Washington D.C.

Washington D.C. is the capital of the United States of America. D.C. means District of Columbia, the city’s territory does not belong to any of the 50 American states. Washington was named after the first American President, George Washington. The capital is the US legislative, administrative, and judical center. It has the population of about 700,000 inhabitants (about 4 million including conurbation). It situated on the Potomac River.

US Congress (which is further divided to the House of Representatives and the Senate) has its seat in the Capitol. Capitol is situated on Capitol Hill, in 1814 the unfinished Capitol Building was partially destroyed by fire and finally in 1827, the Capitol was completed. It has two separate chambers – the House of Representative in the south wing and Senate in the north wing, on the top of the building is the bronze Statue of Freedom. The Capitol is the highest building in Washington, and no other in the city can be built higher. The Capitol has housed the Congress since 1800.

US President, George Bush junior has his seat in the White House. The White House has been the seat of every American President except George Washington. Exterior walls were made of sandstone and painted on white, official rooms are on the first floor while second and third floor are reserved for the Presidential family, it has more than 100 rooms, for example Blue room – in this room the President and First Lady receive guests at state dinners, East room – decorated in white and gold, used for the state receptions, it is largest and many others.

The judical branch has its seat in the US Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is the highest tribunal in the nation and the building is a symbol of its importance and independence as a government branch.
The Mall is a two-mile-long parklike area, extending form the Capitol to the Washington Monument. You can find there many important institutions, but probably the most interesting ones are the Smithsonian Institution museums. These museums are for example the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Gallery of Art, and the National Air and Space Museum.

Another interesting building in Washington is the Library of Congress built in the end of 19th century. It is beautifully decorated in the Art Nouveau style. The library stores such documents as The Constitution of the United States and The Declaration of Independence.

There are many monuments and memorials too in the Washington. Washington monument is from 1885, it is symbol of the President Washington and Washington city. It is a pencil-shaped column about 170 meters high which was opened to public in 1888. It is the highest structure in Washington, but it is not a real building, and so the Capitol is still the highest building in the town.

Jefferson Memorial – 1934, commemorates the third US President, adaptation of the ancient Roman Pantheon, a bronze statue of Thomas dominates the open-air interior of the Monument Jefferson holding the Declaration of Independence, the four wall panels surrounding the statue are inscribed with Jefferson‘s writings.

Then there is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a long black wall in which the names of dead and missing persons from the Vietnam War are inscribed in silver. There are over 58,000 men and women, and the same number of inscriptions, who were reported dead or missing. Opposite to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is the Korean War Veterans Memorial. This open-air memorial honors members of the US Armed Forces who served in the Korean War.

Now the walk takes us to the Lincoln Memorial, a large building accesible by a long stairway. Inside the building there is an oversized statue of Abraham Lincoln, the US Civil War President. Other memorials in Washington are for example the Thomas Jefferson Memorial or the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.

Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac river, is the nation’s most sacred shrine. It is the national cemetery for American military men. Many outstanding Americans are buried there including H. Taft, Robert and John F. Kenedy, it contains the graves of over 200 000 military personnel.

The US Holocaust Museum Memorial is an institution that very impresively introduces the Holocaust, its history and causes, to its visitors.

Washington has its own university which is called Georgetown University and is considered very prestigeous.

The Washington Cathedral is built in a fake-gothic style. It stands on a hill overlooking the city.
Some other interesting institutions in Washington are the FBI building, the Pentagon, the National Archives, and the Old Post Office with the Old Post Office Tower. Pentagon is the largest office building in the world, it is situated in Arlington, it is called the Pentagon because of its shape and there is a Department of Defense.

You can visit some galleries or theatres there too. There is National Gallery of Art, National Theatre, American Film Institute – centre of drama, concerts and dance performances, Concert Hall – home of the National Symphony Orchestra or Opera House.