Home About us Products Services Contact us Bookmark
:: wikimiki.org ::
National World War II Memorial

National World War II Memorial

The National World War II Memorial is a national memorial to Americans who served and died in World War II. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on the former site of the Rainbow Pool at the eastern end of the Reflecting Pool, between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. It opened to the public on April 29, 2004, and was dedicated by President George W. Bush on May 29, 2004, two days before Memorial Day. It is administered by the National Park Service.

Structure

National Park Service The memorial consists of 56 pillars, each measuring 17 feet (5.18 m) tall, arranged in a semicircle around a central plaza with two 43-foot (13.11 m) arches on opposite sides. Each pillar is inscribed with the names of the then-48 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and the Alaska Territory and Territory of Hawaii, the Commonwealth of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Each arch is inscribed with "Atlantic" and "Pacific." Freedom Wall, containing 4000 gold stars, one for each 100 American deaths incurred in the war, is also a part of the memorial. The plaza is 337 feet, 10 inches (103 m) long and 240 feet, 2 inches (73 m) wide, is sunk 6 feet (1.83 m) below grade, and contains a pool that is 246 feet, 9 inches, by 147 feet, 8 inches (75 by 45 m). grade

History

grade grade grade] In 1987, World War II veteran Roger Durbin approached Representative Marcy Kaptur, a Democrat from Ohio, to ask if a World War II memorial could be constructed. Kaptur introduced the World War II Memorial Act to the House of Representatives as HR 1624 on December 10. The resolution authorized the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) to establish a World War II memorial in "Washington, D.C., or its environs," and was passed by voice vote of the full House on June 22, 1992. However, in October 1992 the Senate version (S. 2244) was not approved before Congress went into recess. Kaptur reintroduced it in the House as HR 682 on January 27, 1993, a day after Senator Strom Thurmond (a Republican from South Carolina) introduced companion Senate legislation. On March 17, the Senate approved the act, and the House approved an amended version of the bill on May 4. On May 12, the Senate also approved the amended bill, and the World War II Memorial Act was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on May 25 of that year, becoming Public Law 103-32. On September 30, 1994, Clinton appointed a 12-member Memorial Advisory Board (MAB) to advise the ABMC in site selection and design, and to promote fundraising to support memorial construction. The board was led by two co-chairs: Senator Bob Dole, a decorated World War II veteran and 1996 Republican nominee for president, and Frederick W. Smith, the president and chief executive officer of FedEx Corporation and a former U.S. Marine Corps officer. Of the $197 million raised in cash and pledges, the U.S. federal government provided about $16 million; the remainder was supplied by private donors and organizations. On October 6 and October 7, the House and Senate passed Joint Resolution 227, mandating that the monument be located somewhere in downtown Washington, near other memorials. The president signed the resolution into law on October 25. On January 20, 1995, the ABMC and MAB held their first joint meeting to discuss site selection. Representatives from the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), the National Capital Memorial Commission (NCMC), and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as well as the National Park Service, also attended the meeting. Seven sites were considered:
- Capitol Reflecting Pool area (between 3rd Street and the Reflecting Pool)
- Tidal Basin (northeast side, east of the Tidal Basin parking lot and west of the 14th Street Bridge access road)
- West Potomac Park (between Ohio Drive and the north shore of the Potomac River, northwest of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial);
- Constitution Gardens (east end, between Constitution Avenue and the Rainbow Pool);
- Grounds of the Washington Monument (at Constitution Avenue between 14th and 15th Streets, west of the National Museum of American History);
- Freedom Plaza (on Pennsylvania Avenue between 14th and 15th Streets)
- Henderson Hall, adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery (this site was dropped from consideration because of its unavailability). Friedrich St. Florian's design was selected in 1997, but construction did not begin until September 2001. The memorial took more than two years to complete and opened to the public on April 29, 2004, and was dedicated on May 29. At its opening, thousands of people visited the memorial from all parts of the country. Many veterans came; currently, American World War II veterans are dying at a rate of over 1,000 per day. The memorial became a national park on November 1, when authority over it was transferred from the American Battle Monuments Commission to the National Park Service. Many citizens liked the park-like atmosphere of the memorial. Others remarked that the plaza was symbolic of the nation's commitment to the war because it recreated the sense of community that the war stimulated within the nation.

Controversy

November 1Critics such as the National Coalition to Save Our Mall opposed the design and the location of the memorial. The main critique of the location is that it interrupts the vista between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. It was also criticized for taking up open space that has historically been used for major demonstrations and protests. There were also aesthetic objections to the design. A critic from the Boston Herald called the monument "vainglorious, demanding of attention and full of trite imagery." The Philadelphia Inquirer noted the irony that "this pompous style was also favored by Hitler and Mussolini" (see Nazi architecture). Most irksome to the critics was the expedited approval process, which is normally quite lengthy for such an important site. Congress, worried that World War II veterans were dying before an appropriate memorial was built, passed legislation exempting the National World War II Memorial from further site and design review. They also dismissed pending legal challenges to the memorial.

