Portal:Washington, D.C.
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The Washington, D.C. portal
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly called Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with Maryland to its north and east. It was named for George Washington, the first U.S. president. The district is named for Columbia, the female personification of the nation.
The U.S. Constitution in 1789 called for the creation of a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress. As such, Washington, D.C., is not part of any state, and is not one itself. The Residence Act, adopted on July 16, 1790, approved the creation of the capital district along the Potomac River. The city was founded in 1791, and the 6th Congress held the first session in the unfinished Capitol Building in 1800 after the capital moved from Philadelphia. In 1801, the District of Columbia, formerly part of Maryland and Virginia and including the existing settlements of Georgetown and Alexandria, was officially recognized as the federal district; initially, the city was a separate settlement within the larger district. In 1846, Congress returned the land originally ceded by Virginia, including the city of Alexandria. In 1871, it created a single municipality for the remaining portion of the district. There have been several unsuccessful efforts to make the district into a state since the 1880s; a statehood bill passed the House of Representatives in 2021 but was not adopted by the U.S. Senate.
Washington, D.C., anchors the southern end of the Northeast megalopolis. As the seat of the U.S. federal government and several international organizations, the city is an important world political capital. The city hosts the U.S. federal government and the buildings that house government headquarters, including the White House, the Capitol, the Supreme Court Building, and multiple federal departments and agencies. The city is home to many national monuments and museums, located most prominently on or around the National Mall, including the Jefferson Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Washington Monument. It hosts 177 foreign embassies and serves as the headquarters for the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization of American States, and other international organizations. Many of the nation's largest industry associations, non-profit organizations, and think tanks are based in the city, including AARP, American Red Cross, Atlantic Council, Brookings Institution, National Geographic Society, The Heritage Foundation, Wilson Center, and others. The city is known as a lobbying hub, with K Street as the center of such activities. The city had 20.7 million domestic visitors and 1.2 million international visitors, ranking seventh among U.S. cities as of 2022. (Full article...)
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James Aloysius Doonan SJ (November 8, 1841 – April 12, 1911) was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit, who was the president of Georgetown University from 1882 to 1888. During that time he oversaw the naming of Gaston Hall and the construction of a new building for the School of Medicine. Doonan also acquired two historic cannons that were placed in front of Healy Hall. His presidency was financially successful, with a reduction in the university's burdensome debt that had accrued during the construction of Healy Hall. (Full article...) -
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Benedict Joseph Fenwick SJ (September 3, 1782 – August 11, 1846) was an American Catholic prelate, Jesuit, and educator who served as the Bishop of Boston from 1825 until his death in 1846. In 1843, he founded the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. Prior to that, he was twice the president of Georgetown College and established several educational institutions in New York City and Boston. (Full article...) -
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The first inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The 56th inauguration, which set a record attendance for any event held in the city, marked the commencement of the first term of Barack Obama as president and Joe Biden as vice president. Based on combined attendance numbers, television viewership, and Internet traffic, it was one of the most-observed events ever by the global audience at the time. (Full article...) -
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Samuel A. Mulledy SJ (/mʌˈleɪdi/ muh-LAY-dee; March 27, 1811 – January 8, 1866) was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit who served as president of Georgetown College in 1845. Born in Virginia, he was the brother of Thomas F. Mulledy, who was a prominent 19th-century Jesuit in the United States and a president of Georgetown. As a student at Georgetown, Samuel was one of the founding members of the Philodemic Society, and proved to be a distinguished student, which resulted in his being sent to Rome to complete his higher education and be ordained to the priesthood. Upon his return to the United States, he became the master of novices at the Jesuit novitiate in Maryland, before being named president of Georgetown. He sought to be relieved of the position after only a few months, and returned to teaching and ministry. (Full article...) -
