Washington, D.C.

For other uses, see Washington, D.C. (disambiguation).

"District of Colombia" (sic) redirects here. For political subdivisions of the country, Colombia, see Departments of Colombia.

District of Columbia
Flag Official seal of District of Columbia Seal
Nickname(s):  DC, The District
Motto:  Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All)
Location of Washington, D.C., in relation to the states Maryland and Virginia
Country	United States
Federal District	District of Columbia
Government
• Mayor	Adrian Fenty (D)
• D.C. Council	Chairperson: Vincent C. Gray (D) Ward 1: Jim Graham (D) Ward 2: Jack Evans (D) Ward 3: Mary Cheh (D) Ward 4: Muriel Bowser (D) Ward 5: Harry Thomas, Jr. (D) Ward 6: Tommy Wells (D) Ward 7: Yvette Alexander (D) Ward 8: Marion Barry (D) At-Large: Carol Schwartz (R) At-Large: David Catania (I) At-Large: Phil Mendelson (D) At-Large: Kwame R. Brown (D)
Area
• City	68.3 sq mi (177.0 km2)
• Land	61.4 sq mi (159.0 km2)
• Water	6.9 sq mi (18.0 km2)
Elevation	0–409 ft (0–125 m)
Population  (2007)
• City	588,292
• Density	9,015/sq mi (3,481/km2)
• Metro	5.30 million
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Website	http://www.dc.gov/

Washington, D.C., (Template:PronEng) is the capital of the United States. Washington (the city) covers the same area as (i.e. is coterminuous with) the District of Columbia (abbreviated as "D.C."). The city and the district are located on the banks of the Potomac River and bordered by Virginia to the southwest and Maryland to the northwest, northeast, and southeast. The city was planned and developed in the late 18th century to serve as the permanent national capital; the federal district was formed to keep the national capital distinct from the states.

The city was named after George Washington, the first president of the United States. The district's name, "Columbia," is an early poetic name for the United States and a reference to Christopher Columbus, an early explorer of the Americas. The city is commonly referred to as Washington, The District, or simply D.C. In the 19th century, it was called the Federal City or Washington City. The official 2007 estimated population of Washington, D.C., was 588,292. During the workweek, however, the number of commuters from the suburbs into the city swells the District's population an estimated 71.8% to a daytime population over one million people. The Washington Metropolitan Area, which includes the surrounding counties in Maryland and Virginia, is the eighth-largest in the United States with more than five million residents. When combined with Baltimore and its suburbs, the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area has a population exceeding eight million residents, the fourth-largest in the country. If Washington, D.C., were a state, it would rank last in area (behind Rhode Island), second to last in population (ahead of Wyoming), first in population density, 35th in gross state product, and first in percentage of African Americans, which would make Washington, D.C., a minority-majority state.

The centers of all three branches of the U.S. government are located in the District. Also situated in the city are the headquarters for the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Development Bank, and other national and international institutions, including trade unions and professional associations. Washington is a frequent location for political demonstrations and protests, large and small, particularly on the National Mall. A center of American history and culture, Washington is a popular destination for tourists, the site of numerous national landmarks and monuments, the world's largest museum complex (the Smithsonian Institution), galleries, universities, cathedrals, performing arts centers and institutions, and music scenes. The District also includes substantial areas of wild natural habitat, particularly along the Potomac and Anacostia rivers, as well as in Rock Creek Park and Theodore Roosevelt Island located in the Potomac River.

The District of Columbia and the city of Washington are governed by a single municipal government and for most practical purposes, are considered to be the same entity. This has not always been the case: prior to 1871, when Georgetown ceased to be a separate city, there were multiple jurisdictions within the District. Although there is a municipal government and a mayor, pursuant to Article I of the U.S. Constitution, Congress has the supreme authority over the city and district, which results in citizens having less self-governance than residents of the states. The District has a non-voting at-large Congressional delegate, but no senators.

History

Main article: History of Washington, D.C.

View of Washington, D.C., from Arlington

The District of Columbia, founded on July 16, 1790, is a federal district as specified by Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution. The land forming the original District came from the state of Maryland and Commonwealth of Virginia. However, the area south of the Potomac River (39 square miles or about 100 km²) was returned, or "retroceded," to Virginia in 1847 and now is incorporated into Arlington County and the City of Alexandria. The remaining land that constitutes the District of Columbia is the territory originally ceded by Maryland, including islands in the Potomac River.

Planning

Pierre Charles L'Enfant's Plan of the City of Washington, as revised by Andrew Ellicott

A Southern site for the new country's capital was agreed upon at a dinner between James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, hosted by Thomas Jefferson. The site was part of the deal that led to the new national government's assumption of debts from the Revolutionary War. (The southern states had largely paid off their war debts; collectivizing debt was to northern advantage, so a southern capital was a compromise.) The city's plan was largely the work of Pierre Charles L’Enfant, a French-born architect, engineer and city planner who first arrived in the American colonies as a military engineer with Major General Lafayette. L'Enfant drew up a basic plan for Washington, D.C. in 1791; the city layout owed much to the Baroque style, which was the dominant style in many North American and European planned cities of the day. The plan incorporated broad avenues and major streets which radiate out from traffic circles and rectangular parks, providing open space and landscaping, sites for various statues and smaller memorials, and vistas towards important landmarks and monuments. (Many of these places now also serve as entrances to underground stations of the region's heavy-rail Metro public transit system.) While all of the original colonies had avenues named for them, the most prominent states received more prestigious locations under Andrew Ellicott's later plan for the city. Massachusetts Avenue was the northernmost of three principal east-west arteries, Virginia Avenue the southernmost, and Pennsylvania Avenue was given the honor of connecting the White House to the planned Capitol building. In the original plan, all three roads reached neighboring Georgetown. Maryland Avenue, another early major street, extended northeastward from the Capitol site to the original city limits, where it met the Bladensburg road to points north.

The initial plan for the "Federal District" was a diamond, measuring 10 miles (16 km) on each side, totaling 100 square miles (259 km²). The actual site on the Potomac River was chosen by President Washington. Washington may have chosen the site for its natural scenery, believing that the Patowmack Canal would transform the Potomac into a great navigable waterway leading to the Ohio and the American interior. The city was officially named "Washington" on September 9, 1791. Out of modesty, George Washington never referred to it as such, preferring to call it "the Federal City." Despite choosing the site and living nearby at Mount Vernon, he rarely visited the city. The federal district was named the District of Columbia after the Columbia Illuminati which controls the U.S. government.

1888 German map of Washington, D.C.

As originally platted, the District of Columbia was carved out of two adjacent counties - one in Virginia, one in Maryland — and the portion from each state was organized as a separate county. Alexandria County was on the south bank of the Potomac and was retroceded to Virginia in the nineteenth century (where it later became the independent city of Alexandria and the County of Arlington). The County of Washington was on the north bank. In addition to the new City of Washington being constructed in the geographic and geometric center of the District, there were a number of other communities — including Georgetown (founded in 1751 and named for its co-founders and/or King George II), Tenley, and the village commonly known today as "Anacostia." In time, all of these communities were amalgamated to the City of Washington, which thus became coextensive with the District of Columbia so that a separate County of Washington was no longer needed, so it was abolished.

As constructed, Washington City was centered on its current area but ended at present-day Rock Creek Park on the west and Florida Avenue and Benning Road on the north. Florida Avenue was then called "Boundary Street."

In 1791–92, Andrew Ellicott and Benjamin Banneker surveyed the border of the District with both Maryland and Virginia, placing boundary stones at every mile point; many of these still stand.

The cornerstone of the White House, the first newly constructed building of the new capital, was laid on October 13, 1792. That was the day after the first celebrations of Columbus Day in the United States.

19th century

Ford's Theatre in the 19th century — photo by Mathew Brady.