External links


- [http://www.wwiimemorial.com/ National World War II Memorial]
- [http://www.nps.gov/nwwm/ NPS - National World War II Memorial]
- [http://www.nationalparksgallery.com/parks/World-War-2-Memorial World War II Memorial] - National Parks Gallery
- [http://www.whitehouse.gov/ww2/ White House dedication]
- [http://www.savethemall.org/ National Coalition to Save Our Mall] Category:National memorials in Washington, DC Category:National Mall Category:United States military memorials and cemeteries

National Mall

The National Mall is an open-area public park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It is the site of gardens and other greenery along with multiple Smithsonian Institution museums and national monuments and memorials. The National Mall refers specifically to the land stretching from the grounds of the Washington Monument to the United States Capitol directly to the east. However, the term commonly includes the areas that are officially part of West Potomac Park and Constitution Gardens to the west, and often is taken to refer to the entire area between the Lincoln Memorial and the Capitol, with the Washington Monument providing a division slightly west of the center. The idea was adopted and redesigned by the National Park Service, but originally designed by Pierre Charles L'Enfant. The Mall is one of the most popular places in the city for tourism as well as protests and demonstrations (thousands each year, including very large marches and rallies) for its civic and historical significance. The Smithsonian station of the Washington Metro system services the mall, which is administered by the National Park Service.

Landmarks of the National Mall

National Park Service

Other nearby features

National Park Service is visible in the background, with the green dome of the National Museum of Natural History reaching above the trees to the right.]] National Museum of Natural History, National World War II Memorial, Washington Monument, and United States Capitol are visible in the background.]] Other attractions within walking distance of the Mall include the Library of Congress and the United States Supreme Court to the east behind the Capitol; the White House (on a line directly north of the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial), the National Archives, the Old Post Office, the National Theater and Ford's Theater to the north; the National Postal Museum, and Union Station to the northeast; and the Jefferson Memorial (on a line directly south of the Washington Monument and the White House), the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, the George Mason National Memorial, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to the south. The Mall, in combination with the other attractions in the Washington metropolitan area, makes the nation's capital city one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. The Smithsonian (Washington Metro) stop can be used to get to the Mall. Parking is also available south of the mall, accessible directly south of the Lincoln Memorial.

Protests and rallies on the Mall

The Mall's status as a wide, open expanse at the heart of the capital makes it an attractive site for protests and rallies of all types. One notable example is the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a massive rally for African-American civil rights, at which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous "I have a dream" speech. The largest officially recorded rally was the Vietnam War Moratorium Rally on October 15, 1969. Although larger rallies may have occurred since that time, the United States Park Police no longer release official estimates of crowd sizes on the Mall. One later rally that is claimed to have been the largest rally on the Mall was the 2004 March for Women's Lives.

External links


- [http://www.nps.gov/nama/ NPS Official Site of the National Mall]
- [http://www.usbg.gov/ Official Site of the United States Botanic Garden]
  - [http://www.nationalgarden.org/national_garden.html The New National Garden] – Is being created between plot 9 and 10 on the satellite image.
- [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=washington,DC&ll=38.889724,-77.031358&spn=0.007060,0.010182&t=k&hl=en National mall] at Google Maps National Mall Category:National parks in Washington, DC Category:Washington, D.C. landmarks Category:National museums

Washington D.C.

Washington, D.C. is the capital city of the United States of America. "D.C." stands for the "District of Columbia", the federal district containing the city of Washington. The city is named for George Washington, military leader of the American Revolution and the first President of the United States. The District of Columbia and the city of Washington are coextensive and are governed by a single municipal government, so for most practical purposes they are considered to be the same entity. It is known locally as the District or simply D.C. Historically, it was called the Federal City. The District of Columbia, founded on July 16, 1790, is a federal district as specified by the United States Constitution with limited—and sometimes contentious—local rule. The District is ruled "in all cases whatsoever" by the U.S. Congress, though its residents have no voting representative in that body. The land forming the original District came from the states of Virginia and Maryland. However, the area south of the Potomac River (39 mi² 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 term "District of Columbia" is derived from an old poetic name for the United States, Columbia, which has fallen out of common use since the early 20th century. The centers of all three branches of the U.S. federal government are in Washington, D.C., as well as the headquarters of most federal agencies. Washington also serves as the headquarters for the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Organization of American States, among other international (and national) institutions. All of this has made Washington the frequent focal point of massive political demonstrations and protests, particularly on the National Mall. Washington is also the site of numerous national landmarks, museums, and sports teams, and is a popular destination for tourists. The population of the District of Columbia, as of 2003 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, is 563,384. The Greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area includes the District of Columbia and parts of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, with a population surpassing 4.7 million. If Washington, D.C. were considered a state, it would rank last in area behind Rhode Island, 50th in population ahead of Wyoming, and 36th in Gross State Product, ahead of 15 states. __TOC__

