Washington D.C. (Revised)

8/7/2019 Washington D.C. (Revised)

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Washington D.C.


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W A S H I N G T O N D. C.

- founded on July 16, 1790.

- it is the capital of theUnited States of America

- formally known as the

District of Columbia

- hosts 174 embassies aswell as several headquarters of theWorld Bank, Organization of AmericanStates, International Monetary Fund,

and the Pan American HealthOrganization

- governed by a mayor anda 13 member council

Coodinates:385342.4N 770212.0W

Current Mayor:Vincent C. Gray(January 2, 2011 Present)


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H I S T O R Y

Washington D.C. is a federal territory established in 1790 as the site of thenew nations permanent capital. Named after the first U.S. president, GeorgeWashington, the city has served since 1800 as the seat of federal government.

2Former US President James Madison illustrated the need for a federal

district on his essay the Federalist No. 43. He stated that the national capitalneeded to be distinct from the other states in order to provide for its ownmaintenance and safety.

Therefore, the establishment of a federal capital was provided in theUnited States Constitution which permits a district top become the seat off the

government of the United States.

Washington D.C. Encarta Encylopedia 2009 2 The Federalist No. 43 http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa43.htm
http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa43.htmhttp://www.constitution.org/fed/federa43.htm


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1On July 16, 1790, the Residence Act provided for a new permanent capitalto be located on the North bank of the Potomac River and to the east of

Georgetown. The choice of Washingtons site resulted from a compromise betweenAlexander Hamilton and northern states.

2George Washington appointed French architect Pierre Charles LEnfant todesign the city.

3The capital city was named in honour of George Washington and thedistrict named the territory of Columbia. Congress held its first session inWashington on November 17, 1800.

4Under the Organic Act of 1801, the District of Columbia was officiallyorganized and placed the entire territory (which includes Georgetown, Washingtonand Alexandria) under the control of the Congress.

The Residency Act of 1790 http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/414049/the_residence_act_of_1790.html?cat=37 2 Washington D.C. Encarta Encyclopedia3 Senate Journal: First Forty-three Sessions of Congress http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwsjlink.html#anchor6 4 District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801 http://www.enotes.com/topic/District_of_Columbia_Organic_Act_of_1801
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/414049/the_residence_act_of_1790.html?cat=37http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/414049/the_residence_act_of_1790.html?cat=37http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwsjlink.htmlhttp://www.enotes.com/topic/District_of_Columbia_Organic_Act_of_1801http://www.enotes.com/topic/District_of_Columbia_Organic_Act_of_1801http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwsjlink.htmlhttp://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwsjlink.htmlhttp://www.associatedcontent.com/article/414049/the_residence_act_of_1790.html?cat=37


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Washington D.C. Topographic Map


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G E O G R A P H Y

Geographical Area:

68.3 square miles (176.9 km 2)61.4 square miles (159.0 km 2) Land6.9 square miles (17.9km 2) Water

Neighboring States:

Virginia (southwest side)Maryland (southeast, northeast and northwest sides)

Topography:

1Washingtons topography includes mountainous regions.


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It ranges from sandy dunes to marshlands to mountains. The District of Columbia has three major natural flowing bodies of water: the Potomac River, the

Anacostia River and Rock Creek.

Highest Point:

410 feet (125 m) above sea level at Fort Reno in Tenleytown

Lowest Point:

At sea level along all of the Anacostia shore and all of the Potomac shore

- 19.4% of Washington is parkland which is managed by the U.S. NationalPark Service.

Washington D.C.: Geography and Climate http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Washington-D-C-Geography-and-Climate.html
http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Washington-D-C-Geography-and-Climate.htmlhttp://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Washington-D-C-Geography-and-Climate.htmlhttp://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Washington-D-C-Geography-and-Climate.htmlhttp://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Washington-D-C-Geography-and-Climate.htmlhttp://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Washington-D-C-Geography-and-Climate.htmlhttp://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Washington-D-C-Geography-and-Climate.htmlhttp://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Washington-D-C-Geography-and-Climate.htmlhttp://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Washington-D-C-Geography-and-Climate.htmlhttp://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Washington-D-C-Geography-and-Climate.htmlhttp://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Washington-D-C-Geography-and-Climate.htmlhttp://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Washington-D-C-Geography-and-Climate.htmlhttp://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Washington-D-C-Geography-and-Climate.htmlhttp://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Washington-D-C-Geography-and-Climate.htmlhttp://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Washington-D-C-Geography-and-Climate.htmlhttp://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Washington-D-C-Geography-and-Climate.htmlhttp://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Washington-D-C-Geography-and-Climate.htmlhttp://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Washington-D-C-Geography-and-Climate.htmlhttp://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Washington-D-C-Geography-and-Climate.htmlhttp://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Washington-D-C-Geography-and-Climate.html


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C I T Y L A Y O U T

Original street layout was designed by French architect Pierre Charles LEnfant


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- President Washington commissioned LEnfant to plan the layout of thecity.

- 2 LEnfants design employed a basic grid system, interweaved by diagonalavenues from rectangles. His designs incorporated a grand avenue approximately 1mile (1.6 km) in length and 400 feet (120m) wide. The area is now the National Mall.