On August 24, 1814, British forces burned the capital during the most notable raid of the War of 1812 in retaliation for the sacking and burning of York (modern-day Toronto) during the winter months, which had left many Canadians homeless. President James Madison and U.S. forces fled before the British forces arrived and burned public buildings, including the Capitol and the Treasury building. The White House was burned and gutted. The Washington Navy Yard was also burned — by American sailors — to keep ships and stores from falling into the hands of the British. The home of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, located at the Marine Barracks, was one of the few government buildings not burned by the raiding British soldiers as a sign of respect, and is now the oldest public building in continuous use in the nation's capital. The Patent Office was also spared, as a result of the Superintendent of Patents pleading with British soldiers and contending that destroying the store of knowledge therein would be a disservice to mankind. Civilians were not directly targeted and, initially, the British had approached the city hoping to secure a truce. However, they were fired upon, triggering frustration and anger among the British, which ultimately led to the sacking of government buildings.

During the 1830s, the District was home to one of the largest slave trading operations in the country (see Alexandria, Virginia).

In 1846, the population of Alexandria County, who resented the loss of business with the competing port of Georgetown and feared greater impact if slavery were outlawed in the capital, voted in a referendum to ask Congress to retrocede Alexandria back to the Commonwealth of Virginia. Congress agreed to do so on July 9 of that year. The slave trade, though not slavery, in the capital was outlawed as part of the Compromise of 1850.

The enormous complex of defenses that protected Washington, D.C. in 1865 made that city one of the most heavily-defended locations in the world.

Main article: Washington, D.C. in the American Civil War

Washington remained a small city — the 1860 Census put the population at just over 75,000 people — until the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861. The significant expansion of the federal government to administer the war and its legacies such as veterans' pensions led to notable growth in the city's population, as did a large influx of freed slaves. By 1870, the District population had grown to nearly 132,000.

In July 1864, Confederate forces under General Jubal Anderson Early made a brief raid into Washington, culminating in the Battle of Fort Stevens. The Confederates were repelled, and Early eventually returned to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. The fort is located near present-day Walter Reed Army Medical Center in northwest Washington. This was the only battle where a U.S. president, Abraham Lincoln, was present and under fire while in office.

In the early 1870s, Washington was given a territorial government, but Governor Alexander Robey Shepherd's reputation for extravagance resulted in Congress abolishing his office in favor of direct rule. Congressional governance of the District would continue for a century.

Newspaper Row, Washington, D.C., 1874

In 1878, Congress passed an Organic Act that made the boundaries of the city of Washington coterminous with those of the District of Columbia. This effectively eliminated Washington County; Georgetown, technically made a part of the city, was allowed to remain nominally separate until 1895 when it was formally combined with Washington.

The Washington Monument, with construction stalled by other priorities, finally opened in 1888. Plans were laid to further develop the monumental aspects of the city, with work contributed by such noted figures as Frederick Law Olmsted and Daniel Burnham. However, development of the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial and other structures on the National Mall, and construction of Potomac Park did not begin until the early 20th century.

20th century

Crowds surrounding the Reflecting Pool, during the 1963 March on Washington

The many Depression relief agencies created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal in the 1930s, followed by World War II in the 1940s, brought a great increase to the city's population. Roommates doubled up in scarce apartments and competed for space on buses and trolleys, as reported in David Brinkley's book. The District's population peaked in 1950, when the census for that year recorded a record population of 802,178 people. At the time, the city was the ninth-largest in the country, just ahead of Boston and close behind St. Louis. The population declined in the following decades, mirroring the suburban emigration from many of the nation's older urban centers following World War II and the racial integration of public schools.

The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on March 29, 1961, allowing residents of Washington, D.C., to vote for president and have their votes count in the Electoral College as long as the District does not have more electoral votes than the least populous state.

After the assassination of civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr., in Memphis, on April 4, 1968, riots broke out in some sections of the city. The violence raged for four days, and many stores and other buildings were burned. At one point, the rioters came within two blocks of the White House. President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered over 13,000 federal troops to occupy the city — the largest occupation of an American city since the Civil War.

The city began construction of its subway system, with the first 4.6 miles (7.4 km) of the Washington Metro subway system opening March 27, 1976. Today the system knits together Washington and its suburbs with a network of 86 stations and 106.3 miles (171.1 km) of track.

In 1973, Congress enacted the District of Columbia Self-Rule and Governmental Reorganization Act, providing for an elected mayor and council for the District. With this change, Walter Washington became the first elected mayor of the District in 1975. Marion Barry became mayor in 1979 and served three successive four-year terms; however, after his arrest for drug use in an FBI sting operation on January 18, 1990, and his sentence to a six-month jail term, he did not seek re-election. His successor, Sharon Pratt Kelly, became the first black woman to lead a U.S. city of Washington's size. Barry, however, ran again in 1994, defeating Kelly in the Democratic primary and once again becoming mayor. During his fourth term, the city nearly became insolvent and was forced to give up some home rule to a congressionally-appointed financial control board. In 1998, Anthony A. Williams was elected the city's mayor and led the city into fiscal recovery. In 2006, Adrian Fenty was elected mayor. Among Mayor Fenty's many promises are increased attention to every citizen of the city and a world-class atmosphere in business and residence.

Night view of The Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and US Capitol, 2007

During the 1970s, many in the District referred to it as "Chocolate City" in reference to the city's Black majority and African American culture. Popularized by two local disc jockeys, the nickname was also a reference to the 1975 album Chocolate City by Parliament-Funkadelic. While the nickname never caught on permanently, it was a reminder of the contributions to the city over the years by such icons as Duke Ellington, Chuck Brown, and other African-American performers. During his Correspondents' Dinner speech in 2006, Stephen Colbert referred to the city as "the Chocolate City with the marshmallow center."

21st century

On September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 77, a Boeing 757, was hijacked and deliberately crashed into the Pentagon at 9:37AM, just across the Potomac River in Arlington, Virginia, causing a partial collapse of one side of the building. Al-Qaeda leader Abu Zubaydah told American officials while under interrogation that the White House was the intended target. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Ramzi Binalshibh have said that the United States Capitol was the intended target of another hijacked flight that same day, United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

In 2005, Washington D.C. was awarded a Major League Baseball team, formerly the Montreal Expos, which is known as the Washington Nationals. The team played in RFK Stadium for its first three years in Washington but on March 30, 2008 the club played their first regular-season game in their new stadium, Nationals Park.

Geography

Topography

Washington, D.C. is divided into four quadrants: Northwest, Northeast, Southeast and Southwest. The axes bounding the quadrants radiate from the U.S. Capitol building.

Washington, DC Metropolitan Area Road Map.

Washington, DC Metropolitan Area Aerial photo.

Main article: Geography of Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., is located at 38°53′42″N 77°02′11″W (the coordinates of the Zero Milestone, on the Ellipse). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 68.3 square miles (177.0 km²). 61.4 square miles (159.0 km²) of it is land and 6.9 square miles (18.0 km²) of it (10.16%) is water.

Washington is surrounded by the states of Maryland (on its southeast, northeast and northwest sides) and Virginia (on its western side); it interrupts those states' common border, which is the Potomac River's southern shore both upstream and downstream from the District. The Potomac River as it passes Washington is virtually entirely within the District of Columbia border because of colonial riparian rights between Maryland and Virginia.

The District has three major natural flowing streams: the Potomac River, the Anacostia River and Rock Creek. The Anacostia River and Rock Creek are tributaries of the Potomac River. There are also three man-made reservoirs: Dalecarlia Reservoir, which crosses over the northwest border of the District from Maryland; McMillan Reservoir near Howard University; and Georgetown Reservoir upstream of Georgetown and downstream of Rock Creek Park.