History

Wyoming map of Washington, D.C.]] A Southern site for the new country's capital was agreed upon at a dinner between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. The initial plan for the "Federal City" was a diamond, ten miles wide on each side, totaling 100 square miles (260 square kilometers). The actual site on the Potomac River was chosen by President Washington. Washington may have chosen the site for its natural scenery, believing the Potomac would become a great navigable waterway. 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. On August 24, 1814, British forces burned the capital during the most notable and destructive raid of the War of 1812. President James Madison and U.S. forces fled before the British forces, who burned public buildings including the Capitol, the Navy Yard, and the Treasury building. The Presidential Mansion was also gutted. James Madison Washington remained a small city of a few thousand permanent residents until the outbreak of the U.S. 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. In July 1864, Confederate forces under Jubal Anderson Early made a brief raid into Washington, culminating in the Battle of Fort Stevens. The Confederates were repulsed and Early eventually returned to the Shenandoah Valley. The site, now called [http://www.nps.gov/batt/ Battleground National Cemetery] is located near present day Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Northwest Washington. The battle was the only battle where a U.S. President, Lincoln, was present and under enemy fire while in office [http://www.nps.gov/rocr/ftcircle/stevens.htm 1]. In the early 1870s, Washington was given a territorial government, but Governor Alexander 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. The Washington Monument 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 and other structures on the National Mall did not begin until the early 20th century. Lincoln Memorial 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, ahead of Boston and behind Saint Louis. The population declined in the following decades, mirroring the suburban out-migration of many of the nation's older urban centers following World War II. 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. The first 4.6 miles (7.4 kilometers) of the Washington Metro subway system opened on March 27, 1976. Walter Washington became the first elected mayor of the District in 1974. Marion Barry became mayor in 1978, but he was arrested for drug use in an FBI sting on January 18, 1990 and would serve a six-month jail term. His successor, Sharon Pratt Kelly, became the first black woman to lead a city of that size and importance in the U.S. But Barry defeated her in the 1994 primary and was once again elected mayor for his fourth term, during which time the city nearly became insolvent and was forced to give up some home rule to a congressionally-appointed financial control board. On September 29, 2004, Major League Baseball officially relocated the Montreal Expos to Washington for the 2005 season, now named the Washington Nationals, despite opposition from Orioles owner Peter Angelos. A very public back-and-forth between the city council and MLB threatened to scuttle the agreement until December 21, when a plan for a new stadium in Southeast D.C. was finalized. The Nationals will play at R.F.K. Stadium until the new stadium is ready in 2008.

Geography and climate

Geography

2008, 2002. The axes bounding its quadrants radiate from the U.S. Capitol building.]] Washington, D.C. is located at (the coordinates of the Zero Milestone, on The Ellipse). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 177.0 km² (68.3 mi²). 159.0 km² (61.4 mi²) of it is land and 18.0 km² (6.9 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 10.16% water. Washington is surrounded by the states of Virginia (on its southwest side) and Maryland (on its southeast, northeast, and northwest sides); 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. The physical geography of the District of Columbia is very similar to the physical geography of much of Maryland. The District has three major natural flowing bodies of water: 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. The highest point in the District of Columbia is 410 feet (125 m) above sea level at Tenleytown. The lowest point is sea level, which occurs along all of the Anacostia shore and all of the Potomac shore except the uppermost mile (the Little Falls - Chain Bridge area). The sea level Tidal Basin rose eleven feet during Hurricane Isabel on September 18, 2003. Geographical features of Washington, D.C. include Theodore Roosevelt Island, Columbia Island, the Three Sisters, and Hains Point.

Climate

Washington's weather is seasonal subtropical with some variations between summer and winter, although it is moderated by its proximity to the coast, making its climate more moderate than cities at a similar latitude further inland. Summer tends to be very hot and humid with daily high temperatures in July and August averaging in the high 80s° to low 90s°F (about 30°C). Spring and fall are mild with high temperatures in April and October averaging in the high 60s°F (about 20°C). Winter can bring cold temperatures and, on some occassions, significant snowfall. While hurricanes (or the remnants of them) occasionally track through the area, they have often weakened by the time they reach Washington. The average annual snowfall is 17 inches (430 mm) and the average high temperature in January is 43°F (6°C); the average low for January is 24°F (−4°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. 1899

