The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • F4

RLIFE0220OF4FLIFE0220OF4 MID RUN 4F 4F RR RR BlueRedYellowBlack BlueRedYellowBlack F4 Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2002 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 4 By STEPHEN KRUPIN For the Journal-Constitution Washington No one has to wait in line to grab a chili half-smoke at the liveliest civil rights-era landmark in the capital. The jukebox pumps out upbeat tunes as patrons stream into Chili Bowl, crowding up to the counter shoulder to shoulder like children seeking a autograph. While anyone in the Shaw neighborhood can tell you that the eats at this modest greasy spoon are legendary, the same can be said about its role in shepherding the District of Columbia through some of its most turbulent times. Most trips to Washington in search of Civil War and civil rights-era sites might stop at the National Museum of American History or the Lincoln Memorial.

But hidden in neighborhoods throughout the city are vivid reminders of those times. Chili Bowl overlook the National Mall and will probably never make it into the Smithsonian Institution. But unlike most historic places in the District, the original furniture remains from when Ben and Virginia started cooking up chili half-smokes at 1213 St. N.W. in 1958.

This red and white brick building still brims with character, and distinctive characters, until the small hours of the morning. And if you can find an open spot, more than welcome to walk up to the counter where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. ate or squeeze into one of the four booths where Ella Fitzgerald sat and where Bill Cosby frequently returns. was the only business in the Shaw neighborhood allowed to stay open when the 1968 riots following assassination paralyzed the city, and it was a shelter for activists and community leaders who strategized a restoration of order.

was such a scary remembered co-founder Virginia Ali. was tear gas everywhere and the National Guard out More recently, the restaurant remained undaunted by the open-air drug markets that plagued the neighborhood, and survived the Green Line subway construction that struck a mighty blow to the area once known as there were hundreds of drug addicts on 12th and but nobody bothered the Chili Ali said. She added with a knowing wink, a sacred also a good starting place for checking out other little-known landmarks of the Civil War and civil rights eras. Across the street, the heroic but seldom-told sacrifices of black soldiers a century and a quarter ago are remembered at the African American Civil War Memorial and Museum, 1200 St. A modest but unique collection of art and artifacts from the United States Colored Troops complements state-of-the-art educational and research tools.

Eight thematic exhibits and interactive kiosks trace the paths of African-Americans from the auction block to equal rights. A preserved 1834 bill of sale for an 11-year-old Georgia girl hangs on a wall beside a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation. Down the hall, unique mementos of King, Malcolm and the Black Panthers are displayed. Take a Certificate of Honor bearing a name from the museum and walk two blocks east to a granite-paved plaza at the Vermont Avenue exit. There stands a 10-foot-tall statue surrounded on three sides by concentric semicircles memorializing the colored troops.

of the first major art piece by a black sculptor to be placed on federal land in the District, features four uniformed black soldiers in combat on one side and a soldier poised to leave home on the other. The Wall of Honor surrounding the statue contains the names of 209,145 men who served in Colored Troops of the Union Army. Not far down Vermont Avenue, tucked away on a block of elegant row houses in the Logan Circle neighborhood, a beautiful Victorian home commemorates the life of Mary McLeod Bethune and the National Council of Negro Women she founded. Born to slave parents, Bethune became an educator and eventually a special adviser to President Franklin Roosevelt. Her elegant three- story home at 1318 Vermont Ave.

has entertained foreign dignitaries and houses the National Archives for Black History. Although the council has long since moved its headquarters from the 126-year-old home, furniture and chande- liers given by the White House remain. The council helped organize the March on Washington in 1963 around a table donated to Bethune by President Truman. A few blocks away at 10th Street between and Streets, Theater remains a working theater more than 135 years after it was the scene of President assassination. A museum beneath the stage tells the story of that night, displaying artifacts including jacket and John Wilkes pistol.