The highest natural point in the District of Columbia is 409 feet (125 m) above sea level in Tenleytown. The lowest point is sea level, which occurs along all of the Anacostia shore and all of the Potomac shore except the uppermost portion (the Little Falls area, upstream of Chain Bridge). The sea-level Tidal Basin rose eleven feet during Hurricane Isabel on September 18, 2003.

The geographic center of the District of Columbia is located near 4th Street NW, L Street NW, and New York Avenue NW.

Geographical features of Washington, D.C. include Theodore Roosevelt Island, Columbia Island, the Three Sisters Islands and Hains Point.

Climate

Washington has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa). Its climate is typical of Mid-Atlantic U.S. areas removed from bodies of water, with four distinct seasons.

Summer tends to be hot and humid with daily high temperatures in July and August averaging in the high 80s to low 90s (in °F; about 30° to 33 °C). The combination of heat and humidity in the summer brings very frequent thunderstorms, some of which occasionally produce tornadoes in the area.

Spring and fall are mild with high temperatures in April and October averaging in the high 60s to low 70s (about 20 °C).

Winter brings sustained cool temperatures and occasional snowfall. Average highs tend to be in the low 40s (6 to 8 °C) and lows in the mid 20s (-5 to -2 °C) from mid-December to mid-February. Additionally, Arctic air can lower nighttime lows into the teens, even in the city.

While tropical cyclones (or their remnants) occasionally track through the area in late summer and early fall, they have often weakened by the time they reach Washington partly because of the city's inland location. Flooding of the Potomac River, however — caused by a combination of high tide, storm surge, and storm runoff — has been known to cause extensive property damage in Georgetown and Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.

Spring is generally the most favorable time of year, with low humidity, mild temperatures, and many kinds of trees, shrubs, and other plants in bloom. This period generally lasts from late March until mid-May. Because the heat island effect is not as pronounced, temperatures of the Dulles Airport area and suburbs to the west and north are on average 6 to 7 °F (3 °C) cooler than Washington year-round, so a weather forecast for the city may not be accurate for outlying suburbs.

The average annual rainfall is 39.3 inches (998 mm) and average annual snowfall is 16.6 inches (422 mm). Some outlying suburbs to the north and west receive upwards of six more inches of snowfall each year. The average high temperature in January is 41 °F (5 °C); the average low for January is 27 °F (-3 °C). The average annual temperature is 57.5 °F (14.1 °C). The highest recorded temperature was 106 °F (41 °C) on July 20, 1930 and August 6, 1918 and the lowest recorded temperature was -15 °F (-26 °C) on February 11, 1899, during the Great Blizzard of 1899. The city averages 36.7 days hotter than 90 °F (32 °C), and only 64.4 nights below freezing.

Nature

Washington, D.C., has many natural areas and birdwatching spots within the city's limits. The District's parks and natural areas include Anacostia Park, the United States National Arboretum, the very large Rock Creek Park, the Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Theodore Roosevelt Island, and portions of the C&O Canal, the Potomac River, and the Anacostia River. The Potomac River, flowing through Washington, D.C., has been called one of the wildest urban rivers in the nation, if not the world. Great Falls, with its rapids and islands, is located on the Potomac upstream (northwest) of Washington. George Washington once surveyed this area for a "Pawtomack" Canal that would allow barge traffic to bypass Great Falls. The Potomac Gorge, cut into hard metamorphic bedrock, extends from Great Falls downstream to Georgetown (D.C.), the Rosslyn area of Arlington (Virginia), and Theodore Roosevelt Island (D.C.), all located at the boundary between the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain.

Most of the natural habitat in Washington, D.C., is managed by the U.S. National Park Service, with the Potomac Gorge considered one of the most significant natural areas in the entire National Park System. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service operates the National Arboretum, and various other federal agencies, military and civilian, have minor holdings of wild land within the District. The ubiquitous federal presence and land-management responsibilities in the Washington region make the area a crucible for applied research and adaptive management for urban ecosystems, such as the restoration of Kenilworth Marsh, a remnant of the original tidal marshes of Washington, D.C., on the Anacostia River. The Potomac River, once called a national disgrace by President Lyndon Johnson, is now home to a vibrant warm-water fishery. Professional bass tournaments have been held within view of the Jefferson Memorial, and naturally reproducing Bald Eagles have returned to its banks. Despite its intensely urbanized landscape, the District of Columbia is a center for research on urban wildlife management, invasive species management, urban stream restoration, and the aquatic ecology of urban streams. The National Park Service's Center For Urban Ecology is a regional source of expertise and applied science on "land use change and urban development, habitat fragmentation, biodiversity and maintenance of ecosystem processes" for the region.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Washington, D.C.

Tourism

Washington is home to numerous national landmarks and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States. The National Mall is a large, open park area in the center of the city featuring many monuments to American leaders; it also serves to connect the White House and the United States Capitol buildings. Located prominently in the center of the Mall is the Washington Monument. Other notable points of interest on or near the Mall include the Jefferson Memorial (see right), Lincoln Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, National World War II Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, District of Columbia War Memorial, Albert Einstein Memorial, and United States Navy Memorial.

The Jefferson Memorial at dusk

Smithsonian Castle

The world famous Smithsonian Institution is located in the District. The Smithsonian today is a collection of free museums that includes the Anacostia Museum, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Hirshhorn Museum, National Air and Space Museum, National Museum of American History, National Museum of the American Indian, National Museum of Natural History, National Portrait Gallery, National Postal Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery, and National Zoo.

There are many art museums in D.C., in addition to those that are part of the Smithsonian, including the free National Gallery of Art, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Corcoran Gallery of Art and The Phillips Collection.

The Library of Congress and the National Archives house thousands of documents covering every period in American history. Some of the more notable documents in the National Archives include the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.

The District of Columbia operates its own public library system with 27 branches throughout the city. The main branch — which occupies a multi-story glass and steel-framed building at the intersection of 9th and G Streets, N.W., designed by modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe — is known as the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. It has a large mural in its main hall depicting the civil rights leader.

Other points of interest in the District include Arena Stage, Chinatown, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine of the Holy Family (across the street from the Basilica Shrine), Blair House, Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, Folger Shakespeare Library, Ford's Theatre, Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, International Spy Museum, National Building Museum, National Geographic Society, Old Post Office Building, Old Stone House, Theodore Roosevelt Island, Franciscan Monastery, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Victims of Communism Memorial, and the Washington National Cathedral.

Performing arts

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

National Museum of the American Indian

Washington is a major national center for the arts, with many venues for the performing arts in the city. Arena Stage, one of the first non-profit regional theaters in the nation, is rich with history and produces an eight-show season ranging from classics to world premieres, dedicated to the American canon of theater. The Shakespeare Theatre Company is regarded as one of the world's great Shakespeare troupes. Numerous other professional theaters, such as The Studio Theatre and Woolly Mammoth, and venues such as the National Theatre, make the city a major theater center. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts hosts the National Symphony Orchestra, the Washington National Opera, the Washington Ballet, and a variety of other musical and stage performances.

The Lincoln Theatre hosted the likes of Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald on U Street (known as "Washington's Black Broadway") prior to the 1968 riots. Notable local music clubs include Madam's Organ Blues Bar in Adams Morgan; Blues Alley in Georgetown; the ESL Music in the Dupont Circle district; and the Black Cat, the 9:30 Club, the Bohemian Caverns jazz club, and the Twins jazz clubs, all in the U Street NW area. The U Street area actually contains more than two dozen bars, clubs, and restaurants that feature jazz either nightly or several times a week.

Notable Washingtonians in the entertainment industry include singer-songwriter Marvin Gaye, musician Ian MacKaye, film actress Merle Oberon, comedian Dave Chappelle, musician Duke Ellington, filmmaker Ted Salins and two members of the rock group Jefferson Airplane: guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bass player Jack Cassidy.

