Washington D.C

Washington D.C. is the capital of the USA. D.C. stands for District of Columbia. It is situated on the Potomac River with the population of about 700 000 of which about 70% are black (in metropolitan area population more than 5mil.). It’s the seat of the federal government of the United States. It also hosts many foreign embassies. Many of nation´s galleries and monuments can also be found here. It is interesting to point out, that about 20% of Washington D.C. area is a parkland.
It is named after the first american president George Washington.

History

•It is built on a ten-mile-square plot of land ceded to the federal government by two states – Maryland and Virginia. District of Columbia was established in 1790 and site for the capital was chosen by President Washington himself. It isn’t the first capital. New York and Philadelphia used to be capital earlier.
• the city was first used as the seat of Congress in 1800
• the city was planned from the beginning – it was designed by the French engineer Pierre L’Enfant and his plans were always respected by others architects
• the city was divided into four quadrants (Northwest NW, Southwest SW, Northeast NE, Southeast SE) with the Capitol as the centre. The streets from N to S bear numbers while The E-W streets are named A, B, C… It helps visitors to find their way around much easier.
• in the 1960s and 1970s the process of protection of historic buildings began, old structures were renovated rather than demolished
• at the same time a lot of parks and green spaces for which the city is famous were established.
Places of Interest

• Capitol Building – situated on Capitol Hill, design was elected by competition, in 1814 the unfinished Capitol Building was partially destroyed by fire, finally in 1827, the old Capitol was completed. It has two separate chambers – the House of Representative (south wing) and Senate (north wing), on the top of the building is the bronze Statue of Freedom, every four years the president comes here for his Inauguration
 • White House - president‘s residence, exterior walls were made of sandstone and painted  white. Official rooms are on the first floor while second and third floors are reserved for the Presidential family, it has 132 rooms and 20 baths and showers. In the Blue room President and First Lady receive guests at state dinners. East room – decorated in white and gold is used for the state receptions.
• Washington monument – 1885, it’s the symbol of  the President Washington and Washington city. It´s  about 170m tall and 4,5m wide at base (there are lots of statues of George Washington in W.).
• Jefferson Memorial – 1934, commemorates the third US President, adaptation of the ancient Roman Pantheon. A bronze statue of Thomas Jeferson holding the Declaration of Independence dominates the open-air exterior.
• Lincoln Memorial – 1922, 6m high marble statue of a seated Lincoln commemorates the 16th US President.
 • Vietnam Veterans Memorial – a simple but solemn black granite wall engraved with the names of those 58 000 killed or missing in the Vietnam War.
• Arlington National Cemetery – located across the Arlington Memorial Bridge in the state of Virginia. It overlooks The Potomac River and Washington. It is the national cemetery for American military men. Many outstanding Americans are buried there including H.Taft, Robert and John F. Kenedy and contains the graves of over 200 000 military personnel.
• Pentagon – named after its shape is the largest office building in the world, situated in Arlington. It´s the home of U.S.military forces.
• National Gallery of Art - independent institution, artefacts from the Middle Ages to the present (Raphael, Tizian, da Vinci, …)
• National Theatre – focuses on plays and musicals
• American Film Institute – centre of drama, concerts and dance performances
• Concert Hall – home of the National Symphony Orchestra
• Opera House
• US Supreme Court