People and culture

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, there are 572,059 people (2004 estimate: 553,523), 248,338 households, and 114,235 families residing in the city. The population density is 3,597.3/km² (9,316.4/mi²). There are 274,845 housing units at an average density of 1,728.3/km² (4,476.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 60.01% Black or African American, 32.78% White, 2.66% Asian, 0.30% Native American, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 3.84% from other races, and 2.35% from two or more races. 7.86% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race, with Salvadorans being the largest Hispanic group. A plurality of whites are of British ancestry. There are 248,338 households out of which 19.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 22.8% are married couples living together, 18.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 54.0% are non-families. 43.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.16 and the average family size is 3.07. In the city the population is spread out with 20.1% under the age of 18, 12.7% from 18 to 24, 33.1% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 86.1 males. The median income for a household in the city is $40,127, and the median income for a family is $46,283. Males have a median income of $40,513 versus $36,361 for females. The per capita income for the city is $28,659. 20.2% of the population and 16.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 31.1% of those under the age of 18 and 16.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. As of 2000, 83.2% of Washington, D.C. residents age 5 and older speak English at home and 9.2% speak Spanish. French is the third most spoken language at 1.8%, followed by African languages at 1.0% and Chinese at 0.5%. According to the 2001 [http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_studies/aris.pdf American Religious Identification Survey], nearly three out of four District residents self-identified as Christians. This breaks down to 72% Christian (27% Catholic, 19% Baptist, and 26% as some other form of Protestant), 13% stating no religion, and minor religions including 4% Buddhist, 2% Muslim, and 1% Jewish.

Housing

Due in part to the renewed expansion of the federal government, Washington has experienced a huge housing boom that has seen thousands of units constructed, along with thousands of people moving to the District. While the Census Bureau estimated in 2005 that the District's population will drop to 433,000 by 2030, city officials alleged systemic undercounting and released their own estimate that the District's population will rise to 712,000 by 2030.

Crime

During the violent crime wave of the early 1990s, Washington, D.C. was known as the murder capital of the United States. The number of homicides peaked in 1991 at 482, with violence declining drastically since then. 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 hot spots have since displaced farther into the eastern sections of Washington, D.C. and across the border into Maryland. Although the eastern side of the city has developed a reputation for being unsafe, these crime hot spots are generally concentrated in very specific areas that are associated with drugs and gangs. Other areas east of the U.S. Capitol, as well as the city's wealthier Northwest neighborhoods, experience low levels of crime. Despite the declining trends, Washington D.C. crime rates (2004) remain among the highest of U.S. cities, behind only Camden, New Jersey, Detroit, Michigan, St. Louis, Missouri, and Gary, Indiana. [http://www.morganquitno.com/cit05pop.htm#25]

Landmarks and museums

Gary, Indiana 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 area in the center of the city featuring many monuments to American leaders, as well as connecting 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 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, and the Albert Einstein Memorial. The world famous Smithsonian Institution, is also located in the District. The Smithsonian today is a collection of 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, and the National Zoo. There are also many art museums in D.C., in addition to those that are part of the Smithsonian, including the National Gallery of Art, National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Corcoran Museum 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 and the United States Constitution. Other points of interest in the District include Arena Stage, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Blair House, Folger Shakespeare Library, Ford's Theatre, Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, International Spy Museum, National Building Museum, Old Post Office Building, Theodore Roosevelt Island, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Washington National Cathedral.

Media

Newspaper

The Washington Post is the oldest and most-read daily newspaper in Washington, and has developed into one of the most reputable daily newspapers in the U.S., perhaps most notable for exposing the Watergate Scandal, among other achievements. The daily Washington Times and the free weekly Washington City Paper also have substantial readership in the District. On February 1, 2005 the free daily tabloid Washington Examiner debuted, having been formed from a chain of suburban newspapers known as the Journal Newspapers. The weekly Washington Blade focuses on gay issues, and the Washington Informer on African-American issues. Many neighborhoods in the District have their own small-circulation newspaper, usually published by the neighborhood association on a weekly basis. Some of these papers included the Dupont Current (Dupont Circle), Georgetown Current (Georgetown), In-Towner (Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, & Adams Morgan), Northwest Current (Upper Northwest), the Voice of the Hill, the Hill Rag (Capitol Hill), and East of the River (Anacostia).

Television

The metro area is well served by several local broadcast television stations, and is the eighth largest designated market area in the U.S., with 2,252,550 homes (2.04% of the U.S. population). Major television network affiliates include WUSA 9 (CBS), WJLA 7 (ABC), WRC 4, (NBC), WTTG 5 (Fox), WBDC 50 (WB), WDCA 20 (UPN), as well as WETA 26 and WHUT 32 (PBS) stations. Channels 4, 5, 20, and 50 are owned by the networks themselves. Public Access on Cable Television is also 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. Several cable television networks have their headquarters in the Washington area including C-SPAN on Capitol Hill, Black Entertainment Television (BET) in Northeast Washington, and Discovery Communications in Silver Spring, Maryland. Major national broadcasters and cable outlets including NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, and CNN also maintain a significant presence in Washington, as do those from around the world including the BBC, CBC, and Al Jazeera.