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Thomas F. Mulledy SJ (/mʌˈleɪdi/ muh-LAY-dee; August 12, 1794 – July 20, 1860) was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit who became the president of Georgetown College, a founder of the College of the Holy Cross, and a Jesuit provincial superior. His brother, Samuel Mulledy, also became a Jesuit and president of Georgetown. (Full article...) -
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James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was an American politician who served from March 1881 until his death the following September as the 20th president of the United States; he was assassinated in July. A preacher, lawyer, and Civil War general, Garfield served nine terms in the United States House of Representatives and is the only sitting member of the House to be elected president. Before his candidacy for the presidency, he had been elected to the U.S. Senate by the Ohio General Assembly—a position he declined when he became president-elect. (Full article...) -
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Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. He played fifteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) between 1984 and 2003, winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. He was integral in popularizing basketball and the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s, becoming a global cultural icon. His profile on the NBA website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." (Full article...) -
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Otto Everett Graham Jr. (December 6, 1921 – December 17, 2003) was an American professional football quarterback who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. Graham is regarded by critics as one of the most dominant players of his era and one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, having taken the Browns to league championship games every year between 1946 and 1955, making ten championship appearances, and winning seven of them. With Graham at quarterback, the Browns posted a record of 105 wins, 17 losses, and 4 ties, including a 9–3 win–loss record in the AAFC and NFL playoffs. He holds the NFL record for career average yards gained per pass attempt, with 8.63. He also holds the record for the highest career winning percentage for an NFL starting quarterback, at 81.0%. Long-time New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, a friend of Graham's, once called him "as great of a quarterback as there ever was." (Full article...) -
Image 9Enoch Fenwick SJ (May 15, 1780 – November 25, 1827) was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit who ministered throughout Maryland and became the twelfth president of Georgetown College. Descending from one of the original Catholic settlers of the Province of Maryland, he studied at Georgetown College in what is now Washington, D.C. Like his brother and future bishop, Benedict Joseph Fenwick, he entered the priesthood, studying at St. Mary's Seminary before entering the Society of Jesus, which was suppressed at the time. He was made rector of St. Peter's Pro-Cathedral in Baltimore by Archbishop John Carroll, and remained in the position for ten years. Near the end of his pastorate, he was also made vicar general of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, which involved traveling to say Mass in remote parishes throughout rural Maryland. (Full article...)
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James Madison (March 16, 1751 – June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed the "Father of the Constitution" for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights. (Full article...) -
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Patrick Francis Healy SJ (February 27, 1834 – January 10, 1910) was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit who was an influential president of Georgetown University, becoming known as its "second founder". The university's flagship building, Healy Hall, bears his name. Though he considered himself and was largely accepted as White, Healy was posthumously recognized as the first Black American to earn a Ph.D., as well as the first to Jesuit order, and to become the president of a predominantly White university. (Full article...) -
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Giovanni Antonio Grassi SJ (anglicized as John Anthony Grassi; 10 September 1775 – 12 December 1849) was an Italian Catholic priest and Jesuit who led many academic and religious institutions in Europe and the United States, including Georgetown College in Washington, D.C., and the Pontificio Collegio Urbano de Propaganda Fide in Rome. (Full article...) -
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On February 17, 1974, U.S. Army Private First Class Robert Kenneth Preston (1953–2009) took off in a stolen Bell UH-1B Iroquois "Huey" helicopter from Tipton Field, Maryland, and landed it on the South Lawn of the White House in a significant breach of security. Preston had enlisted in the Army to become a helicopter pilot. However, he did not graduate from the helicopter training course and lost his opportunity to attain the rank of warrant officer pilot. His enlistment bound him to serve four years in the Army, and he was sent to Fort Meade as a helicopter mechanic. Preston believed this situation was unfair and later said he stole the helicopter to show his skill as a pilot. (Full article...) -
