Portal:Washington, D.C.
![]() | Portal maintenance status: (No date set)
|
The Washington, D.C. portal
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Flag_of_Washington%2C_D.C.svg/220px-Flag_of_Washington%2C_D.C.svg.png)
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as 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 president of the United States. 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...)
-
Image 1
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...) -
Image 2M Street elevation in December 2018
The Georgetown Car Barn, historically known as the Capital Traction Company Union Station, is a building in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in the United States. Designed by the architect Waddy Butler Wood, it was built between 1895 and 1897 by the Capital Traction Company as a union terminal for several Washington and Virginia streetcar lines. The adjacent Exorcist steps, later named after their appearance in William Friedkin's 1973 horror film The Exorcist, were built during the initial construction to connect M Street with Prospect Street. (Full article...) -
Image 3
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...) -
Image 4
James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was an American politician who served as the 20th president of the United States from March 1881 until his death in September that year; 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...) -
Image 5On 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...)
-
Image 6
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. He played 15 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...) -
Image 7
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...) -
Image 8William Matthews (December 16, 1770 – April 30, 1854), occasionally spelled Mathews, was an American who became the fifth Roman Catholic priest ordained in the United States and the first such person born in British America. Born in the colonial Province of Maryland, he was briefly a novice in the Society of Jesus. After being ordained, he became influential in establishing Catholic parochial and educational institutions in Washington, D.C. He was the second pastor of St. Patrick's Church, serving for most of his life. He served as the sixth president of Georgetown College, later known as Georgetown University. Matthews acted as president of the Washington Catholic Seminary, which became Gonzaga College High School, and oversaw the continuity of the school during suppression by the church and financial insecurity. (Full article...)
-
Image 9
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...) -
Image 10Storm surge flooding caused by Isabel in Bowleys Quarters, Maryland
In Maryland and Washington, D.C., the effects of Hurricane Isabel were among the most damaging from a tropical cyclone in the respective metropolitan area. Hurricane Isabel formed from a tropical wave on September 6, 2003, in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. It moved northwestward, and within an environment of light wind shear and warm waters, it steadily strengthened to reach peak winds of 165 miles per hour (266 km/h) on September 11. After fluctuating in intensity for four days, Isabel gradually weakened and made landfall on the Outer Banks of North Carolina with winds of 105 miles per hour (169 km/h) on September 18. It quickly weakened over land and became extratropical over western Pennsylvania the next day. (Full article...) -
Image 11
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...) -
Image 12
Bernard A. Maguire SJ (February 11, 1818 – April 26, 1886) was an Irish-American Catholic priest and Jesuit who served twice as the president of Georgetown University. Born in Ireland, he emigrated to the United States at the age of six, and his family settled in Maryland. Maguire attended Saint John's College in Frederick, Maryland, and then entered the Society of Jesus in 1837. He continued his studies at Georgetown University, where he also taught and was prefect, until his ordination to the priesthood in 1851. (Full article...) -
Image 13
Nativity, c. mid-1450s. Oil on wood, 127.6 cm × 94.9 cm (50.2 in × 37.4 in), National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
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...) -
Image 14
William Feiner SJ (born Wilhelm Feiner; December 27, 1792 – June 9, 1829) was a German Catholic priest and Jesuit who became a missionary to the United States and eventually the president of Georgetown College, now known as Georgetown University. (Full article...) -
Image 15
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 16
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...) -
Image 17Howard as head coach of Michigan in 2020
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...) -
Image 18
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before his presidency, he gained fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses of the U.S. Congress. Often praised as an advocate for ordinary Americans and for his work in preserving the union of states, Jackson has also been criticized for his racial policies, particularly his treatment of Native Americans. (Full article...) -
Image 19Enoch 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...)
