When I lived in the Washington, D.C. area, I worked on Hains Point, part of the National Park Service’s East Potomac Park. The southern end of Hains Point, across the Potomac River from Reagan National Airport, was home to a 70-foot sculpture of a giant, called The Awakening. This sculpture, looking as if the giant is struggling to free himself from the earth, was was one of my favorite places. I was saddened to learn that the sculpture was sold in 2008 and moved to a new $2-billion, waterfront commercial complex called National Harbor in a nearby suburb.
The Awakening was created by J. Seward Johnson, Jr. and was originally installed as a temporary exhibit at Hains Point in 1980. Although it stood for 27 years on public parkland on Hains Point, The Awakening never belonged to the National Park Service. The sculpture remained on Hains Point through an annual loan agreement between The Sculpture Foundation and the National Park Service. But in 1986, Congress passed a law stipulating that any sculptures on Park Service land must be “commemorative” in nature. Thus the sculpture no longer had permission to be on Park Service land and became available for purchase with the stipulation that it had to be moved to another location.
Move the sculpture? This sculpture is huge! It has five separate cast aluminum pieces buried in the ground, extending almost 70 feet in length. The left hand and right foot protrude from the earth, while the bent left leg and knee jut into the air. The 
17-foot right arm and hand reach out of the ground, and the bearded face, with his mouth in mid-scream, is half-buried in the surrounding earth. To move this giant had to be a monumental logistical problem!
The sculpture has always been a wonderful—although often a surprise—attraction for tourists and a favorite spot for children whose imaginations go wild trying to figure out why the giant is buried. The sculpture is obviously very durable too since kids have been climbing all over it for 30 years. It is also a striking piece for photographers. I once photographed the setting sun through the sculpture’s hand in the air, making it look as if the giant was holding the sun.
Kids are often seen on the giant’s head, standing on his teeth, balancing on his nose, or climbing to sit on his beard. Other kids (of all ages) climb on his foot to sit on his big toe or in his cupped hand. Once I saw a couple of teenagers crouching behind his head, moaning and groaning to scare any kids who came near. Another time I watched a young boy hide in the giant’s mouth as a group of Japanese tourists unloaded from a tour bus. The Japanese were good-naturedly amused when the little boy popped out of the mouth to surprise them.
Alas, the sculpture was indeed excavated from Hains Point on Feb. 20, 2008, and moved to National Harbor. It was placed on several flatbed trucks and transported from one side of the Potomac River to the other by way some of the most well-traveled roads in the Washington area. Commuters that morning must have done a double-take to see huge body parts being carted along the interstates!
The Awakening’s new home is on a specially built beach along the Potomac River and serves as the focal point of the 300-acre National Harbor development. I hope my giant is happy with his new home! And I hope many more people will see him there and come to love him as I do.
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