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William McSherry SJ (July 19, 1799 – December 18, 1839) was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit who became the president of Georgetown College and a Jesuit provincial superior. The son of Irish immigrants, McSherry was educated at Georgetown College, where he entered the Society of Jesus. As one of the first Americans to complete the traditional Jesuit course of training, he was sent to Rome to be educated for the priesthood. There, he made several discoveries of significant, forgotten holdings in the Jesuit archives, which improved historians' knowledge of the early European settling of Maryland and of the language of Indian tribes there. (Full article...) -
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Joseph Anton Lopez SJ (born José Antonio López; October 4, 1779 – October 5, 1841) was a Mexican Catholic priest and Jesuit. Born in Michoacán, he studied canon law at the Colegio de San Nicolás and the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico. He became acquainted with the future Empress consort Ana María Huarte and was made chaplain to the future imperial family. He was later put in charge of the education of all the princes in Mexico. Lopez was a close ally of Emperor Agustín de Iturbide, residing in Madrid for four years as his attorney and political informant, and accompanying him during his exile to Italy and England. (Full article...) -
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John Dunning Whitney SJ (July 19, 1850 – November 27, 1917) was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit who became the president of Georgetown University in 1898. Born in Massachusetts, he joined the United States Navy at the age of sixteen, where he was introduced to Catholicism by way of a book that accidentally came into his possession and prompted him to become a Catholic. He entered the Society of Jesus and spent the next twenty-five years studying and teaching mathematics at Jesuit institutions around the world, including in Canada, England, Ireland, and around the United States in New York, Maryland, Boston, and Louisiana. He became the vice president of Spring Hill College in Alabama before being appointed the president of Georgetown University. (Full article...) -
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James Knox Polk (/poʊk/; November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 11th president of the United States from 1845 to 1849. He also served as the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives from 1835 to 1839 and the ninth governor of Tennessee from 1839 to 1841. A protégé of Andrew Jackson, he was a member of the Democratic Party and an advocate of Jacksonian democracy. Polk is known for extending the territory of the United States through the Mexican–American War during his presidency, annexing the Republic of Texas, the Oregon Territory, and the Mexican Cession after winning the Mexican–American War. (Full article...) -
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David Hillhouse Buel Jr. (July 19, 1862 – May 23, 1923) was an American priest who served as the president of Georgetown University. A Catholic priest and Jesuit for much of his life, he later left the Jesuit order to marry, and subsequently left the Catholic Church to become an Episcopal priest. Born at Watervliet, New York, he was the son of David Hillhouse Buel, a distinguished Union Army officer, and descended from numerous prominent New England families. While studying at Yale University, he formed an acquaintance with priest Michael J. McGivney, resulting in his conversion to Catholicism and joining the Society of Jesus after graduation. (Full article...) -
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On April 29, 2006, American comedian Stephen Colbert appeared as the featured entertainer at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, which was held in Washington, D.C., at the Hilton Washington hotel. Colbert's performance, consisting of a 16-minute podium speech and a 7-minute video presentation, was broadcast live across the United States on the cable television networks C-SPAN and MSNBC. Standing a few feet from U.S. President George W. Bush, in front of an audience of celebrities, politicians, and members of the White House Press Corps, Colbert delivered a controversial, searing routine targeting the president and the media. He spoke in the persona of the character he played on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a parody of conservative pundits such as Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity. (Full article...) -
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Joseph Havens Richards SJ (born Havens Cowles Richards; November 8, 1851 – June 9, 1923) was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit who became a prominent president of Georgetown University, where he instituted major reforms and significantly enhanced the quality and stature of the university. Richards was born to a prominent Ohio family; his father was an Episcopal priest who controversially converted to Catholicism and had the infant Richards secretly baptized as a Catholic. (Full article...) -
Image 21On June 19, 1838, the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus agreed to sell 272 slaves to two Louisiana planters, Henry Johnson and Jesse Batey, for $115,000 (equivalent to approximately $3.25 million in 2023). This sale was the culmination of a contentious and long-running debate among the Maryland Jesuits over whether to keep, sell, or free their slaves, and whether to focus on their rural estates or on their growing urban missions, including their schools. (Full article...)
