Washington, D.C.

To become law it would have to be passed by the Senate and signed by president; it would have renamed the city Washington, Douglass Commonwealth and shrunk the Federal District to about the size of the National Mall.

[16] The Algonquian-speaking Piscataway people, also known as the Conoy, inhabited the lands around the Potomac River and present-day Washington, D.C., when Europeans first arrived and colonized the region in the early 17th century.

[19] The following day, Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts moved "that buildings for the use of Congress be erected on the banks of the Delaware near Trenton, or of the Potomac, near Georgetown, provided a suitable district can be procured on one of the rivers as aforesaid, for a federal town".

[41] The outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 led to the expansion of the federal government and notable growth in the city's population, including a large influx of freed slaves.

[98] L'Enfant was also provided a roll of maps by Thomas Jefferson depicting Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Strasbourg, Paris, Orleans, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Turin, and Milan.

[99] L'Enfant's design also envisioned a garden-lined grand avenue about 1 mile (1.6 km) long and 400 feet (120 m) wide in an area that is now the National Mall inspired by the grounds at Versailles and Tuileries Gardens.

[102] Despite popular belief, no law has ever limited buildings to the height of the United States Capitol or the 555-foot (169 m) Washington Monument,[71] which remains the district's tallest structure.

City leaders have cited the height restriction as a primary reason that the district has limited affordable housing and its metro area has suburban sprawl and traffic problems.

[104] The City of Washington was bordered on the north by Boundary Street (renamed Florida Avenue in 1890), Rock Creek to the west, and the Anacostia River to the east.

[citation needed] Many government buildings, monuments, and museums along the National Mall and surrounding areas are heavily inspired by classical Roman and Greek architecture.

[117][118] CityCenterDC is home to Palmer Alley, a pedestrian-only walkway, and houses several apartment buildings, restaurants, and luxury-brand storefronts with streamlined glass and metal facades.

[153][better source needed] A 2009 report found that at least three percent of Washington, D.C., residents have HIV or AIDS, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) characterizes as a "generalized and severe" epidemic.

[citation needed] As the national capital, Washington, D.C. hosts about 185 foreign missions, including embassies, ambassador's residences, and international cultural centers.

[166] Washington, D.C. is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world; it hosts a number of internationally themed festivals and events, often in collaboration with foreign missions or delegations.

[170] Washington, D.C. is home to many non-profit organizations that engage with issues of domestic and global importance by conducting advanced research, running programs, or public advocacy.

[178] The city and the larger Washington metropolitan area have an array of attractions for tourists, including monuments, memorials, museums, sports events, and trails.

[188] Other performing arts spaces in the city include the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Federal Triangle, the Atlas Performing Arts Center on H Street, the Carter Barron Amphitheater in Rock Creek Park, Constitution Hall in Downtown, the Keegan Theatre in Dupont Circle, the Lisner Auditorium in Foggy Bottom, the Sylvan Theater on the National Mall, and the Warner Theatre in Penn Quarter.

[193] Washington has its own native music genre called go-go; a post-funk, percussion-driven flavor of rhythm and blues that was popularized in the late 1970s by D.C. band leader Chuck Brown.

[citation needed] Among the most notable Washington, D.C.-born foods is the half-smoke, a half-beef, half-pork sausage placed in a hotdog-style bun and topped with onion, chili, and cheese.

[211] Several celebrity chefs have opened restaurants in the city, including José Andrés,[212] Kwame Onwuachi,[213] Gordon Ramsay,[214][215] and previously Michel Richard.

The Government Accountability Office and other analysts have estimated that the city's high percentage of tax-exempt property and the Congressional prohibition of commuter taxes create a structural deficit in the district's local budget of anywhere between $470 million and over $1 billion per year.

Congress typically provides additional grants for federal programs such as Medicaid and the operation of the local justice system; however, analysts claim that the payments do not fully resolve the imbalance.

[286] Efforts to raise awareness about the issue have included campaigns by grassroots organizations and featuring the city's unofficial motto, "End Taxation Without Representation", on D.C. vehicle license plates.

Those opposed to making the District of Columbia a state say such a move would destroy the notion of a separate national capital and that statehood would unfairly grant Senate representation to a single city.

[299] Mayor Adrian Fenty's administration made sweeping changes to the system by closing schools, replacing teachers, firing principals, and using private education firms to aid curriculum development.

The headquarters of Voice of America, the U.S. government's international news service, is near the Capitol in Southwest Washington, D.C.[321] The city is served by two local NPR affiliates, WAMU and WETA.

The busiest by number of total passengers is Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI), located in Anne Arundel County, Maryland about 30 miles (48 km) northeast of the city.

