw a million visitors to the Tidal Basin area.

Correction: Due to incorrect information from the U.S. Park Police and D.C. police, the name of the man whose body was found in the Potomac River was published incorrectly. He is Changqing Yang. This version has been corrected. A body found in the Potomac River by kayakers last month has been identified as a 73-year-old man who disappeared while fishing in Montgomery County, D.C. police said Monday. Changqing Yang disappeared April 12. He had been fishing from the riverbank near Chain Bridge Road,...

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly said that Kishan Putta grew up in India. He was born and grew up in the United States. His parents are from the same part of India as the victim. The article has been updated. A man found floating in the Tidal Basin early Thursday was a tourist from the Chicago area who disappeared near the same spot on Easter Sunday, officials said. Sarath Kumar Potharaju, 35, of Grayslake, Ill., went missing the afternoon of March 31 during a tour that...

In what has been become a gruesome ritual this month, another in a succession of bodies has been found in a District waterway, this one pulled Wednesday afternoon from the Potomac River near Georgetown and the Key Bridge. D.C. police said there appeared to be no connection between any of the recent cases. Detectives are awaiting autopsy results in all four deaths, but authorities have said at least one death may have been a suicide and another an accident. Relatives of a man pulled from the...

"Not many people have seen this," Joe Kerr said as he pushed open a rusty door, the squeak of its hinges echoing in the dark. We were 60 feet underground, and Joe , president of a D.C. urban exploration group called Friends of Outrageously Obscure Locations, was about to show me the remnants of Washington's first subway system. We weren't supposed to be here — technically, we were trespassing — but I had heard so much about this subterranean wonderland that I had to see it for myself.

WASHINGTON — In human years, they are 156 years old. And it shows. You'll seldom find a more gnarled, knobbed or bent-over bunch of geezer trees than these ancient Yoshino cherries lining a short stretch of the Tidal Basin. It's an orchard of gnomes and trolls, a grove of exhausted old- timers boasting all the upright rigor of melted candles. And yet, stand back. The "originals" are about to bust a bloom . For the 100th spring in a row, it's showtime for the survivors of the...

Passengers get a view of the Tidal Basin and a partially finished Jefferson Memorial, which was dedicated in 1943. Paddle boats tour the Tidal Basin during the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival, first held in 1935 to commemorate Japan's 1912 gift. is year's festival lasts through next Sunday. HAVE AN OLD PHOTO YOU'D LIKE TO SEE IN THEN & AGAIN? Send an e-mail to: thenandagain@washpost.com.

In what has been become a gruesome ritual this month, another in a succession of bodies has been found in a District waterway, this one pulled Wednesday afternoon from the Potomac River near Georgetown and the Key Bridge. D.C. police said there appeared to be no connection between any of the recent cases. Detectives are awaiting autopsy results in all four deaths, but authorities have said at least one death may have been a suicide and another an accident. Relatives of a man pulled from the...

Where: The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial is on the Tidal Basin near the intersection of Independence Avenue and West Basin Drive SW. When: The memorial will be formally dedicated on Sunday, October 16, at 9 a.m. But it is open to be visited daily. How much: It's free. For more information: www.nps.gov/mlkm/index.htm

The Tidal Basin will have a surge of spectators starting tomorrow, when the National Cherry Blossom Festival kicks off with a day of kite flying at the Washington Monument. For the next two weeks, there will be free performances and parades. There will be street festivals and fireworks. And, this year, there will be blossoms. The peak of the cherry blossoms varies from year to year, depending on weather conditions. Some years, the flowers and the festival are entirely out of sync.

With every bag of cookies and cup of lemonade she sold, Annie Madden, 6, handed the customer a pink bauble, or a "cherry blossom gem," as she called it. Annie and her brother, Will, 9, needed a hook recently in Kenwood. They weren't the only kids operating a lemonade stand, hoping to capitalize on the neighborhood's abundance of cherry blossoms. Thanks to the fluttery pink and white flowers, Kenwood is transformed for about a week each spring from a tranquil enclave of million-dollar-homes to a tourist hot spot...

Like many others, I walked around the Tidal Basin this week, camera in hand. At the end, I looked at the three dozen or so photos I had taken. Some were fairly pleasant; all extremely ordinary. Even boring. I was glad to have taken them, but they looked just like the thousands of other cherry blossom photos I had seen, some taken with my own cameras throughout the years. I like to think I know a little something about the art of photography, so I consoled myself with the thought that it simply is impossible to get...

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly said that Kishan Putta grew up in India. He was born and grew up in the United States. His parents are from the same part of India as the victim. The article has been updated. A man found floating in the Tidal Basin early Thursday was a tourist from the Chicago area who disappeared near the same spot on Easter Sunday, officials said. Sarath Kumar Potharaju, 35, of Grayslake, Ill., went missing the afternoon of March 31 during a tour that...

Blossom Watch Cherry Blossom events Friday, April 12 ● Coronation of Cherry Blossom Queen & Grand Ball . A black-tie evening culminating in the introduction of the Cherry Blossom princesses and the coronation of the 2013 Cherry Blossom Queen. 6 p.m.-midnight. $175 per person. Children 12 and younger, $75. Renaissance Washington hotel, 999 Ninth St. NW. Metro: Gallery Place-Chinatown. ● Capital Elite Cherry Blossom Sightseeing Cruises . A 45-minute...

The body of a man was found floating in the Tidal Basin early Thursday, D.C. police said. Police did not immediately comment on the man's identity and had not yet determined how he died. The body was found near the spot where a tourist from Chicago disappeared while visiting with his family on Easter Sunday. It was was the second body to be pulled from water close to the Mall in the past six days, both near the cherry trees, whose blossoms can draw a million visitors to the Tidal Basin area.

Telegraph Road Project Virginia, Fairfax County and Alexandria officials held a ceremony Thursday marking completion of the Telegraph Road interchange reconstruction , the last major phase of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge project , which involved building not only the bridge but also two interchanges on each side of the Potomac River. Over the years, some travelers have asked why the Telegraph Road interchange was taking so long, but this work, which began in 2008,...

Blossom Watch Cherry Blossom events Thursday, April 4 ● Taste of Japan/sake tasting: Area Japanese restaurants provide an evening of cuisine as well as sake and craft beer from Japanese brewers. 7-9 p.m. Carnegie Library, 801 K St. NW. Tickets: $100 per person. Metro: Mount Vernon Square. ● Bloomin' Junior Ranger: Complete an activity book about cherry blossoms and earn a special cherry blossom junior ranger badge. Activity books are at the National Park Service information kiosks at the paddle...

l  Wear comfortable walking shoes to enjoy festival events, because you might have to walk to get near the blossoms.  Tourmobile is offering free shuttle service between the Tidal Basin and Hains Point until April 10. l  Be sure to check out the cherry blossom art display at Union Station to see work created by Washington schoolchildren. Through April 10. l  For other events , check out www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org.