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Stanley Anthony Coveleski (born Stanislaus Kowalewski, July 13, 1889 – March 20, 1984) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for four American League (AL) teams between 1912 and 1928, primarily the Cleveland Indians. The star of the Indians pitching staff, he won over 20 games each year from the war-shortened 1918 season through 1921, leading the AL in shutouts twice and in strikeouts and earned run average (ERA) once each during his nine years with the club. The star of the 1920 World Series, he led the Indians to their first title with three complete-game victories, including a 3–0 shutout in the Game 7 finale. Traded to the Washington Senators after the 1924 season, he helped that club to its second AL pennant in a row with 20 victories against only 5 losses, including a 13-game winning streak, while again leading the league in ERA. (Full article...) -
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James A. Ryder SJ (October 8, 1800 – January 12, 1860) was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit who became the president of several Jesuit universities in the United States. Born in Ireland, he immigrated with his widowed mother to the United States as a child, to settle in Georgetown, in the District of Columbia. He enrolled at Georgetown College and then entered the Society of Jesus. Studying in Maryland and Rome, Ryder proved to be a talented student of theology and was made a professor. He returned to Georgetown College in 1829, where he was appointed to senior positions and founded the Philodemic Society, becoming its first president. (Full article...) -
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Juwan Antonio Howard (first name /dʒuː.ˈwɑːn/, born February 7, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously served as the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines men's team from 2019 to 2024 before joining the Nets in 2024. (Full article...) -
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The Nativity is a devotional mid-1450s oil-on-wood panel painting by the Early Netherlandish painter Petrus Christus. It shows a nativity scene with grisaille archways and trompe-l'œil sculptured reliefs. Christus was influenced by the first generation of Netherlandish artists, especially Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden, and the panel is characteristic of the simplicity and naturalism of art of that period. Placing archways as a framing device is a typical van der Weyden device, and here likely borrowed from that artist's Altar of Saint John and Miraflores Altarpiece. Yet Christus adapts these painterly motifs to a uniquely mid-15th century sensibility, and the unusually large panel – perhaps painted as a central altarpiece panel for a triptych – is nuanced and visually complex. It shows his usual harmonious composition and employment of one-point-perspective, especially evident in the geometric forms of the shed's roof, and his bold use of color. It is one of Christus's most important works. Max Friedländer definitely attributed the panel to Christus in 1930, concluding that "in scope and importance, [it] is superior to all other known creations of this master." (Full article...)
Neighboorhoods
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Takoma, Washington, D.C., is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C. It is located in Advisory Neighborhood Commission 4B, in the District's Fourth Ward, within the northwest quadrant. It borders the city of Takoma Park, Maryland. (Full article...) -
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Michigan Park is a neighborhood in Ward 5 of Northeast Washington, D.C. in the Upper Northeast area element. The boundaries of Michigan Park and North Michigan Park neighborhoods are contested due to the history of racial disparity between the two, but in general Michigan Park is considered to be contained between South Dakota Avenue to the west, Eastern Avenue to the east, Galloway Street NE to the north and Taylor Street NE to the South. Both neighborhoods are in DC Neighborhood Cluster 20 along with the University Heights neighborhood. Michigan Park is home to two established Civic Associations: the North Michigan Park Civic Association which has its established boundaries that include both Michigan Park and North Michigan Park and the Queens Chapel Civic Association (that is separate from the Queens Chapel neighborhood which borders Michigan Park to the north). The Queens Chapel association meets regularly at Union Wesley African Methodist Zion Church and its boundaries are between 16th Street NE and Webster Street NE to the north, Michigan Avenue NE to the south, and South Dakota Avenue NE to the west. (Full article...) -
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Wakefield is a neighborhood in the Upper Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., bounded by Albemarle Street NW to the south, Nebraska Avenue NW to the west, and Connecticut Avenue to the east. It is served by the Van Ness-UDC and Tenleytown-AU station on the Washington Metro's Red Line. (Full article...) -