Radio

Al Jazeera There are also several major radio stations serving the metro area, with a wide variety of musical interests. Rock stations include WARW 94.7 FM (classic rock), WIHT 99.5 FM (top 40), WWDC, 101.1 FM (alternative rock), and WWZZ 104.1 FM (alternative rock). Urban stations include WPGC 95.5 FM (Rhythmic CHR/Mainstream Urban), WHUR 96.3 FM (student-run Howard University Urban AC station), WMMJ 102.3FM (Urban AC), WKYS 93.9 FM (Mainstream Urban), and Radio CPR 97.5 FM (a popular pirate radio station broadcasting the area around Mount Pleasant, Adams Morgan, and Columbia Heights). Stations that concentrate on talk and sports include WJFK 106.7 FM, WMAL 630 AM (conservative), WPGC 1580 AM (Urban Gospel), WTEM 980 AM (sports talk), and WTOP 1500 AM (all news). There are also two NPR affiliates: WAMU 88.5 FM (usual NPR programs, community programming, and BBC news) and WETA 90.9 FM (round-the-clock news/analysis, broadcasting shows originating mainly from NPR, PRI, and BBC). Other stations include WASH 97.1 FM (adult contemporary), WMZQ 98.7 FM (country music), WLZL 99.1 FM (Latin/Hispanic), WGMS 103.5 FM (classical music), WPFW 89.3 FM (jazz and progressive talk), WJZW 105.9 FM (smooth jazz), and WRQX 107.3 FM (adult contemporary). XM Satellite Radio and National Public Radio are based in Washington. The Voice of America, the U.S. government's international broadcasting service, is also headquartered in Washington.

Performing arts

There are a number of venues for the performing arts in the city. Arena Stage, one of the first not-for-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 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. Notable local music clubs include Madam's Organ Blues Bar in Adams Morgan; the Eighteenth Street Lounge in the Dupont Circle district; and the Black Cat, the 9:30 Club, and the Bohemian Caverns jazz club, all in the U Street NW area. 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 (that "go and go and go.") The most accomplished practitioner of go-go was D.C. bandleader 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 hit the American pop charts in 1988 with their memorable dance tune "Da Butt". Washington was also an important center in the genesis of punk rock in the United States. Punk bands of note from Washington include Fugazi, Bad Brains, and Minor Threat. Native Washingtonians continue to support punk bands, long after the punk movement's popularity peaked. The region also has a storied indie rock history and was home to TeenBeat and Simple Machines, among other indie record labels. There have also been a number of television series that have featured the District. Most of these have been related to government (The West Wing) or security organizations (The District, Get Smart). Other programs had the nation's capital as a secondary focus, telling stories on their own that were not always tied to the infrastructure of the government either in the district or for the country. 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.

Sports

Washington Metro area is home to several professional sports teams: the MLS D.C. United, the NHL Washington Capitals, the NBA Washington Wizards, the WNBA Washington Mystics, the MLB Washington Nationals, and the NFL Washington Redskins (now based at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland). Other professional and semi-professional teams based in D.C. include the USAFL Baltimore Washington Eagles, the NWFA D.C. Divas, the Minor League Football D.C. Explosion, and the Washington Cricket League. It was also home to the WUSA Washington Freedom, and, during the 2000–2002 NLL seasons, the Washington Power was based in the city. There were two Major League Baseball teams named the Washington Senators in the early and mid-20th 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 also home to several Negro League teams, including the Homestead Grays, Washington Black Senators, Washington Elite Giants, Washington Pilots, and Washington Potomacs. The MCI Center in Chinatown, Washington, D.C., home to the Capitals, Mystics, Wizards, and the Georgetown Hoyas, is also a major venue for concerts, WWE professional wrestling, and other events. Washington also hosts the annual Legg Mason Tennis Classic tennis tournament that takes place at the Carter Barron Tennis Center on 16th Street.

Economy

Carter Barron Tennis Center Washington, D.C. is first and foremost a company town, with the primary company being, of course, the federal government. A significant portion of the metro area's population has some sort of connection to the federal government. Also, the presence of many major government agencies, including the Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health, or the Food and Drug Administration, has led to a significant amount of business development both in the District itself as well as in the suburbs of northern Virginia and Maryland. These businesses include federal contractors (defense and civilian), numerous nonprofit organizations, law firms and lobbying firms, catering and administrative services companies, and several other industries that are sustained by the enormous economic presence of the federal government. This arrangement has the effect of making the Washington economy virtually recession-proof relative to the rest of the country, because the federal government will still operate no matter the state of the general economy, and often grows during recessions. The metro area includes thirteen major Fortune 500 companies, including:
- Freddie Mac (McLean, Fairfax County)
- Fannie Mae
- electric utility Pepco Holdings Incorporated
- manufacturing company Danaher
- communications giant Nextel (Reston, Fairfax County)
- the credit card company Capital One (McLean, Fairfax County)
- AES Corporation (Arlington County)
- Gannett (McLean, Fairfax County), the publisher of USA Today
- SLM Corporation (Reston, Fairfax County)
- NVR Incorporated (McLean, Fairfax County)
- hotel services company Marriott International (Bethesda, Montgomery County)
- Choice Hotels (Silver Spring, Montgomery County)
- Coventry Healthcare Incorporated (Bethesda, Montgomery County) Defense contractors General Dynamics (Falls Church) and Lockheed Martin (Bethesda) are also in the metro area. In addition to Nextel, several other major network and communications companies are located in the area, including America Online (Dulles) and MCI Communications (Ashburn). Other media companies located in the DC metro area include the new XM Satellite Radio and Al Hurra (Springfield), a new cable new channel marketed towards Arabic countries. The Public Broadcasting Service is also based in suburban Alexandria, while Discovery Communications, the parent company of such cable networks as the Discovery Channel, is based in Silver Spring. The largest private employer in DC is the [http://wwww.bna.com Bureau of National Affairs], a publishing company based in the west end of the city since the early 1950s. The aerospace and commercial air travel industries also have a major presence in the area, in addition to the aforementioned General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, and US Airways. Independence Air, based in Dulles, started service in 2004, and operates as a low-cost air carrier to many major airports in the United States. The regional airline Colgan Air, based in Manassas, also operates out of the DC area. Defense contractor Orbital Sciences Corporation is also based in Dulles and specializes in satellite launch and manufacture. Due to the proximity to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, the American genomics industry has recently sprouted in the Maryland suburbs of Washington. Prominent players are Celera Genomics, The Institute for Genomic Research (also known as "TIGR"), and Human Genome Sciences (all of which are in the city of Rockville). The gross state product of the District in 2004 was $75.264 billion, ranking it #36 when compared with the fifty states.

