Washington is the capital of the USA. President Washington pin-pointed
the exact location of it. Congress passed a bill for a federal city and capital
on July, 17, 1790. The town was founded in 1791 in
the District of Columbia, for the purpose of serving as the capital of
the USA. George Washington chose the place located
just midway to keep as close touch as possible between the states. While the
capital is named for George Washington it was not named by him. The first
President called it simply "The Federal City".
Now Washington is a beautiful administrative city
without much industry. The only industry there is the government. The US
Congress has its seat in the Capitol. It is a very high and beautiful building
with white marble columns. It is in the very centre of the city. There is a law
in Washington against building structures higher
than the Capitol.
So Washington's skyline is dominated by the
Capitol and the Washington monument.
The Washington monument, it's called "the
Pencil", is the tallest stone structure 555 feet high. It was open to a
public in 1888.
The White House, the
official residence of the President is located in Pennsylvania Avenue. It is a simple, almost
unpretentious dwelling place. It's the oldest public structure in the capital,
and one of the most beautiful. It is said that in 1812 the British captured the
city, and the Capitol and the house of President were set on fire. In 1814 in
order to hide the marks of the fire, the brown stone walls were painted white
and it has been the "White House" ever since.
Washington has many famous buildings and
monuments – the Library of Congress, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Tomb
of the Unknown Soldier (Arlington Cemetery), Treasure building, and others.
One of the memorials of grace and
beauty to be found in Washington is the Lincoln Memorial.
It is designed like a
Greek temple with 36 Doric columns representing the states of the Union at the time of Lincoln's death.
The dominated feature of
the building is the figure of Lincoln seated in the centre of the open
temple. It embodies the qualities associated with the great man – warmth,
strength of character and ineffable sadness. At night the figure is
illuminated.
Today Washington is a city which attracts a lot of
tourists by its fashionable hotels, restaurants and sightseeing.