-
Image 20
Harmon Clayton Killebrew Jr. (/ˈkɪlɪbruː/; June 29, 1936 – May 17, 2011), nicknamed "the Killer" and "Hammerin' Harmon", was an American professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and left fielder. He spent most of his 22-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Minnesota Twins. A prolific power hitter, Killebrew had the fifth-most home runs in major league history at the time of his retirement. He was second only to Babe Ruth in American League (AL) home runs, and was the AL career leader in home runs by a right-handed batter. Killebrew was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984. (Full article...) -
Image 21
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...) -
Image 22
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...) -
Image 23
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...) -
Image 24
John Early SJ (July 1, 1814 – May 23, 1873) was an Irish-American Catholic priest and Jesuit educator who was the president of the College of the Holy Cross and Georgetown University, as well as the founder and first president of Loyola College in Maryland. Born in Ireland, he emigrated to the United States at the age of nineteen. Upon his arrival, he enrolled at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Maryland and entered the Society of Jesus, completing his education at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. (Full article...) -
Image 25
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...)
Neighboorhoods
-
Image 1
Georgetown is a historic neighborhood and commercial district in Northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751 as part of the colonial-era Province of Maryland, Georgetown predated the establishment of Washington, D.C. by 40 years. Georgetown was an independent municipality until 1871 when the United States Congress created a new consolidated government for the entire District of Columbia. A separate act, passed in 1895, repealed Georgetown's remaining local ordinances and renamed Georgetown's streets to conform with those in Washington, D.C. (Full article...) -
Image 2
Woodland is a small residential and industrial neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C. Woodland lies in Washington's Ward 8, among the poorest and least developed of the city's wards. Like the neighborhoods around it, Woodland is almost exclusively African American. Woodland is bounded by Ainger Place SE to the north; Alabama Avenue SE and Knox Place SE to the east; Hartford Street SE to the south; and Langston Place SE, Raynolds Place SE, and Erie Street SE to the southwest. Fort Stanton Park forms the northwest and northern border of the neighborhood. (Full article...) -
Image 3
Eastland Gardens is a small residential neighborhood, located in northeast Washington, D.C. It is bounded by Eastern Avenue NE to the north, the Watts Branch Tributary to the south, CSX Transportation tracks to the east and the Anacostia River to the west. (Full article...) -
Image 4
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...) -
Image 5
Downtown is the central business district of Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. It is the third largest central business district in the United States. The "Traditional Downtown" has been defined as an area roughly between Union Station in the east and 16th Street NW in the west, and between the National Mall on the south and Massachusetts Avenue on the north, including Penn Quarter. However, nowadays, Downtown D.C. usually refers to a larger area, as the DC Office of Planning states:
ِِِA small portion of this area is known as the Downtown Historic District and was listed on the NRHP in 2001. (Full article...)…most residents, workers, and visitors think of Downtown in a broader sense — including areas as far north as Dupont Circle, as far west as Foggy Bottom, and as far east as Capitol Hill. Only about half of the central city workforce is located within the city’s traditional Downtown.
-
Image 6Brookland in 2022 with the Brookland–CUA station Metro station in the foreground
Brookland, also known as Little Rome or Little Vatican, is a neighborhood located in the Northeast (NE) quadrant of Washington, D.C. It is best known for its numerous Catholic institutions, including schools, religious communities, shrines, institutes, and other organizations built and based around the Catholic University of America. (Full article...) -
Image 7
Forest Hills is a residential neighborhood in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., United States, bounded by Connecticut Avenue NW to the west, Rock Creek Park to the east, Chevy Chase to the north, and Tilden Street NW to the south. The neighborhood is frequently referred to as Van Ness because it is served by the Van Ness–UDC station on the Washington Metro's Red Line and is near the Van Ness campus of the University of the District of Columbia (UDC). (Full article...) -
Image 8
Bellevue is a residential neighborhood in far Southeast and Southwest in Washington, D.C., United States. It is bounded by South Capitol Street, one block of Atlantic Street SE, and 1st Streets SE and SW to the north and east; Joliet Street SW and Oxon Run Parkway to the south; Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE, Shepherd Parkway, 2nd Street SW, and Xenia Street SW to the west. Bellevue was created from some of the earliest land patents in Maryland, and draws its name from a 1795 mansion built in the area. Subdivisions began in the 1870s, but extensive residential building did not occur until the early 1940s. Bellevue is adjacent to a number of federal and city agency buildings. (Full article...) -