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Greenway is a residential neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C., in the United States. The neighborhood is bounded by East Capitol Street to the north, Pennsylvania Avenue SE to the south, Interstate 295 to the west, and Minnesota Avenue to the east. (Full article...) -
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Lincoln Park is the largest urban park located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It was known historically as Lincoln Square. From 1862 to 1865, it was the site of the largest hospital in Washington, DC: Lincoln Hospital. (Full article...) -
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Stronghold is the name of a neighborhood in Ward 5 of Northeast Washington D.C. Stronghold is contained between Michigan Avenue N.E. to the north, North Capitol Street N.W. to the west, and Glenwood Cemetery to both the south and east. Stronghold borders the adjacent neighborhoods of Edgewood, University Heights, and Brookland in Ward 5 of Northeast Washington D.C. (Full article...) -
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Kenilworth is a residential neighborhood in Northeast Washington, D.C., located on the eastern bank of the Anacostia River and just inside the D.C.-Maryland border. A large public housing complex, Kenilworth Courts, dominates the area. The neighborhood is famous for the Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, a national park whose centerpiece is a series of ponds carved out of Anacostia River marshland. Visitors come especially during June and July to see the beautiful blooming water lilies and lotus flowers. In 1895 the name “Kenilworth” was first applied to the area by white real estate developer Allen Mallery, who named this neighborhood after Kenilworth Castle in England, the ruins of which can still be seen today in Warwickshire. Kenilworth Park, which includes the Kenilworth-Parkside Recreation Center, also carries the neighborhood name, though most of the park's area is actually located adjacent to the modern neighborhoods of Parkside and Eastland Gardens. (Full article...) -
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Hawthorne is a neighborhood of 308 single family homes in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. According to neighborhood lore, the subdivision was named for the hawthorn trees once abundant in the area. The neighborhood borders Montgomery County, Maryland, and is bounded by Pinehurst Tributary to the south, Western Avenue to the northwest, and Rock Creek Park to the east. (Full article...) -
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Pleasant Plains is a neighborhood in central Washington, D.C. largely occupied by Howard University. For this reason it is also sometimes referred to as Howard Town or, less frequently, Howard Village. (Full article...) -
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Foxhall, also known as Foxhall Village, is a neighborhood in northwestern Washington, D.C., bordered by Reservoir Road on the north side, Foxhall Road on the west, Glover-Archbold Park on the east, and P Street NW on the south (with some properties south of P Street). The first homes were constructed along Reservoir Road and Greenwich Park Way in the mid-1920s. By the end of December, 1927, some 150 homes had been erected, and the community given the name of Foxhall Village. (Full article...) -
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Hillcrest is a residential neighborhood in the southeast quadrant of Washington, D.C., United States. Hillcrest is located on the District-Maryland line in Ward 7, east of the Anacostia River. (Full article...) -
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Sursum Corda (Latin: "lift up your hearts") is a small neighborhood located in Washington, D.C., bounded by North Capitol Street on the east, K Street NW to the south, New Jersey Avenue NW to the west, and New York Avenue NW to the north. (Full article...) -
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Arboretum is a predominantly residential neighborhood located in Northeast Washington, D.C., tucked into the corner of the National Arboretum. (Full article...)
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Image 3The Concert for Valor on the National Mall on November 11, 2014, looking west from the United States Capitol grounds (from National Mall)
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Image 4A panel discussion at the American Enterprise Institute, one of D.C.'s many think tanks (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 6The view of the Lincoln Memorial from the Reflecting Pool in April 2007. (from National Mall)
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Image 7Congress began assembling in the new United States Capitol in 1800, after the nation's capital was moved from Philadelphia. (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 9The engraving of George Washington, known as the First Cornerstone, was placed as the corner stone of the United States Capitol on September 18, 1783 (from History of Washington, D.C.)