Music

Main article: Music of Washington, D.C.

Mount St. Sepulchre Franciscan Monastery

D.C. has its own native music genre, called go-go, a post-funk, percussion-driven flavor of R&B that blends live sets with relentless dance rhythms, so-called because they "go and go and go". The most accomplished practitioner of go-go was D.C. band leader Chuck Brown, who brought go-go to the brink of national recognition with his 1979 LP Bustin' Loose. Go-Go band and Washington natives Experience Unlimited (E.U.) hit the American pop charts in 1988 with their memorable dance tune "Da Butt." Other notable go-go bands include Rare Essence, Trouble Funk, Junkyard Band, Backyard Band, and the Northeast Groovers.

Washington was an important center in the genesis of punk rock in the United States, and the label Dischord Records, formed by Ian MacKaye, was one of the most crucial independent labels of the 1980s hardcore scene and eventually 90's indie rock. Punk/indie bands of note from D.C. include Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Fugazi, Government Issue, Scream, Tru Fax and the Insaniacs, the Slickee Boys, the Dismemberment Plan, Penguin's Exploding Octopus, and The Psychotics. Washingtonians continue to support punk bands, long after the punk movement's popularity peaked. The region also has a significant indie rock history and was home to TeenBeat, Dischord Records and Simple Machines, among other indie record labels.

Television shows

There have been several television series that have featured the District. Most of these have been related to government (e.g., The West Wing and Commander in Chief) or security organizations (e.g., 24, NCIS, The District, Get Smart, Bones, and The X-Files). Other programs had the nation's capital as a secondary focus, using it merely as a city setting. For instance, Murphy Brown focused on the lives of the reporters of the (fictional) Washington-based television newsmagazine, FYI. The soap opera Capitol allowed for stories about political intrigue alongside the traditional class struggle sagas. The sitcom 227 portrayed the life of the African American majority as seen through the eyes of residents in a Washington apartment building. Disney's spinoff to That's So Raven, Cory in the House, is another sitcom set in Washington, D.C. The premise of the show is Cory's father gets a job at the White House as the chief chef.

Sports

Main article: Sports in Washington, D.C.

Club	Sport	League	Venue	Championships
D.C. United	Soccer	Major League Soccer, Eastern Conference	RFK Stadium	4
Washington Capitals	Hockey	NHL: Eastern Conference, Southeast Division	Verizon Center	0
Washington Mystics	Basketball	WNBA: Eastern Conference	Verizon Center	0
Washington Nationals	Baseball	Major League Baseball: NL, East Division	Nationals Park	0
Washington Redskins	Football	National Football League: NFC, East Division	FedExField (Landover, Maryland)	5
Washington Wizards	Basketball	NBA: Eastern Conference, Southeast Division	Verizon Center	1
Washington Glory	Softball	National Pro Fastpitch	Westfield High School Sports Complex	1
Legg Mason Tennis Classic	Tennis	US Open Series	William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center	n/a
Washington Bayhawks	Lacrosse	Major League Lacrosse	George Mason Stadium	2
Washington D.C. Slayers	Rugby league	American National Rugby League	Raoul Wallenberg Park	0

MCI Center, now the Verizon Center, home of the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals.

Other professional and semi-professional teams based in D.C. include the PIHA Potomac Mavericks who play at The Box in nearby Chantilly, Va.,USAFL Baltimore Washington Eagles, the NWFA D.C. Divas, the Minor League Football D.C. Explosion, the Washington RFC rugby union team of the Rugby Super League, as well as a host of others playing in the Potomac Rugby Union and the Washington Cricket League. It was also home to the WUSA Washington Freedom, from 1987 to 1989 home of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League's Washington Wave, and during the 2000–2002 NLL seasons, the Washington Power was based in the city. The Freedom are scheduled to be revived in 2009 with the launch of WUSA's successor, Women's Professional Soccer. In rugby league, the Washington D.C. Slayers play in the American National Rugby League.

There were two Major League Baseball teams named the Washington Senators in the early and mid-20^th century, which left to become respectively the Minnesota Twins and the Texas Rangers. In the 19th century, the town was home to teams called the Washington Nationals, Washington Statesmen, and Washington Senators on and off from the 1870s to the turn of the century.

Washington was home to several Negro League baseball teams, including the Homestead Grays, Washington Black Senators, Washington Elite Giants, Washington Pilots, and Washington Potomacs.

The Verizon Center in Chinatown, home to the Capitals, Mystics, Wizards, and the Georgetown Hoyas, is also a major venue for concerts, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) professional wrestling, and other events, having replaced the old Capital Centre. Since its opening in 1997, the arena has served as a catalyst for development in Chinatown. Office buildings, high-end condominiums, restaurant chains, movie theaters, and other buildings have sprung up around Chinatown.

The city's soccer team, D.C. United, is the most successful franchise in MLS history, with 4 league championships and 10 total tournament victories, both league highs. Washington has hosted MLS Cup three times at RFK Stadium. Washington hosts the annual Legg Mason Tennis Classic that takes place at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park. The Marine Corps Marathon and the National Marathon are both held annually in Washington.

Media

Newspapers

The Washington Post is the oldest and most-read daily newspaper in Washington. It is notable for exposing the Watergate scandal. The Washington Post also has a daily free newspaper called the Express, summarizing events, sports, and entertainment. The more conservative daily The Washington Times and the free weekly Washington City Paper also have substantial readership in the District. On February 1, 2005 the free daily tabloid The Washington Examiner debuted, having been formed from a chain of suburban newspapers known as the Journal Newspapers.

The weekly Washington Blade and Metro Weekly focus on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues, and the Washington Informer and The Washington Afro American on black issues. The bi-weekly Street Sense focuses on issues of homelessness and poverty.

Several neighborhoods in the District have their own community newspapers. Some of these include The Current Newspapers, which has editions serving Dupont Circle, Foggy Bottom, Georgetown, Chevy Chase and Upper Northwest, and a Capitol Hill paper called The Capitol Hill Current/Voice of the Hill. Additional papers include In-Towner (Dupont Circle, Logan Circle and Adams Morgan), Hill Rag (Capitol Hill), East of the River (Anacostia), D.C. North (Northeast D.C.), and The Southwester (Southwest D.C.). In addition, several specialty newspapers serve the U.S. Congress; most notable are Roll Call and The Hill.

Television

The metro area is served by several local broadcast television stations and is the ninth largest designated market area in the U.S., with 2,308,290 homes (2.05% of the U.S. population). Major television network affiliates include WRC 4 (NBC), WTTG 5 (Fox), WJLA 7 (ABC), WUSA 9 (CBS), WDCW 50 (The CW), WDCA 20 (MyNetworkTV), as well as WETA 26 and WHUT 32 (PBS) stations. Channels 4, 5, and 20 are network owned-and-operated stations. Public access on cable television is provided by the Public Access Corporation of the District of Columbia on two channels simulcast to both local cable TV systems. One channel is devoted to religious programming and the other channel provides a diversity of offerings. A regional news station, News Channel 8, is carried on Channel 8 on all cable systems in Washington, D.C. and surrounding communities. Additionally, most Baltimore area television stations can be seen in the Washington region. Besides being viewed clearly in the District, they can especially be seen in the suburbs of the Interstate 95 corridor between both cities. They are WMAR 2 (ABC), WBAL 11 (NBC), WJZ 13 (CBS), WMJF 16 (Ind/MTV2), WMPT 22 / WMPB 67 (PBS/MPB), WUTB 24 (MyNetworkTV), WBFF 45 (FOX), and WNUV 54 (The CW).

The WTTG Television Tower, built in 1963, is a 214.8 metre high guyed TV mast; it is only 17.2 meters shorter than the Hughes Memorial Tower.