Image 9
Woodley Park is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. Primarily residential, Woodley Park hosts a commercial corridor of restaurants and shops located along Connecticut Avenue. The neighborhood is noted as the home of the National Zoological Park, part of the Smithsonian Institution. (Full article...) -
Image 10Map of Washington, D.C., with Kent highlighted in red
Kent is a neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C. in the United States, bounded by Loughboro Road to the north, MacArthur Boulevard to the southwest, and Chain Bridge Road and Battery Kemble Park to the southeast. It is a suburban neighborhood, home to some of the most expensive homes in the city with an average home sales price in 2012 of $1.7 million ($2.26 million today). (Full article...) -
Image 11
Fort Stanton was a Civil War-era fortification constructed in the hills above Anacostia in the District of Columbia, USA, and was intended to prevent Confederate artillery from threatening the Washington Navy Yard. It also guarded the approach to the bridge that connected Anacostia (then known as Uniontown) with Washington. Built in 1861, the fort was expanded throughout the war and was joined by two subsidiary forts: Fort Ricketts and Fort Snyder. Following the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, it was dismantled and the land returned to its original owner. It never saw combat. Abandoned after the war, the site of the fort was planned to be part of a grand "Fort Circle" park system encircling the city of Washington. Though this system of interconnected parks never was fully implemented, the site of the fort is today a park maintained by the National Park Service, and a historical marker stands near the fort's original location. (Full article...) -
Image 12
"NoMa" is a moniker for the area north of Massachusetts Avenue located north and east of Union Station in Washington, D.C. NoMa includes the neighborhoods of Sursum Corda, Eckington, and Near Northeast and includes a section historically known as Swampoodle. (Full article...) -
Image 13Lincoln Park looking west from Mary McLeod Bethune Statue
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...) -
Image 14
Pleasant Hill is a neighborhood located in Ward 5 of Northeast Washington, D.C. Pleasant Hill is contained between Allison Street NE and Bates Road NE to the north, Taylor Street NE to the south, the Washington Metropolitan Area Red Line tracks to the east, and North Capitol Street NW to the west. Pleasant Hill borders the adjacent neighborhoods of Fort Totten (north), North Michigan Park (northeast), Michigan Park (east), University Heights (south), Petworth (west), Brightwood Park (northwest), and Park View (southwest). It is adjacent to the Catholic University of America and even houses its athletic facilities. Pleasant Hill houses the Catholic University of America's soccer and football fields as well as its Raymond A. DuFour Athletic Center. (Full article...) -
Image 15
Marshall Heights is a residential neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is bounded by East Capitol Street, Central Avenue SE, Southern Avenue, Fitch Street SE, and Benning Road SE. It was an undeveloped rural area occupied by extensive African American shanty towns, but the neighborhood received nationwide attention after a visit by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in 1934, which led to extensive infrastructure improvements and development for the first time. In the 1950s, Marshall Heights residents defeated national legislation designed to raze and redevelop the neighborhood. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom visited the area in 1991, at a time when Marshall Heights was in the throes of a violent crack cocaine epidemic. Limited redevelopment has occurred in the neighborhood, which was the site of two notorious child murders in 1973. (Full article...) -
Image 16
Navy Yard is a neighborhood of Washington, D.C., located in Southeast D.C. Navy Yard, situated along the Anacostia Riverfront south of Capitol Hill, takes its name from Washington Navy Yard, the administrative seat of the U.S. Navy. Historically an industrial area, today Navy Yard is a popular entertainment district, home to Nationals Park, a notable nightlife scene, and numerous waterfront esplanades. (Full article...) -
Image 17
Columbia Heights is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. The neighborhood is an important retail hub for the area, as home to DC USA mall and to numerous other restaurants and stores, primarily along the highly commercialized 14th Street. Columbia Heights is home to numerous historical landmarks, including Meridian Hill Park, National Baptist Memorial Church, All Souls Church, along with a number of embassy buildings. (Full article...) -
Image 18Map of Washington, D.C., with Potomac Heights highlighted in red
Potomac Heights is a neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C., overlooking the Potomac River from MacArthur Boulevard westward. Potomac Heights is the part of the Palisades bounded to the north by Loughboro Road and to the south by Chain Bridge and Arizona Avenue NW. It is part of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3D in Ward 3, the far northwest corner of the Northwest Quadrant just north of Georgetown. (Full article...) -
Image 19
-
Image 20An American Craftsman-style home in Berkley (2008)
Berkley is a neighborhood in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. (Full article...)