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Image 10The Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant in D.C. is the largest advanced wastewater treatment facility in the world. (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 11National Christmas Tree (November 28, 2018) (from National Mall)
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Image 13National Park Service map showing the National Mall's designated reserve area referenced in the 2003 Commemorative Works Clarification and Revision Act (from National Mall)
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Image 14The March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on August 28, 1963 (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 15Westward view from the top of the Washington Monument in 1943 or 1944 during World War II. In the foreground, temporary buildings on the Washington Monument grounds house the Navy's Bureau of Ships. The Main Navy and Munitions Buildings stand to the right of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Temporary buildings to the left of the Reflecting Pool house the Navy's Bureau of Supplies and Accounts. (from National Mall)
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Image 16The National Mall was the centerpiece of the 1902 McMillan Plan. A central open vista traversed the length of the Mall. (from National Mall)
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Image 17General Dwight D. Eisenhower received a hero's welcome in the city in June 1945 following the Allied victory in World War II (from History of Washington, D.C.)
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Image 19This view from the top of the Washington Monument shows rows of elm trees lining the Reflecting Pool (November 2014). (from National Mall)
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Image 20Territorial progression of Washington, D.C. (from History of Washington, D.C.)
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Image 21Civil rights marchers during the March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963 (from History of Washington, D.C.)
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Image 22K Street, historically a hub for lobbying firms and advocacy groups, has become a metonym for the American lobbying industry. (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 23The United States Capitol in 1846, prior to the addition of the current rotunda (from History of Washington, D.C.)
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Image 24June 2004 view from the United States Capitol facing west, over the Grant Memorial and Capitol Reflecting Pool in the foreground, and across the National Mall towards the Washington Monument (from National Mall)
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Image 26John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (June 2010) (from National Mall)
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Image 27Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia is the closest airport to the city among the three major Washington metropolitan area airports. (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 32The Washington Capitals, an NHL team, and the Washington Wizards, an NBA team, both play at Capital One Arena. (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 33The southern portion of the National Mall in 1863 during the American Civil War (from History of Washington, D.C.)
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Image 34The National Mall, including a central pathway through it, was the centerpiece of the 1901 McMillan Plan. (from History of Washington, D.C.)
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Image 36The city's African American population has declined since the 1968 riots. (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 37City of Washington from Beyond the Navy Yard, an 1833 portrait by George Cooke in the Oval Office in the White House (from History of Washington, D.C.)
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Image 38Tidal Basin and Jefferson Memorial at dusk, facing south in October 2011. (from National Mall)
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Image 39National World War II Memorial (July 2017) (from National Mall)
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Image 40The Federal Triangle, a historic hub of executive departments of the U.S. federal government (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 41Rows of young American elm trees on the National Mall, looking east from the top of the Washington Monument circa 1942 (from National Mall)
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Image 42A major bus strike in May 1974 caused huge traffic jams throughout the city. (from History of Washington, D.C.)
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Image 44President Abraham Lincoln insisted that construction of the United States Capitol continue during the Civil War. (from History of Washington, D.C.)