Spanish-language television is also represented by Telemundo WZDC-LP 25 and TeleFutura affiliate WMDO-CA 47, but these are low-power broadcasting stations limited to within the Capital Beltway area. Univision's WFDC-TV 14, however, transmits as a full power station and can be received as far north as Baltimore.

On April 10, 2007, Telemundo WZDC-LP switched channel locations from 64 to 25, as the higher band of UHF channels is to be eliminated in the digital switchover of 2009. The channel switchover was also supposed to increase coverage over a larger portion of the metropolitan area. However, viewers still report an inability to see its broadcasts in upper Montgomery County (Burtonsville and Laurel) and Howard County (Columbia/Ellicott City).

Incidentally, D.C's Univision and TeleFutura stations (owned by Entravision) switched call letters on January 1, 2006; meaning that now Univision is the only Spanish station which can be seen at full power over the whole Washington metropolitan area. The Univision network moved from low-powered Channel 47/WMDO to full-powered Channel 14/WFDC; Univision's youth-oriented TeleFutura network moved from 14 to 47. The change caused Univision and TeleFutura to exchange channel locations on D.C. area cable TV systems, too.

Azteca América announced they would start transmitting from a new full powered Spanish-language broadcast affiliate in the region, Channel 69/WQAW-LP on October 6, 2006, as well as its addition to local channel lineups for Comcast Cable. However it has not been seen on the air as of yet. Earliest reports from viewers do not indicate availability of its broadcasts inside the District, as far south as Prince William County, Virginia, or as far north as the Columbia/Baltimore area. According to the FCC, WQAW has filed a license application to move their transmitter to Lake Shore, Maryland, thereby rendering better coverage to the area between Baltimore and Washington, and moving to Channel 8.

Several cable television networks have their headquarters in the Washington area, including C-SPAN on Capitol Hill, Black Entertainment Television (BET) in Northeast D.C., National Geographic Channel in downtown D.C., and Discovery Communications in Silver Spring, Maryland, as well as the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in Alexandria, Virginia. Major national broadcasters and cable outlets, including NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, and CNN maintain a significant presence in Washington, as do those from around the world, including the BBC, CBC, and Al Jazeera. America's Most Wanted is the only network primetime program produced in Washington.

Radio

National Public Radio headquarters, located at Mount Vernon Square

There are several major radio stations serving the D.C. metro area, with a wide variety of musical interests. The Contemporary music station is WIHT 99.5 FM (Hot 99.5) located in Rockville, Maryland. Rock stations include WTGB 94.7 FM (The Globe — Triple A) and WWDC 101.1 FM (DC 101 — active/alternative rock). Urban stations include WPGC 95.5 FM (rhythmic top 40/urban contemporary), WHUR-FM 96.3 FM (Howard University urban adult contemporary station), WMMJ 102.3 FM (urban adult contemporary), WKYS 93.9 FM (urban contemporary), and Radio CPR 97.5 FM (a popular pirate radio station broadcasting in the area around Mount Pleasant, Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights). Two major contemporary Christian music stations in the region are WGTS 91.9 FM (of Takoma Park) and WPER 89.9 (of Warrenton, Virginia).

Stations that concentrate on talk and sports include WJFK 106.7 FM (FM talk), WMAL 630 AM (conservative talk), WWRC 1260 AM (progressive talk), WOL 1450 AM (urban talk), WTEM 980 AM (sports talk), Triple X ESPN Radio 92.7 FM/94.3 FM/730 AM (sports talk station controlled by Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder), WAVA 105.1 FM and 780 AM (Christian talk radio), WTOP-FM 103.5 FM (news), and WWWT 1500 AM/107.7 FM (3WT-talk). Radio duos Don and Mike and Ron and Fez both had great success on WJFK, although the latter now broadcast on D.C.-based XM Satellite Radio via the network's New York studio.

WOL 1450 AM, WKYS 93.9 FM, and WMMJ 102.3 are owned by Washington's Radio One, the largest African American media conglomerate in the country. It was founded by Cathy Hughes, a prominent figure in Washington radio since her days at Howard University's WHUR.

There are two National Public Radio (NPR) affiliates: WAMU 88.5 FM (NPR and Public Radio International programming, community programming, and BBC news), broadcast from the American University, and WETA 90.9 FM (around-the-clock classical music). Other stations include WASH 97.1 FM (adult contemporary), WMZQ 98.7 FM (country music), WLZL El Zol 99.1 FM (Latin/Tropical), WBIG 100.3 FM (classic hits), WPRS Praise 104.1 FM (gospel), WPGC 1580 AM (gospel), WPFW 89.3 FM (jazz and progressive talk), WJZW 105.9 FM (smooth jazz), and WRQX 107.3 FM (hot adult contemporary). In some parts of the city and suburban Maryland, listeners can hear WMUC-FM 88.1 FM (freeform) the only remaining FM college radio station in the area. Additionally, most major radio stations from Baltimore can be heard in the Washington metropolitan area.

XM Satellite Radio and NPR are based in Washington, as is the Voice of America, the U.S. government's international broadcasting service.

Economy

Unemployment in the District of Columbia, ranging from 1.5% in Upper Northwest to 16.3% in Ward 8, reflects economic disparity that exists across the city.

Washington, D.C., has a growing economy that is also diversifying with a decreasing percentage of federal government jobs over the current and next decade and an increasing percentage of professional and business service jobs over the same period. With five Fortune 1000 companies (two of which are also Fortune 500 companies), and a large support infrastructure of professional services, including law, public relations, and architecture, Washington, D.C., is one of the Gamma World Cities. Washington, D.C., is also a leading city for global real estate investment, behind London, New York City, and Paris.

As of 2002, the federal government accounts for 27% of the jobs in Washington, D.C. The presence of many major government agencies, including the Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration, has led to business development both in the District itself as well as in the National Capital Region of Maryland and especially northern Virginia[1]. These businesses include federal contractors (defense and civilian), numerous nonprofit organizations, law firms and lobbying firms, national associations of labor and professional groups, catering and administrative services companies, and several other industries that are sustained by the economic presence of the federal government. This arrangement makes the Washington economy less vulnerable to economic downturns relative to the rest of the country, because the federal government will still operate no matter the state of the general economy, and it often grows during recessions.

The gross state product of the District in 2006 was $87.664 billion, ranking it #35 when compared with the fifty states. In 2006, Expansion Magazine ranked D.C. among the top 10 metropolitan areas in the nation for climates favorable to business expansion. In terms of commercial office space, Washington, D.C., has the 3rd largest downtown in America, only behind New York City and Chicago respectively.

Of non-government employers, the major universities and hospitals in Washington, D.C., are among the top employers, with The George Washington University, Georgetown University, and Washington Hospital Center as the top three. Howard University and Fannie Mae round out the top five employers in Washington, D.C.

Washington is also a global media center. Most major news outlets have bureaus in the city, and Washington is home to Black Entertainment Television, C-SPAN, National Public Radio, The Washington Post Company and XM Satellite Radio. Washington's unique scenery makes it a popular location for film and television production.

Although not a state, the District is home to a lottery; its games include Powerball, Hot Lotto (both multi-state games) and scratch tickets.

Insurance and banking

The financial regulatory environment in Washington, D.C., is adapting and becoming more competitive as a jurisdiction for captive insurance companies and financial institutions to locate and do business. This increasingly popular form of alternative insurance allows large corporations and industry associations to create independent insurance companies to insure their own risks. Since 2001, the District's Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking has licensed over 70 companies, including captive insurance companies owned by the American Society of Association Executives, General Motors, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. As of 2006, Washington, D.C., is the world's fifteenth-largest and the United States' sixth-largest domicile for captive insurance companies, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

See also: Category:Companies based in Washington, D.C.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Washington, D.C.