Infrastructure

Government

Local government

$ The city is run by an elected mayor (currently Anthony A. Williams) and a city council. The city council is composed of 13 members — a representative 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 school board that has both elected and appointed members. There are also 37 elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissions that provide the most direct access for residents to their local government. The ANCs serve as local councils, and their suggestions are required to be given "great weight" by the DC Council. However, the U.S. Congress has the ultimate plenary power over the district. It has the right to review and overrule laws created locally, and has often done so. The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution does not apply to the District of Columbia. D.C. residents do pay all federal taxes, such as income tax, as well as local taxes. The mayor and council adopt a budget of local money with Congress reserving the right to make any changes. Much of the valuable property in the District is federally owned and hence exempt from local property taxes; at the same time, the city is burdened with the extraordinary expenses related to its role as the capital, such as police overtime and street cleaning for D.C.'s frequent parades and festivals. These factors are often used to explain why the city's budget is frequently overstretched. However, the federal government also appropriates funds for the city. For instance, according to Public Law 108-7, the federal government provided, among other funds, an estimated 25% of the District's operating budget in 2003. 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 region. Prosperity in the late 1990s and early 2000s has lessened public pressure on Mayor Williams, who still faces daunting urban renewal, public health, and public education challenges.

Representation in federal government

2000s The U.S. Constitution gives Congress direct jurisdiction for Washington, D.C. While Congress has delegated various amounts of this authority to local government, from time to time, Congress still intervenes in local affairs relating to schools, gun control policy, and other issues. Citizens of the District also lack voting representation in Congress, though they do have three electoral votes in the Presidential elections. Citizens of Washington are represented in the House of Representatives by a non-voting delegate (currently Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC At-Large)) who sits on committees and participates in debate but cannot vote. D.C. does not have representation in the Senate. Citizens of Washington, D.C. are thus unique in the world, as citizens of the capital city of every other country have the same representation rights as other citizens. Attempts to change this situation, including the proposed District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment, have been unsuccessful. The history of D.C.'s relationship with the federal government, as well as the arguments for and against increased representation, are covered in the article District of Columbia voting rights.

Education

Public schools

The public school system in the city is operated by District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) and consists of 167 schools and learning centers, which breakdown into 101 elementary schools, 11 middle schools, 9 junior high schools, 20 senior high schools, 6 education centers, and 20 special schools. :See also: District of Columbia Public Schools

Private schools

Other schools in the city include the British School of Washington, Emerson Preparatory School, the Georgetown Day School, the Gonzaga Prepartory School, the Edmund Burke School, the Field School, the German School, the Maret School, the National Cathedral School, Our Lady of Victory, Reformed Theological Seminary, Sheridan School, the Sidwell Friends School, St. Albans School, St. Anselm's Abbey School, St. John's College High School, and the Washington Theological Union.

Colleges and universities

The city also is home to several universities, colleges, and other institutes of higher education, both public and private. The University of the District of Columbia is the city's public university; UDC is the nation's only urban land-grant university and is counted among the historically black colleges. The Department of Agriculture's Graduate School offers continuing-education and graduate-level classes. The Department of Defense maintains the National Defense University at Fort McNair. Among private institutions, Georgetown University is older than the District itself, dating to the late 18th century. It is also the nation's oldest Roman Catholic body of higher education. The two other Roman Catholic universities in the District are The Catholic University of America and Trinity University. 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. GWU is also the second-largest landholder and employer in the District, second only to the Federal government. American University, chartered by act of Congress in 1893, is situated on a 72 acre 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, and the School of Communication. Also known for international affairs, The Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), is dedicated to the graduate study of international relations and international economics and is located near Dupont Circle. Other notable private colleges in the District include Gallaudet University, the first school for the advanced education of the deaf and hard-of-hearing; Howard University, a historically black university dating to the 19th century; and Southeastern University. The Corcoran College of Art and Design has an arts program attatched to the Corcoran Museum of Art, adjacent to the White House Complex. Strayer University, a for-profit career school, has a campus in Washington, D.C.

