posted by Traveller on Apr 21
TODAY’S DC
The west front of the Capitol makes a graceful transition down to the Mall in a series of arcades, steps, and terraces. At its base is the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial with its Reflecting Pool.
The White House is the President’s home and office. It is the center of the Executive Branch of the government as well as the place where the President receives foreign dignitaries
The U.S. Marine War Memorial depicts the moment when Marines raised the flag over Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima during World War II. Read the rest of this entry »
posted by Traveller on Apr 20
HISTORICAL DC
James Hoban designed the White House in the style of an 18th-century manor house. As shown here, the British in 1814 reduced the building to a burned-out shell during the War of 1812. Under Hoban’s direction it was rebuilt by 1817.
The Capitol as it appeared with its early copper dome, before work on the extended wings and the current dome began in the 1850s.
President Lincoln insisted that work on the new Capitol dome continue during the Civil War. It was completed in 1863. This view also shows the Washington Canal, the Smithsonian building on the Mall, and the unfinished Washington Monument in the distance. Read the rest of this entry »
posted by Traveller on Apr 20
HISTORICAL TIMELINE
The Washington you see today had its birth two centuries ago in a rational yet visionary design unprecedented in its scale. Pierre Charles L’Enfant’s plan for the city and its core mall area was influenced by urban planning then current in Europe and neoclassical landscape design exemplified by Versailles. Brilliantly adapting those ideas to Washington’s terrain, L’Enfant placed the Capitol on Jenkins Hill and the “President’s House” on a lower terrace then overlooking the Potomac River. Between them ran Pennsylvania Avenue, to symbolize the connection between the branches of government. The spirit of that plan lives in the city still.
1790
The result of a compromise between northern and southern interests, the Residency Act authorizes President Washington to choose a site for the capital on the Potomac River. Andrew Ellicott, aided by Benjamin Banneker, surveys a ten-mile square encompassing parts of Maryland and Virginia. The core of L’Enfant’s 1791 plan is the triangle created by the Capitol, the White House, and the Mall. The plan calls for grand avenues radiating from a number of plazas. The cornerstone for the White House is laid October 13, 1792; it is the oldest federal structure in Washington.
1800
The Senate chamber of the Capitol, designed by Dr. William Thornton, is completed and Congress moves from Philadelphia to Washington. The House chamber is completed in 1807, with a covered walkway between the buildings. President John Adams and Abigail Adams move into the just-completed President’s House in 1800.
1810
Work begins on converting Tiber Creek into L’Enfont’s planned canal. It follows what is now Constitution Avenue, then turns in front of the Capitol.
1814
After the British burn the Capitol during the War of 1812, Benjamin Latrobe begins rebuilding. William Bulfinch completes the restoration by 1829, sheathing in copper the dome designed by William Thornton. Read the rest of this entry »