Selected image
-
Image 1The Jefferson Memorial and many of D.C.'s other monuments are built in the Neoclassical motif. (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 2Construction of the Washington Metro on Connecticut Avenue in 1973 (from History of Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 3General 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.)
-
Image 4Rows of young American elm trees on the National Mall, looking east from the top of the Washington Monument circa 1942 (from National Mall)
-
Image 5The west side of the Jefferson Pier in April 2011, with the Washington Monument in the background. (from National Mall)
-
Image 7Axis undergoing restoration (October 2015) (from National Mall)
-
Image 8National World War II Memorial (July 2017) (from National Mall)
-
Image 11The 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.)
-
Image 12The Washington Monument viewed from the Tidal Basin during the National Cherry Blossom Festival in April 2018 (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 13The 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.)
-
Image 14The Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant in D.C. is the largest advanced wastewater treatment facility in the world. (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 17Metrobus, operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 18The 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.)
-
Image 19The city's African American population has declined since the 1968 riots. (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 20Memorial Bridge connects the city across the Potomac River with Arlington, Virginia. (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 21The southern portion of the National Mall in 1863 during the American Civil War (from History of Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 221963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on the National Mall facing east from the Lincoln Memorial (from National Mall)
-
Image 24National Park Service map showing the National Mall's designated reserve area referenced in the 2003 Commemorative Works Clarification and Revision Act (from National Mall)
-
Image 25Map 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)
-
Image 26Eisenhower Memorial at night, 2021 (from National Mall)
-
Image 27The 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.)
-
Image 28Due to limited dining options on the mall, food trucks are often parked next to tourist-dense locations. (from National Mall)
-
Image 31Key Bridge (background) and an iced-over Potomac River (foreground) in February 2004 (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 33Facing 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)
-
Image 34The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in May 2016, facing east towards the Washington Monument (from National Mall)
-
Image 35The April 9, 1939, concert by Marian Anderson, facing east from the Lincoln Memorial (from National Mall)
-
Image 36The United States Capitol in 1846, prior to the addition of the current rotunda (from History of Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 37Eastward 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)
-
Image 38Demonstrators marching down Pennsylvania Avenue towards the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021 (from History of Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 39City 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.)
-
Image 40Westward 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)
-
Image 41The L'Enfant Plan for the city, developed in 1791 by Pierre L'Enfant (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 42The 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.)
-
Image 43The National Gallery of Art was the most visited art museum in the United States in 2022. (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 45Reagan 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.)
-
Image 46A performance of Moulin Rouge! at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 47Yetsom beyaynetu at Das Ethiopian Cuisine, one of D.C.'s many Ethiopian restaurants (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 48West side of the U.S. Capitol building (March 2019) (from National Mall)
-
Image 50The Aqueduct Bridge crossing the Potomac River, with Northern Virginia in the background and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in the foreground (from History of Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 51The United States Congress began assembling in the new United States Capitol in 1800, after the nation's capital was moved from Philadelphia. (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 54The March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on August 28, 1963 (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 55The Concert for Valor on the National Mall on November 11, 2014, looking west from the United States Capitol grounds (from National Mall)
-
Image 56Civil rights marchers during the March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963 (from History of Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 57Map of the District of Columbia in 1835, prior to the retrocession (from History of Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 58Library of Congress(from National Mall)
The "Grand Avenue" or Mall as proposed by Pierre L'Enfant, 1791 -
Image 59One Franklin Square, located on Franklin Square in Downtown, includes the headquarters of The Washington Post. (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 61The 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.)
-
Image 62After 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.)
-
Image 63The Federal Triangle, a historic hub of executive departments of the U.S. federal government (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 64The National World War II Memorial is among the many popular tourist sites located on the National Mall. (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 65K Street, historically a hub for lobbying firms and advocacy groups, has become a metonym for the American lobbying industry. (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 66John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (from National Mall)
-
Image 67Washington, D.C., police on Harley-Davidson motorcycles escort the March for Life protest on Constitution Avenue in January 2018. (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 68Looking east from the top of the Washington Monument towards the Mall and the US Capitol, 2023 (from National Mall)
-
Image 70National 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)
-
Image 71Washington 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.)