Transportation

Aviation

Washington, D.C. is served by three major airports, two of them located in suburban Virginia and one located in Maryland. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is the closest — located in Arlington, Virginia, just across the This article is about the Reflecting Pools in Washington, D.C.. For the general case, see reflecting pool. Perhaps the better known of Washington, D.C.'s reflecting pools is the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which is located directly east of the Lincoln Memorial. It is the long, rectangular pool most often seen in photographs of the Washington Monument. Located on the west end of the National Mall, the reflecting pool is approximately 2,029 feet (618 m) long and 167 feet (51 m) wide. It has a depth of approximately 18 inches (46 cm) on the sides and 30 inches (76 cm) in the center. It holds approximately 6,750,000 gallons (25,500,000 L) of water. The Capitol Reflecting Pool is located directly west of the U.S. Capitol Building, at the east end of the National Mall. Located nearby is the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial, which represents the Union victory that General Grant engineered during the Civil War. Category:National Mall

Washington Monument

The Washington Monument usually refers to the large white-colored obelisk in the center of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built as a memorial to George Washington, the first President of the United States and the leader of the revolutionary Continental Army, which won independence from the British following the American Revolutionary War. Other monuments to honor Washington, also known as the "Washington Monument", are in Baltimore, Maryland and Annapolis, Maryland. The monument is made of marble, granite, and sandstone. It was designed by Robert Mills, a prominent American architect of the 1840s. Its cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1848; the capstone was set on December 6, 1884, and the completed monument was dedicated on February 21 of the following year. It officially opened to the public on October 9, 1888. Upon completion, it became the world's tallest structure at 169 m, a title it held until 1889, when the Eiffel Tower was finished in Paris, France. The Washington Monument reflection can be seen in the aptly named Reflecting Pool, an edged rectangular pool extending westward in the direction of the Lincoln Memorial.

History

The motivation for the monument

Alone among the Founders of the United States, George Washington earned the title "Father of the Country" in recognition of his leadership in the cause of American independence. Appointed commander of the Continental Army in 1775, he molded a fighting force that won independence from Great Britain. In 1787, as President of the Constitutional Convention, he helped guide the deliberations to form a government that has lasted for more than 200 years. Two years later he was unanimously elected the first President of the United States. Washington defined the Presidency and helped develop the relationships among the three branches of government. He established precedents that successfully launched the new government on its course. He refused the trappings of power and veered from monarchical government and traditions and twice, despite considerable pressure to do otherwise, gave up the most powerful position in the Americas. Washington remained ever mindful of the ramifications of his decisions and actions, for he was a consummate statesman. With this monument the citizens of the United States show their enduring gratitude and respect. When the Revolutionary War ended, no man in the United States commanded more respect than George Washington. Americans celebrated his ability to win the war despite limited supplies and inexperienced men, and they admired his decision to refuse a salary and accept only reimbursements for his expenses. Their regard increased further when it became known that he had rejected a proposal by some of his officers to make him king of the new country. It was not only what Washington did but the way he did it: Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, described him as "polite with dignity, affable without familiarity, distant without haughtiness, grave without austerity, modest, wise, and good." Washington retired to his plantation at Mount Vernon after the war, but he soon had to decide whether to return to public life. As it became clear that the Articles of Confederation had left the Federal Government too weak to levy taxes, regulate trade, or control its borders, men such as James Madison began calling for a convention that would strengthen its authority. Washington was reluctant to attend, as he had business affairs to manage at Mount Vernon. If he did not go to Philadelphia, however, he worried about his reputation and about the future of the country. He finally decided that, since "to see this nation happy… is so much the wish of my soul," he would serve as one of Virginia's representatives. The other delegates during the summer of 1787 chose him to preside over their deliberations, which ultimately produced the U.S. Constitution. A key part of the Constitution was the development of the office of President of the United States. No one seemed more qualified to fill that position than Washington, and in 1789 began the first of his two terms. He used the nation's respect for him to develop respect for this new office, but he simultaneously tried to quiet fears that the President would become as powerful as the king the new country had fought against. He tried to create the kind of solid government he thought the nation needed, supporting a national bank, collecting taxes to pay for expenses, and strengthening the Army and Navy. Though many people wanted him to stay for a third term, in 1797 he again retired to Mount Vernon. Washington died suddenly two years later. His death produced great sadness, and it restarted attempts to honor him. As early as 1783, the Continental Congress had resolved "That an equestrian statue of George Washington be erected at the place where the residence of Congress shall be established." The proposal called for engraving on the statue that explained that it had been erected "in honor of George Washington, the illustrious Commander-in-Chief of the Armies of the United States of America during the war which vindicated and secured their liberty, sovereignty, and independence." Though it was easy to understand why nothing happened while the government lacked a permanent home, there was little progress even after Congress had settled on Washington, D.C. as the new capital. Ten days after President Washington's death, a Congressional committee recommended a different type of monument. John Marshall, a Representative from Virginia who would soon become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, proposed that a tomb be erected within the Capitol. But a lack of funds, disagreement over what type of memorial would best honor the country's first president, and the Washington family's reluctance to move his body prevented progress on any project. That inaction would prove typical in the coming years.

