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Matt About Town: Dive into the conspiracy behind the disappearance of an obscure DC monument

Matt Kaufax | matt.kaufax@wtop.com

March 14, 2024, 5:01 AM

Solve the mystery of this obscure DC monument that vanished

It vanished without a trace for decades.

In today’s episode of “Matt About Town,” WTOP’s Matt Kaufax put on his tinfoil hat to investigate the conspiracy behind D.C.’s missing Cuban Friendship Urn.

Presented to President Calvin Coolidge as a gift in 1928, D.C.’s Cuban Friendship Urn is located in Southwest, just around the corner from the Jefferson Memorial in West Potomac Park. It was originally built to honor the hundreds of sailors who perished in the 1898 U.S.S. Maine explosion.

Before the relationship between the U.S. and Cuba went south, the urn was a symbol of enduring friendship.

But there’s a twist.

Photos of the urn surfaced in 1946, before it essentially disappeared off the face of the earth.

As Matt found out, the tale of what happened to the Cuban Friendship Urn is a journey that’s still open to interpretation.

If you’ve got an idea for a feature story Matt should cover, reach out via the WTOP “contact us” page to submit your idea.

‘Matt About Town’ airs every Tuesday and Thursday on WTOP at 7:45 a.m. and runs throughout the day on 103.5 FM. His video pieces are always posted on wtop.com.

You can also find Matt’s videos on Instagram (@wtopnews and @mkaufax) and TikTok (@wtopnews and @mattabouttown_).

You can also contact Matt directly. His contact information is listed below.

Check out more of “Matt About Town” on WTOP.

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Matt Kaufax

If there's an off-the-beaten-path type of attraction, person, or phenomenon in the DC area that you think more people should know about, Matt is your guy. As the features reporter for WTOP, he's always on the hunt for stories that provide a unique local flavor—a slice of life if you will.

matt.kaufax@wtop.com

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