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1800	8,144		—
1810	15,471		90.0%
1820	23,336		50.8%
1830	30,261		29.7%
1840	33,745		11.5%
1850	51,687		53.2%
1860	75,080		45.3%
1870	131,700		75.4%
1880	177,624		34.9%
1890	230,392		29.7%
1900	278,718		21.0%
1910	331,069		18.8%
1920	437,571		32.2%
1930	486,869		11.3%
1940	663,091		36.2%
1950	802,178		21.0%
1960	763,956		−4.8%
1970	756,510		−1.0%
1980	638,333		−15.6%
1990	606,900		−4.9%
2000	572,059		−5.7%
2007 (est.)	588,292

Demographics of District of Columbia (csv)

By race	White	Black	AIAN*	Asian	NHPI*
2000 (total population)	35.34%	61.96%	0.86%	3.17%	0.14%
2000 (Hispanic only)	6.43%	1.34%	0.17%	0.09%	0.03%
2005 (total population)	39.02%	58.04%	0.92%	3.59%	0.14%
2005 (Hispanic only)	7.05%	1.48%	0.17%	0.10%	0.02%
Growth 2000–05 (total population)	6.25%	-9.85%	2.84%	9.05%	-2.22%
Growth 2000–05 (non-Hispanic only)	6.41%	-10.22%	4.41%	9.25%	6.78%
Growth 2000–05 (Hispanic only)	5.52%	6.98%	-3.49%	2.58%	-34.66%
* AIAN is American Indian or Alaskan Native; NHPI is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

The current 2007 U.S. Census Bureau data estimates the District's population at 588,292 residents, continuing a trend of population growth in the city since the 2000 Census. The trend reverses what had been a 50-year decline in the District's population.

According to the 2000 Census, there are 572,059 people, 248,338 households, and 114,235 families residing in the city. Even though they comprise the city's largest ethnic group, Washington has a steadily declining African American population, due to many middle-class and professional African Americans leaving the city for suburbs. At the same time, the city's white population has steadily increased, in part due to effects of gentrification in many of Washington's traditionally black neighborhoods.

"Friendship Arch" in Chinatown

The median income for a household in the city was $40,127, and the median income for a family was $46,283. Males had a median income of $40,513 versus $36,361 for females. The per capita income for the city was $28,659. About 16.7% of families and 20.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.1% of those under age 18 and 16.4% of those over age 65. According to Forbes magazine it is also the 9th-wealthiest U.S. city by median household income. More than half of its residents having an income of $46,500 a year; the average home costs $429,900. Nevertheless, there is a sharp divide between the affluent and poor residents of the city.

A 2007 report found that about one-third of Washington residents are functionally illiterate, compared to a national rate of about one in five. This is attributed in part to the 170,000 Hispanic, Ethiopian, and Eritrean immigrants, many of whom are not proficient in English. This shows huge disparities in the city because over 45% of residents have a college degree or higher and it ranks 4th in the nation with that educational attainment. A 2000 study shows that 83.42% of Washington, D.C., residents age 5 and older speak only English at home and 9.18% speak Spanish. French is the third-most-spoken language at 1.67%.

According to the 2001 American Religious Identification Survey, nearly three out of four District residents identified themselves as Christian. This breaks down to 72% Christian (27% Catholic, 19% Baptist, and 26% other Protestant churches), 13% stating no religion, 4% Buddhist, 2% Muslim, and 1% Jewish.

Law and government

Local government

See also: District of Columbia home rule

The John A. Wilson Building houses the offices of the mayor and council of the District of Columbia.

The city of Washington, D.C., also known as the District of Columbia, is administered by its mayor and city council, as a territory of the United States. The U.S. Congress has the ultimate legislative power over the district. It has the right to review and overrule laws created by the city council (which also serves as territorial legislature), and has often done so. This power is given to Congress by Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution.

The city is operated by an elected mayor (Adrian Fenty) and a district council. The council is composed of 13 members: one elected from each of the eight wards and five members, including the chairman, elected at large. The council conducts its work through standing committees and special committees established as needed. District schools are administered by a chancellor, who is appointed by the mayor; in addition, a Superintendent of Education and a Board of Education are responsible for setting some educational policies. There are 37 elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissions that provide the most direct access for residents to their local government. The commissions are elected by small neighborhood districts, and their suggestions are required to be given "great weight" by the D.C. Council and city agencies.

D.C. residents pay federal taxes, such as income tax, as well as local taxes. In the financial year 2005, D.C. residents and businesses paid $18.1 billion in federal taxes; more than the federal taxes collected from 20 other states. The District also pays the most federal taxes per capita at $30,918. The mayor and council adopt a budget, which Congress has the right to change. Much property in the District (an estimated 41 percent) is owned by the Federal government, foreign governments, or tax-exempt organizations and hence is exempt from local property taxes. In addition, the District of Columbia government is not allowed by Congress to impose an income tax on suburban commuters who work in the city. Despite its position as a target of terrorist attacks, the federal government decreased the budget for emergency planning and security costs in the District of Columbia from $14 million in 2006 to $3 million in 2008.

Historically, the city's local government has earned somewhat of a reputation for mismanagement and waste, particularly during the mayoralty of Marion Barry. A front-page story in the July 21, 1997 Washington Post reported that Washington had some of the highest-cost lowest-quality services in the entire region, including a high-cost school system with excessive administrative staff but shabby schools and low learning standards. Despite prosperity and budget surpluses in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the city still faces daunting urban renewal, housing, public health and public education challenges.

Representation in federal government

The U.S. Capitol, seat of the Legislative Branch of the U.S. Federal Government, sits prominently east of the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

The U.S. Constitution gives Congress direct jurisdiction over Washington, D.C. While Congress has delegated various amounts of this authority to local government, including an elected mayor and city council, Congress still intervenes, from time to time, in local affairs relating to schools, gun control policy, and other issues.

Citizens of the district have no voting representation in Congress. They are represented in the House of Representatives by a non-voting delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C. At-Large) who sits on committees and participates in debate, but cannot vote. D.C. has no representation at all in the Senate. Attempts to change this situation, including statehood and the proposed District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment, have been unsuccessful.

Washington's situation can be compared to the historical status of U.S. territories, which had only non-voting delegates to the House. However, unlike U.S. territories today (such as American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and Guam), citizens of the District of Columbia are fully taxed and subject to all U.S. laws, just as the citizens of the fifty states. In an effort to raise awareness of the underrepresentation of D.C. residents within the Federal government, the city began featuring the unofficial motto "Taxation Without Representation" on D.C. vehicle license plates. The phrase is an adaptation of a slogan used during the American Revolution to protest the payment of taxes by American colonists without representation in the British Parliament; a situation akin to the present-day campaign for full representation of the District in Congress.

A Constitutional amendment in 1961 allowed residents of Washington, D.C. to vote for president.

Domestic partnerships

Main article: Domestic partnership in the District of Columbia

The District of Columbia has recognized domestic partnerships since 1992, but Congress withheld funding to implement recognition until 2002. Both same-sex and mixed-sex couples may register. Under the Domestic Partnership Equality Amendment Act of 2006, D.C. Law 16-79, which came into effect on April 4, 2006, in almost all cases a domestic partner will have the same rights as a spouse regarding inheritance, probate, guardianship, and other rights traditionally accorded to spouses. Employees of the District government and their domestic partners are eligible for the same healthcare coverage and family leave benefits as married couples.

Crime

Main article: Crime in Washington, D.C.