-
Image 75A panel discussion at the American Enterprise Institute, one of D.C.'s many think tanks (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 77Georgetown University, founded in 1789, is the city's oldest university. (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 78A major bus strike in May 1974 caused huge traffic jams throughout the city (from History of Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 79This view from the top of the Washington Monument shows rows of elm trees lining the Reflecting Pool (November 2014). (from National Mall)
-
Image 81The National Mall was the centerpiece of the 1902 McMillan Plan. A central open vista traversed the length of the Mall. (from National Mall)
-
Image 82Axis after restoration (September 2016) (from National Mall)
-
Image 84Reading Room at the Library fo Congress (from National Mall)
-
Image 85The Pentagon following the September 11 attacks with the Washington Monument visible in the background (from History of Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 88Ben's Chili Bowl, known for its half-smoke, a historic staple of the city's cuisine (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 89Duke Ellington School of the Arts, a public magnet school in the city (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 91The Washington Monument stood in this unfinished form for 25 years before being completed in 1884. (from History of Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 92Pool after reconstruction (May 2016) (from National Mall)
-
Image 94Territorial progression of Washington, D.C. (from History of Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 96Map 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.)
-
Image 97National Mall, a landscaped park extending from the Lincoln Memorial to the United States Capitol (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 99An 1814 watercolor illustration of the United States Capitol after the burning of Washington during the War of 1812 (from History of Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 100The city's license plate calls for an end to taxation without representation. (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 101June 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)
-
Image 102The Mall following a snow storm. (from National Mall)
-
Image 103Andrew Jackson Downing Urn in May 2012 (from National Mall)
-
Image 104The National Mall, including a central pathway through it, the centerpiece of the 1901 McMillan Plan (from History of Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 105Britney Spears performs during the "NFL Kickoff Live from the National Mall Presented by Pepsi Vanilla" concert, September 4, 2003 (from National Mall)
-
Image 106On September 18, 1783, an engraving of George Washington, known as the First Cornerstone, was placed as the corner stone of the United States Capitol. (from History of Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 108With 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.)
-
Image 109The Smithsonian Institution Building ("The Castle") in February 2007, looking north from the Enid A. Haupt Garden (from National Mall)
-
Image 111Rock Creek Park, the city's largest park, stretches across Northwest. (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 112The 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.)
-
Image 114President Abraham Lincoln insisted that construction of the United States Capitol continue during the Civil War. (from History of Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 116The Washington Capitals, an NHL team, and the Washington Wizards, an NBA team, both play at Capital One Arena. (from Washington, D.C.)
-
Image 117Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool before reconstruction (April 2010) (from National Mall)
Did you know...
- ... that teenagers picketed The Washington Post to protest the sudden cancellation of The Milt Grant Show, a teen dance TV show in Washington, D.C.?
- ... that of more than 300 schools offering evening classes in the District of Columbia in 1907, only Frelinghuysen University admitted Black students?
- ... that in 1958, Virginia Ali and her husband Ben Ali founded Ben's Chili Bowl, a landmark Washington, D.C. restaurant where Martin Luther King Jr., Jesse Jackson, and Stokely Carmichael would often eat?
- ... that health economist Selma Mushkin estimated in the early 1970s that up to 50 percent of poor children in Washington, D.C., were affected by lead poisoning?
- ... that Roland Jefferson, the first African-American botanist to work at the U.S. National Arboretum, helped preserve the famous flowering cherry trees in Washington, D.C.?
- ... that Josephine Gates Kelly of the Standing Rock Reservation once hitchhiked to Washington, D.C., to protest portions of the Indian Reorganization Act?
In the news
- 22 June 2024 – 2021–2024 Democratic Republic of the Congo attacks
- At least 23 people are killed by CODECO militia groups in Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Reuters)
- 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)
Categories
- Select [►] to view subcategories
Topics
Topics | |
---|---|
Government | |
Services | |
Society | |
History |
|
Related portals
Related WikiProjects
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikispecies
Directory of species -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
- Pages using Template:Post-nominals with customized linking
- Portals with undated maintenance templates
- Automatically maintained portals with listed maintainers
- Portals with untriaged subpages
- All portals with untriaged subpages
- Portals with named maintainer
- Automated article-slideshow portals with less than 2 articles in article list