The aqueduct provides drinking water for a total of 1.1 million people in the district and Virginia, including Arlington, Falls Church, and a portion of Fairfax County.

[369] In February 2024, the Council of the District of Columbia passed a major bill meant to reduce crime in the city by introducing harsher penalties for arrested offenders.

[374] On June 26, 2008, the Supreme Court of the United States held in District of Columbia v. Heller that the city's 1976 handgun ban violated the right to keep and bear arms as protected under the Second Amendment.

The United States Congress began assembling in the new United States Capitol in 1800 after the nation's capital was moved from Philadelphia .
After 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.
The 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 .
The 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 .
The March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on August 28, 1963
The Washington Monument viewed from the Tidal Basin during the National Cherry Blossom Festival in April 2018
Washington, D.C. is located on the north side of the Potomac River . It is bordered on three sides by Maryland and by Northern Virginia to its southwest.
The U.S. Capitol during the February 5–6, 2010 North American blizzard
The L'Enfant Plan for the city, developed in 1791 by Pierre Charles L'Enfant
In 1830, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal was extended to Georgetown .
An aerial view of Northwest Washington, D.C. in June 2018
The Jefferson Memorial and many of the city's other major monuments are built in the Neoclassical style.
Contemporary architecture at CityCenterDC in Downtown
Victorian houses in Dupont Circle
Map 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)
The city's African American population has declined since the 1968 riots .
The Eccles Building on Constitution Avenue , home of the Federal Reserve , the central bank of the United States
Federal Triangle , a historic hub of executive departments of the U.S. federal government
The French ambassador's residence in the Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District
A panel discussion at the American Enterprise Institute , one of the city's many think tanks
The World War II Memorial , one of many popular tourist sites located on the National Mall
A performance of Moulin Rouge! at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Chuck Brown performing go-go music
Beyaynetu served at Das Ethiopian Cuisine on 28th Street Northwest , one of the city's Ethiopian cuisine restaurants
Ben's Chili Bowl on U Street , known for its half-smoke , a historic staple of the city's cuisine
The National Museum of Natural History , the third-most visited museum in the U.S. in 2023 , with 4.4 million visitors
The National Gallery of Art , the fourth-most visited art museum in the United States in 2023 with nearly four million visitors
The National Building Museum
National Mall , a landscaped park extending from the Lincoln Memorial to the United States Capitol
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial , a two-acre (8,100 m 2 ) site featuring two black granite walls engraved with the names of those service members who died or remain missing in the Vietnam War designed by Maya Lin , was initially controversial for its lack of heroic iconography, a departure from earlier memorial designs.
Protesters in front of the U.S. Supreme Court Building in June 2022
Rock Creek Park , the city's largest park, stretches across Northwest .
The Cascading Waterfall at Meridian Hill Park in Meridian Hill
Capital One Arena in the city's Chinatown section hosts the Washington Capitals , an NHL team (pictured), and the Washington Wizards , an NBA team
With over 30,000 participants as of 2024, the annual Marine Corps Marathon , held annually in October in Washington, D.C. and Arlington County , is the largest non-prize money marathon in the country. [ 257 ]
The John A. Wilson Building on Pennsylvania Avenue , headquarters for much of the Government of the District of Columbia , including the offices of the mayor and D.C. Council
Muriel Bowser , the city's mayor since 2015
The city's license plate , which calls for an end to taxation without representation
The Washington Monument (forefront) and White House (center) in September 2003. Since 1961, the city's residents can vote for the U.S. president and vice president , who also serves as President of the Senate .
The Abraham Lincoln Statue at the Lincoln Memorial in September 2016
Duke Ellington School of the Arts , a public magnet school in the city
Georgetown University , founded in 1789, the city's oldest university
The Library of Congress , the world's largest library with more than 173 million items [ h ]
One Franklin Square in Downtown houses the headquarters of The Washington Post , the nation's third-largest newspaper by circulation as of 2023
CNN reporting from the city during the 2016 U.S. presidential election
Pennsylvania Avenue , one of the city's most prominent streets, connects the U.S. Capitol and White House .
A Capital Bikeshare rental station near McPherson Square
Memorial Bridge connects the city across the Potomac River with Arlington, Virginia .
Washington Metro , the second-busiest rapid rail system in the U.S. based on average weekday ridership, is known for its iconic vaulted ceilings
Metrobus , operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia is the closest airport to the city among the three major Washington metropolitan area airports.
The Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant in D.C. is the largest advanced wastewater treatment facility in the world. [ 355 ]
Washington, D.C., police on Harley-Davidson motorcycles escorting the March for Life protest on Constitution Avenue in January 2018