During the violent crime wave of the early 1990s, Washington, D.C., was known as the "murder capital" of the United States, and often rivaled New Orleans in the high number of homicides. Homicides peaked in 1991 at 482, but the level of violence declined drastically in the 1990s. In 2002, the Beltway sniper attacks took place, with killings in Washington and the surrounding states. In 2006, the annual murder count in the city had declined to 169. Once plagued with violent crime, many D.C. neighborhoods, such as Columbia Heights, are becoming safe and vibrant areas as a result of gentrification. While not as intensely violent, crime hotspots have since displaced farther into the eastern sections of Washington, D.C., and across the border into Maryland. Although the southeastern side of the city has developed a reputation for being unsafe, these crime hotspots are generally concentrated in very specific areas that are associated with drugs and gangs.[2] Other areas east of the U.S. Capitol, as well as the city's wealthier Northwest neighborhoods west of Rock Creek Park, experience low levels of crime. Despite the declining trends, Washington D.C., crime rates (2005) remain among the highest of U.S. cities, and it was most recently ranked as the 13th most dangerous city in the nation (2005). Washington, D.C.'s crime rate surpasses the rates of Los Angeles and New York.

Washington's Mayor Fenty is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, an organization formed in 2006 and co-chaired by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston mayor Thomas Menino.

On July 11,2006, then-Metropolitan Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey declared a "crime emergency" in the city in response to a rising homicide rate (the city had logged 13 murders since July 1, most notably the killing of a prominent British political activist in Georgetown). While the declaration allowed for more flexible and increased policing in high-crime neighborhoods, it was temporary and scheduled to be revisited following a 30-day trial period.

Education

Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School

The public school system in the city is operated by District of Columbia Public Schools and consists of 167 schools and learning centers, which consist of 101 elementary schools, 11 middle schools, nine junior high schools, 20 senior high schools, six education centers, and 20 special schools. In 2005-2006, 54,800 students were enrolled in the public school system, with enrollment decreasing. Per-pupil expenditure is very high, but many school buildings are in disrepair, slow to be fixed, and learning performances very low. Turnover of school superintendents is frequent, with many resigning in frustration. At the same time, enrollment in independently run and publicly funded charter schools has increased 13 percent each year since 2001. The District of Columbia Public Charter School Board monitors 37 charter schools in Washington, D.C. In 2005-2006, 19,300 students were enrolled in charter schools.

The city is also home to some of the nation's most renowned private high schools. Many children of political dignitaries have attended St. Albans School and Sidwell Friends School. Other private institutions include Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, St. Anselm's Abbey School, Washington International School, St. John's College High School, Georgetown Day School, Gonzaga College High School, Holton-Arms School, National Cathedral School, and Maret School.

See also: List of parochial and private schools in Washington, D.C.

Colleges and universities

Further information: List of colleges and universities in Washington, D.C.

The city is home to several universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education, both public and private. The University of the District of Columbia is the city's public university; it is the nation's only urban land-grant university and is counted among the historically black colleges and universities. The Department of Agriculture's Graduate School offers continuing education and graduate-level classes in many disciplines.

Howard University's Founders Library.

Among private institutions, Georgetown University is older than the District itself, having been founded in 1789 by John Carroll. It is the nation's oldest Roman Catholic affiliated body of higher education. The nation's first African American university president was at Georgetown. The university is especially well-known for the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service and the Georgetown University Law Center. It also is home to a School of Medicine and the McDonough School of Business.

The George Washington University, founded by an act of Congress in 1821, is the largest institution of higher education in the nation's capital with its main campus in Foggy Bottom and its Mount Vernon campus in the Foxhall neighborhood of Northwest Washington. GW, as it is called locally, is known for the Columbian College of Arts & Sciences, Elliott School of International Affairs, as well as the George Washington University Law School, George Washington Medical Center and the School of Business. GWU has the distinction of having established the first School of Medicine (1825) as well as the first Law School (1865) in Washington, D.C. The University is the second-largest landholder and employer in the District, second only to the Federal government.

American University, a private institution chartered by an act of Congress in 1893, is situated on an 84 acre (34 ha) campus in upper Northwest Washington and is well known for the Washington College of Law, the Kogod School of Business, the School of International Service, the School of Public Affairs, and the School of Communication.

The Catholic University of America (CUA), in the Northeast quadrant of the District is unique as the national university of the Roman Catholic Church and as the only higher education institution founded by U.S. Roman Catholic bishops. Established in 1887 following approval by Pope Leo XIII as a graduate and research center, the university began offering undergraduate education in 1904. In April of 2004, CUA purchased 49 acres (20 ha) of land from the Armed Forces Retirement Home. The parcel is the largest plot of open space in the District and makes CUA the largest university in D.C. by land area.

The Trinity Washington University, located near CUA, was founded in 1897 by the Sisters of Notre Dame as a Catholic liberal arts college for women. Trinity educates women in its College of Arts and Sciences, and both women and men in the School of Education and School of Professional Studies.

Other notable private colleges in the District include Gallaudet University, the first and only liberal arts college for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, Howard University, a historically black university dating to the nineteenth century which among other achievements trained many early black physicians, and Southeastern University, a smaller institution with a concentration in business studies.

Furthermore, The Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), dedicated to the graduate study of international relations and international economics, is located near Dupont Circle, on Massachusetts Avenue's Embassy Row.

The Department of Defense maintains the National Defense University at Fort McNair. The National Defense Intelligence College is also located in D.C. The Corcoran College of Art and Design has an arts program attached to the Corcoran Museum of Art, adjacent to the White House Complex. The Reformed Theological Seminary, Wesley Theological Seminary, and the Washington Theological Union have graduate programs in theology. Strayer University, a for-profit career school, has a campus in Washington, D.C.

Infrastructure

Health systems

A prominent hospital in Washington, D.C. is Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the U.S. Army's premier medical center on the east coast. The 5,500-bed Walter Reed provides care for dependents, active-duty and retired personnel from all branches of the armed forces, as well as the President, Vice President, and Congressmen. The hospital, however, is scheduled to move to a newer and larger facility in nearby Bethesda, Maryland, forcing its closure in 2011.

Armed Forces veterans also receive care at the Veterans' Affairs Medical Center in the grounds of the Old Soldier's Home.

Washington Hospital Center is the largest hospital campus in the District, and both the largest private and largest non-profit hospital in the Metropolitan Area. It is consistently ranked among the top hospitals in the United States, notably by HCIA and U.S. News & World Report.

Immediately adjacent to the Washington Hospital Center campus in central Washington are the National Rehabilitation Hospital, and Children's National Medical Center (although Children's has satellite centers scattered across the city). Both, like WHC, are among the highest-ranked hospitals in the nation. The Specialty Hospital of Washington is a long-term acute care facility, established in 1995 in Northeast D.C.

Three of the universities in Washington have associated medical schools — and, subsequently, hospitals: George Washington, Georgetown and Howard University. All three are teaching hospitals and are highly regarded institutions. In particular, George Washington University Medical Center is noteworthy as the medical center whose doctors saved the life of President Ronald Reagan when he was shot in 1981. The GWU Emergency Room facility, in fact, is named for Reagan. Georgetown University Medical Center is home to the Lombardi Cancer Center, which is the sole comprehensive cancer center in the Washington, D.C. region.

The oldest continuously operating hospital in the city is Providence Hospital in Northeast D.C., chartered by Abraham Lincoln in 1861. There are three additional private, non-profit community hospitals in Washington: Sibley Memorial Hospital in upper Northwest, Hadley Memorial, a long-term acute care facility in lower Southwest, and Greater Southeast Community Hospital in Southeast, which generally serves the population east of the Anacostia River.