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Image 45Washington Metro, the second-busiest rapid rail system in the U.S. based on average weekday ridership after the New York City Subway (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 46Ben's Chili Bowl, known for its half-smoke, a historic staple of the city's cuisine (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 47Map of racial distribution in the Washington metropolitan area, according to the 2010 U.S. census. Each dot represents 25 people: White, Black, Asian, Hispanic or Other (yellow) (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 48National Mall proper and adjacent areas (April 2002). The Mall had a grassy lawn flanked on each side by unpaved paths and rows of American elm trees as its central feature. (Numbers in the image correspond to numbers in the list of landmarks, museums and other features below.) (from National Mall)
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Image 50After their victory at the Battle of Bladensburg in 1814, the British Army burned the White House and other buildings during a one-day occupation of Washington, D.C. (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 521863 photograph of the National Mall and vicinity during the Civil War, looking west towards the U.S. Botanical Garden, Washington City Canal, Gas Works, railroad tracks, Washington Armory, and Armory Square Hospital buildings. The Smithsonian Institution Building, the uncompleted Washington Monument (behind the Smithsonian's building), and the Potomac River are in the background. (from National Mall)
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Image 54Independence Day fireworks display between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, July 4, 1986 (from National Mall)
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Image 55The National Gallery of Art was the most visited art museum in the United States in 2022. (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 57Georgetown University, founded in 1789, is the city's oldest university. (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 60National Mall, a landscaped park extending from the Lincoln Memorial to the United States Capitol (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 62L'Enfant Promenade (August 2013) (from National Mall)
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Image 63The U.S. Capitol dome was under construction during Lincoln's first inauguration on March 4, 1861, five weeks before the start of the American Civil War. (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 65The Northeast Boundary No. 4 marker stone of the original border between the District of Columbia and Prince George's County, Maryland (from History of Washington, D.C.)
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Image 67The Jefferson Memorial and many of D.C.'s other monuments are built in the Neoclassical motif. (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 69The first inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20, 2009, facing west from the Capitol (from National Mall)
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Image 70The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, designed by Maya Lin, was initially controversial for its lack of heroic iconography, a departure from earlier memorial designs. (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 71Rock Creek Park, the city's largest park, stretches across Northwest. (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 72One Franklin Square, located on Franklin Square in Downtown, includes the headquarters of The Washington Post. (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 73The Pentagon following the September 11 attacks with the Washington Monument visible in the background (from History of Washington, D.C.)
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Image 74Construction of the Washington Metro on Connecticut Avenue in 1973 (from History of Washington, D.C.)
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Image 75Facing east on the National Mall, as viewed near the 1300 block of Jefferson Drive, S.W. in April 2010. Rows of American elm trees line the sides of a path traversing the length of the Mall. (from National Mall)
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Image 77Inlay of L'Enfant Plan in Freedom Plaza, looking northwest in June 2005 from the observation deck in the Old Post Office Building Clock Tower (from National Mall)
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Image 78The Aqueduct Bridge crossing the Potomac River, with Northern Virginia in the background and the C&O Canal in the foreground (from History of Washington, D.C.)
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Image 79The April 9, 1939, concert by Marian Anderson, facing east from the Lincoln Memorial (from National Mall)
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Image 80Metrobus, operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 81An 1814 watercolor illustration of the United States Capitol after the burning of Washington during the War of 1812 (from History of Washington, D.C.)
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Image 82Washington, D.C., police on Harley-Davidson motorcycles escort the March for Life protest on Constitution Avenue in January 2018. (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 84Britney Spears performs during the "NFL Kickoff Live from the National Mall Presented by Pepsi Vanilla" concert, September 4, 2003 (from National Mall)
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Image 86The Mall following a snow storm. (from National Mall)
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Image 87Eastward view of the National Mall from the top of the Washington Monument in 1918. The three structures and two chimneys crossing the Mall are temporary World War I buildings A, B and C and parts of their central power plant. (from National Mall)
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Image 88Demonstrators marching down Pennsylvania Avenue towards the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021 (from History of Washington, D.C.)
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Image 89Portrait of the Mall and vicinity looking northwest from southeast of the U.S. Capitol circa 1846–1855, showing stables in the foreground, the Washington City Canal behind them, the Capitol on the right and the Smithsonian "Castle", the Washington Monument and the Potomac River in the distant left. (from National Mall)
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Image 90The Eisenhower Executive Office Building, built between 1871 and 1888, was the world's largest office building until 1943, when it was surpassed by The Pentagon. (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 91The Washington Monument stood in this unfinished form for 25 years before being completed in 1884. (from History of Washington, D.C.)
