Cherry Blossoms

A nefarious plot against one of Washington's most beloved landmarks was unfolding in the spring of 1999. On April 1st, an attacker moved quickly when no one was around, and chopped down one of the Cherry Trees along the Tidal Basin. This was no April Fools Day joke.

Tourists often try to time their visits to Washington to coincide with the annual blooming of its famous cherry blossom trees along the Tidal Basin in April, and inevitably, someone tells them that the trees originally came from Japan as a gesture of international friendship. But the complete story is a bit more complicated, and includes plenty of odd twists and turns.