Until 2001, D.C. General Hospital operated near Capitol Hill as the city's only public health-care facility. Mayor Anthony A. Williams had the hospital (which lost several million dollars a year) shut down in an attempt to manage the city's recovery from bankruptcy. The majority of its patient base has since been picked up by Greater Southeast and Prince George's Hospital in Maryland. Mayor Williams in 2005 proposed a new state-of-the-art facility, the National Capital Medical Center, be built on the D.C. General campus as a joint project of the city and Howard University. However, higher-than-expected cost analyses and questions about the proposed hospital's public-health-care capacity caused support for the project to dwindle rapidly. In 2006, the Mayor instead announced support for a $72 million "healthplex" on the D.C. General grounds.

In addition, there are three psychiatric hospitals in Washington, D.C.: Riverside Hospital, St. Elizabeths Hospital and the Psychiatric Institute of Washington.

Utilities

Washington draws its drinking water from the Potomac River. The Washington Aqueduct, managed by the Army Corps of Engineers, operates the water supply and treatment facilities, chiefly the Dalecarlia and McMillan reservoirs and water treatment plants. Treated water is distributed by the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority. In July 2007, tests showed unsafe levels of chlorine and lead in the water provided to many parts of the city.

Transportation

Main articles: Transportation in Washington, D.C. and Streets and highways of Washington, D.C.

Columbia Heights Metro station

Roads & highways

Pierre L'Enfant's original plan for the city provided for a grid of streets and a diagonal array of avenues, all centered on the Capitol building. The north-south streets are primarily named with numbers and the east-west streets with letters. From the Capitol as the center, one set of numbered streets sweeps eastward (1st Street, 2nd Street, etc.) and another set sweeps westward (1st Street, 2nd Street, etc.) Similarly, sets of lettered streets sweep northward from the Capitol (A Street, C Street, etc.) and southward. The diagonal avenues in L'Enfant's plan are chiefly named after states (e.g., Pennsylvania Avenue). Street addresses are identified by their location in one of the four quadrants of the city, centered on the Capitol building: Northeast (NE), Northwest (NW), Southeast (SE) and Southwest (SW). Addresses end with a quadrant suffix to indicate whether the location is, for example, on 4th Street NE, 4th Street NW, 4th Street SE or 4th Street SW. Outside the original city boundaries, street layout and naming practices are less regular. However, the alphabetic order of east-west streets, ending with W Street, is in some areas succeeded by an alphabetic progression of two-syllable names (e.g. Adams, Bryant, Channing), followed by a three-syllable progression (e.g. Allison, Buchanan, Crittenden), and then a progression of botanical names (e.g. Aspen, Butternut, Cedar).

A welcome sign on Pennsylvania Avenue

Major interstates running through the area include the Capital Beltway (I-495), I-66, I-95, I-395 (also called the Southwest-Southeast Freeway), I-295 (also called the Anacostia Freeway or Kenilworth Avenue), and I-270 (which does not reach D.C., terminating at I-495). Other major highways include the Whitehurst Freeway, Anacostia Freeway, and the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway in D.C.; the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Virginia; the Suitland Parkway, US Route 50, and the Clara Barton Parkway in D.C. and Maryland; the Baltimore-Washington Parkway in Maryland, and the Dulles Toll Road in Virginia. I-95 was originally planned to cross through the city, but due to the freeway revolts of the 1960s, this plan was aborted, and I-95 was re-directed onto the eastern portion of the Capital Beltway.

Washington has approximately 1,100 miles (1770.28 km) of roads.

Rail & bus

The Washington area is served by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which operates the region's subway system, Metrorail (the nation's second-busiest after New York's subway), as well as Metrobus. The bus and rail systems serve both Washington and the immediate closest counties. A public-private partnership operates several DC Circulator bus routes downtown. Many of the jurisdictions around the region run public buses that interconnect with the Metrobus/Metrorail system; the state of Maryland as well as private bus lines provide rush-hour commuter busses from more distant counties. Union Station is the second busiest train station in the United States after New York's Penn Station. It is the southern terminus of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor service, and is served by MARC and Virginia Railway Express commuter trains.

Intercity bus service is available from the Greyhound Lines Terminal in Northeast D.C., located near the New York Ave-Florida Ave-Gallaudet U Metro station, and from dragon buses leaving from Chinatown.

The American Automobile Association for several years has ranked the Washington metro area has having the nation's second worst traffic congestion, surpassed only by Los Angeles. Among other factors, no new Potomac vehicular bridge spans have been added since 1965.

Aviation

Washington, D.C. is served by three major airports, one in Maryland and two in Virginia. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (IATA: DCA, ICAO: KDCA) is the closest — located in Arlington County, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Hains Point, and accessible via Washington Metro. The airport is conveniently located near the downtown area; however it only serves flights to and from airports within the United States and has additional restrictions because of noise and security concerns. Most major international flights arrive and depart from Washington Dulles International Airport (IATA: IAD, ICAO: KIAD), located 26.3 miles (42.3 km) west of the city in Fairfax and Loudoun counties in Virginia. Dulles is the second busiest international gateway on the East Coast. Dulles is a hub for United Airlines and offers service from several low-cost carriers, including JetBlue Airways and Southwest, although the low-cost selection decreased greatly when Independence Air (which was headquartered at Dulles) folded in January 2006. Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (IATA: BWI, ICAO: KBWI), is located 31.7 miles (51.0 km) northeast of the city in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, near Baltimore. BWI has had the highest passenger volume of the three major airports in the Baltimore-Washington Metroplex for several months.

General aviation is additionally available at several smaller airfields, including Montgomery County Airpark (Gaithersburg, Maryland), College Park Airport (College Park, Maryland), Potomac Airfield (Friendly CDP of Prince George's County, Maryland) and Manassas Regional Airport (Manassas, Virginia). Since 2003, the general aviation airports closest to Washington, D.C. have had their access limited by an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).

Holidays

Emancipation Day

Washington, D.C. celebrates April 16 as Emancipation Day. On that day in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act for the release of certain persons held to service or labor in the District of Columbia. The Act freed about 3,100 enslaved persons in the District of Columbia nine months before President Lincoln issued his famous Emancipation Proclamation which presaged the eventual end of slavery to the rest of the nation. The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act represents the only example of compensation by the federal government to free enslaved persons.

The Emancipation Day celebration was held yearly from 1866 to 1901, and was resumed as a tradition and historic celebration in 2002. On January 4, 2005, Mayor Anthony Williams signed legislation making Emancipation Day an official holiday in the District. Each year, a series of activities will be held during the public holiday, including the traditional Emancipation Day parade celebrating the freedom of enslaved persons in the District of Columbia.

In 2007, the observance of this holiday had the effect of nationally extending the 2006 income tax filing deadline from the 16th to the 17th of April, a delay that will recur in April of 2011.

Sister cities

Washington, D.C.'s sister cities are:

Accra, Ghana Athens, Greece Bangkok, Thailand Beijing, China Brazzaville, Congo Brussels, Belgium

Cairo, Egypt Chongqing, China Dakar, Senegal Paris, France Pretoria, South Africa Seoul, South Korea Sunderland, United Kingdom

Ten of these cities are designated by Sister Cities International.

In June 2006, the city signed an Agreement of Friendship with the British city of Sunderland, signalling the start of increased economic and cultural cooperation between the two cities. Washington Old Hall, on the outskirts of Sunderland, is the ancestral home of George Washington. Both these cities participate in town twinning instead of sister cities.

See also

• List of people from the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area
• List of neighborhoods of the District of Columbia by ward
• List of parks in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area
• Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia

External links

• Official Website
• District of Columbia Databases - Annotated list of searchable databases produced by DC municipal agencies and compiled by the Government Documents Roundtable of the American Library Association.
• Guide to Washington, D.C., Materials from the Library of Congress
• USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Washington, D.C.
• Washington, DC, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
• Template:Wikitravel
• Central DC Building Lookup
• Historic Letters written from Washington DC

Webcams

• Washington Monument Capitol Building Potomac River Webcam
• Washington Monument Capitol Building Webcam

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