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Image 93The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History was the most visited museum in the U.S. in 2022, with 3.9 million visits. (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 94The west side of the Jefferson Pier in April 2011, with the Washington Monument in the background. (from National Mall)
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Image 95The Smithsonian Institution Building ("The Castle") in February 2007, looking north from the Enid A. Haupt Garden (from National Mall)
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Image 96A Christmas tree in front of the Capitol in December 2013. (from National Mall)
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Image 97Route of the Washington City Canal, showing the Mall (1851) (from National Mall)
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Image 98The Library of Congress, the world's largest library with more than 167 million cataloged items and the nation's oldest cultural institution (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 99The John A. Wilson Building is the headquarters for much of the Government of the District of Columbia, including the offices of the mayor and D.C. Council. (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 100The National World War II Memorial is among the many popular tourist sites located on the National Mall. (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 102Due to limited dining options on the mall, food trucks are often parked next to tourist-dense locations. (from National Mall)
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Image 103A performance of Moulin Rouge! at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 104West side of the U.S. Capitol building (September 2013) (from National Mall)
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Image 1051963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on the National Mall facing east from the Lincoln Memorial (from National Mall)
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Image 107The Washington Monument viewed from the Tidal Basin during the National Cherry Blossom Festival in April 2018 (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 108Key Bridge (background) and an iced-over Potomac River (foreground) in February 2004 (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 109Looking east from the top of the Washington Monument towards the National Mall and the United States Capitol in December 1999 (from National Mall)
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Image 110The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in July 2005, facing east towards the Washington Monument (from National Mall)
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Image 111The Victorian landscaping and architecture of the Mall looking east from the top of the Washington Monument, showing the influence of the Downing Plan and Adolph Cluss on the National Mall circa 1904. The Department of Agriculture Building, and above it, "The Castle", are in the foreground. A railroad route leading to a shed attached to the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad station (not visible) crosses the Mall behind the Arts and Industry Building, the Army Medical Center, and the Armory. (from National Mall)
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Image 112Map of the Mall in 1893 showing the Monument Grounds (with the Washington Monument), Agricultural Grounds (with the Dept. of Agriculture), Smithsonian Grounds (with the Castle and Arts and Industries museum), Armory Square, Public Grounds and Botanical Garden, as well as parts of the recently created "Tidal Reservoir" and "Proposed Park" (from National Mall)
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Image 114Andrew Jackson Downing Urn in May 2012 (from National Mall)
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Image 115Memorial Bridge connects the city across the Potomac River with Arlington, Virginia. (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 116Map of the District of Columbia in 1835, prior to the retrocession (from History of Washington, D.C.)
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Image 117With over 30,000 participants, the annual Marine Corps Marathon, held annually in October, is the largest non-prize money marathon in the country. (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 118Yetsom beyaynetu at Das Ethiopian Cuisine, one of D.C.'s many Ethiopian restaurants. (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 120Duke Ellington School of the Arts, a public magnet school in the city (from Washington, D.C.)
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Image 122The city's license plate calls for an end to taxation without representation. (from Washington, D.C.)
Did you know...
- ... that the music for the Norse Lands DLC of Kingdom Two Crowns utilizes the hurdy-gurdy and moraharpa?
- ... that West Virginia lawyer Arthur G. Froe served as D.C. Recorder of Deeds under three presidents and was appointed by President Wilson as a draft board legal advisor during World War I?
- ... that Josephine Gates Kelly of the Standing Rock Reservation once hitchhiked to Washington, D.C., to protest portions of the Indian Reorganization Act?
- ... that as municipal architect, Albert L. Harris led the design of all city buildings in Washington, D.C., from 1921 until his sudden death in 1934?
- ... that Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, modeled on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was created to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the statehood of Tennessee in 1996?
- ... that of more than 300 schools offering evening classes in the District of Columbia in 1907, only Frelinghuysen University admitted Black students?
In the news
- 8 May 2024 –
- A statue of the late African American civil rights leader Daisy Bates is unveiled at the U.S. Capitol's National Statuary Hall Collection in Washington, D.C., representing the state of Arkansas. (Reuters)
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