- LEnfants vision was to create symbolic spaces that reflected the citysstatus as the capital of a new nation. It was his decision to locate the Capitol Buildingat the citys highest elevation which further reinforced the idea of the city as a cradlefor a new democracy.

2 Washington D.C. Encarta Encylopedia 2009


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C I T Y L A Y O U T

- Original city street layout was designed by French architect PierreCharles LEnfant.

- LEnfant employed a basic gridsystem, interweaved bydiagonal avenues fromrectangles


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- Due to the increase of Washingtons population, it became clear that thecity needed to integrate new buildings for the public.

- In 1901, the Senate commissioned urban planners such as Frederick LawOlmstead, Daniel Burnham, Charles McKim and Augustus St. Gaudens to provideideas for the new development

- 2Like LEnfant, these urban planners looked to Europe for inspirationduring the formulation of the McMillan Plan.

City Beautiful: The 1901 Plan for Washington D.C . http://xroads.virginia.edu 2 The LEnfant and McMillan Plans http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/wash/lenfant.htm
http://xroads.virginia.edu/http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/wash/lenfant.htmhttp://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/wash/lenfant.htmhttp://xroads.virginia.edu/http://xroads.virginia.edu/http://xroads.virginia.edu/


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C I T Y L A Y O U T



McMillan Plan


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C I T Y L A Y O U T




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National Mall


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- The United States Capitol is at the center of the design which is dividedinto four quadrants that radiate along the directions: Northwest, Northeast,Southwest and Southeast.

- The quadrants are separated by North Capitol Street, South CapitolStreet and East Capitol Street with a line traveling due west from the capitol through

the Jefferson Pier.- The Constitution Avenue and the Independence Avenue borders the

sides of the Mall.

- This pattern is similar to that of the German city of Karlsruhe.

National Mall


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Lincoln Memorial

Vietnam VeteransMemorial

National World War IIMemorial

Constitution GardensPond

West End of the National Mall


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1. Washington Monument

2. National Museum of American History3. National Museum of Natural History4. National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden5. West Building of the National Gallery of

Art6. East Building of the National Gallery of

Art7. Capitol Hill8. Ulysses S. Grant Memorial9. United States Botanic Garden10. National Museum of the American

Indian

11. National Air and Space Museum

12. Hirshhorn Museum and SculptureGarden13. Arts and Industries Building14. Smithsonian Institution Building15. Freer Gallery of Art16. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

17. Museum of African Art


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White House


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sides of the Mall.



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Plan of Karlsruhe, Germany


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sides of the Mall.



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- Streets on the North/South orientation are designated by numbers andcount upward from east to west in the Northwest and Southwest quadrants of thecity, starting at the Capitol (e.g. 1 st St. NW, 2 nd St. NW).

- Streets on the East/West orientation use a single letter in the alphabet.East to West lettered streets count upwards from South to North in NW and NE(e.g. A Street, B Street).


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A large system of freeways was planned in the District. Many, especially in the northern half,were cancelled after freeway revolts. (Cancelled freeways are shown in light blue.)


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Washington, D.C. metropolitan area road map


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- In 1910, the US Congress amended the Heights of Buildings Act whichlimited building heights in the city. This restricted the building height to the width of the adjacent street plus 20 feet (6.1m).

- The skyline remains low and sprawing in keeping with Thomas Jeffersonswish to make Washington an American Paris As a result, the WashingtonMonument remains the citys tallest structure at 555 feet 5

1

8 inches (169.294m).

"Height of Buildings Act." Encyclopdia Britannica.


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sides of the Mall.



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E C O N O M Y

- 1The gross state product of Washington in 2008 was $97.2 billionranking it No. 35 compared to the 50 US States. 27% of the jobs in Washington D.Ccan be accounted to the federal government.

- Many organizations such as law firms, independent contractors, non profit organizations, lobbying firms, unions and professional associations have their

headquarters in or near Washington in order to be close to the federalgovernment.

Bureau of Economic Analysis http://www.bea.gov/regional/index.htm
http://www.bea.gov/regional/index.htmhttp://www.bea.gov/regional/index.htm


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GOVERNMENT

-1Under Article One, Section Eight of the United States Constitution, the

U.S. Congress is granted the ultimate authority over Washington D.C.

- 1The passage of the 1973 Home Rule Act allowed certain Congressionalpowers over the District to a local government. However, Congress retains the rightto review and reject laws created by the city council.

- 1Washington D.C. is the home of the Federal Government and thePresident of the United States.

Washington D.C. Encarta Encyclopedia 2009


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S O U R C E S

Encylopedia Encarta 2009Encylopedia Britannica

Google Earth

Google Maps

City Beautiful: The 1901 Plan for Washington D.C.http://xroads.virginia.edu

http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/ncr/designing-capital/plates.html

http://www.essential-architecture.com/STYLE/STY-008.htm

http://www.spur.org/publications/library/article/extending_city_beautiful

http://washington.org/

http://dc.gov/DC/

Documents

Washington D.C. (Revised)