Behind the theater you can walk the alley through which Booth escaped on horseback toward the Virginia farmhouse where he was captured 10 days later. Civil War and civil rights- era landmarks may not overlap any better than they do at beautiful Lincoln Park, an urban oasis among rows of 19th-century Victorian homes one mile east of the Capitol. The park, now a pleasant promenade surrounded by shaded playgrounds and benches, was used as a Union encampment during the Civil War and hosted civil rights rallies a century later. The park has two statues facing each other. On the western end stands Lincoln, one hand on the Emancipation Proclamation, bestowing freedom on a rising, unshackled slave.

At the other end is a statue of Bethune, the only monument to a woman and the first to an African- American in a Washington public park. The roughly textured memorial depicts Bethune handing the sum of her learning in the form of a scroll to two young black children. Will and a farewell address, encircles the base. leave you racial it concludes. leave you a desire to live harmoniously with your fellow men.

I leave you, finally, a responsibility to our young Bowl holds D.C.’s black history RICK MCKAY Washington Bureau Chili Bowl, a civil rights-era landmark in the capital, still has takeout and its original furniture. Restaurant is starting point to landmarks BUDGET TRAVELER CLARA BOSONETTO Got miles? Dig out your Northwest Airlines World- Perks mileage statement and you may have enough points to travel to spots in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Asia or Europe for far less than published rates. Even a mileage balance of 5,000 points can shave hundreds of dollars off a trip completed by March 15. Travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico, for $89 round trip with a 10,000 mile redemption or $149 when you redeem 5,000 miles from your WorldPerks account. Or visit Utah or Washington for $169 round trip with a redemption; $229 with 5,000 miles.

Trips to cities in South or North Dakota are $149 round trip with a 10,000 mile redemption; $209 with 5,000 miles. Canadian destinations of Toronto, Ottawa or Thunder Bay, Ontario; Montreal or Quebec City, Quebec; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Calgary or Edmonton, Alberta; Vancouver, British Columbia; Regina or Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Winnipeg, Manitoba; St. Johns, Newfoundland, are $109 round trip with 10,000 miles; $169 with 5,000 miles. Trips to Asian cities such as Beijing or Shanghai, China; Guam; Hong Kong; Manila, Philippines; Nagoya, Osaka or Tokyo, Japan; Taipei, Taiwan; Singapore; Saipan, Northern Marianas or Seoul, South Korea, are a bargain at $389 round trip with redemptions; $469 with 10,000 miles or $519 with 5,000 miles. Travel to popular cities in Europe served by Northwest Airlines (London, Paris, Frankfurt, Rome, and more) for $209 round trip along with a World- Perks mile redemption; $289 with 10,000 miles or $359 with just 5,000 miles.

Fly within the United States or to Canadian and Europe through March 9 with travel completed by March 15. Departures to Asia are permitted through March 15 with travel completed by March 31. All destinations require a two-week advance purchase and a Saturday night stay. Purchase by March 1. Purchase tickets online at www.nwa.com and save 500 miles on the redemption.

Codes: Domestic: PD551 PD550 Asia: PD555 PD556 PD557 and Europe: PD552 PD553 (10,000) and PD554 Deals to Mexico Aeromexico offers Fare- saver deals for last-minute getaways to Mexico. Travel to for $205 round trip today, Thursday, Monday or Feb. 27; return Thursday, Feb. 27 or 28 or March 1. Departures to Mexico City through March 2 and returns completed by March 4 are $279 round trip.

Purchases must be made online at www.aeromexico.com through midnight tonight. Clara Bosonetto is a retired travel consultant. Sale fares listed here are subject to change and do not include taxes and fees. Go to ajc.com/travel for hyperlinks to all Web sites in this column, plus travel deals and tips, and see the Budget Traveler column in Travel section. COMING SUNDAY IN TRAVEL: The beauty of winter in Santa Fe, N.M.

Getaway Your Wednesday guide to quick trips and good deals Redeem WorldPerks for winter getaways.