Design

Progress towards a memorial finally began in 1833. That year, which marked the 100th anniversary of Washington's birth, a large group of concerned citizens formed the Washington National Monument Society. They began collecting donations, much in the way Blodgett had suggested. By the middle of the 1830s, they had raised over $28,000 and announced a competition for the design of the memorial. On September 23, 1835, the board of managers of the Society described their expectations: : It is proposed that the contemplated monument shall be like him in whose honor it is to be constructed, unparalleled in the world, and commensurate with the gratitude, liberality, and patriotism of the people by whom it is to be erected… [It] should blend stupendousness with elegance, and be of such magnitude and beauty as to be an object of pride to the American people, and of admiration to all who see it. Its material is intended to be wholly American, and to be of marble and granite brought from each state, that each state may participate in the glory of contributing material as well as in funds to its construction. 1835 The Society held a competition for designs in 1836. The winner, architect Robert Mills, was well-qualified for the commission. In 1814 the citizens of Baltimore had chosen him to build a monument to Washington, and he had designed a tall Greek column surmounted by a statue of the President. Mills also knew the capital well, having just been chosen Architect of Public Buildings for Washington. His design called for a 900-foot (270 m) tall obelisk—an upright, four-sided pillar that tapers as it rises—with a nearly flat top. He surrounded the obelisk with a circular colonnade, the top of which would feature Washington standing in a chariot. Inside the colonnade would be statues of 30 prominent Revolutionary War heroes. Yet criticism of Mills' design and its estimated price tag of more than $1 million caused the Society to hesitate. In 1848 its members decided to start building the obelisk and to leave the question of the colonnade for later. They believed that if they used the $87,000 they had already collected to start work, the appearance of the Monument would spur further donations that would allow them to complete the project. About this time Congress donated 37 acres (150,000 m²) of land for the project. The spot Pierre Charles L'Enfant had chosen was swampy and unstable, making it unsuitable for supporting what would be an enormously heavy structure. The new location was slightly south and east of the original but still offered many advantages. It "presents a beautiful view of the Potomac," wrote a member of the Society, and "is so elevated that the monument will be seen from all parts of the surrounding country." Because it is public land, he continued, "it is safe from any future obstruction of the view… [and it] would be in full view of Mount Vernon, where rests the ashes of the chief."

Construction

Potomac Excavation for the foundation of the Washington Monument began in the spring of 1848. The cornerstone was laid as part of an elaborate Fourth of July ceremony hosted by the Freemasons, a world-wide fraternal organization that Washington belonged to and that still exists today. Speeches that day showed that the country continued to revere Washington: one celebrant noted that "No more Washingtons shall come in our time… But his virtues are stamped on the heart of mankind. He who is great in the battlefield looks upward to the generalship of Washington. He who grows wise in counsel feels that he is imitating Washington. He who can resign power against the wishes of a people, has in his eye the bright example of Washington." Construction continued until 1854, when donations ran out. The next year Congress voted to appropriate $200,000 to continue the work, but it changed its mind before the money could be spent. This reversal came because of a new policy the Society had adopted in 1849. It had agreed, after a request from some Alabamians, to encourage all states and territories to donate memorial stones that could be fitted into the interior walls. Members of the Society believed this practice would make citizens feel they had a part in building the Monument, and it would cut costs by limiting the amount of stone that had to be bought. Alabamians Blocks of marble, granite, and sandstone steadily appeared at the site. American Indian tribes, professional organizations, societies, businesses, and foreign nations donated stones that were four feet by two feet by 12 to 18 inches (1.2 by 0.6 by 0.3 to 0.5 m). Many, however, carried inscriptions irrelevant to a memorial for George Washington. For example, one from the Templars of Honor and Temperance stated "We will not buy, sell, or use as a beverage, any spiritous or malt liquors, Wine, Cider, or any other Alcoholic Liquor." It was just one memorial stone that started the events that stopped the Congressional appropriation and ultimately construction altogether. In the early 1850s, Pope Pius IX contributed a block of marble. In March 1854, members of the anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant American Party—better known as the "Know-Nothings"—stole the Pope's stone as a protest and supposedly threw it into the Potomac. Then, in order to make sure the Monument fit their definition of "American," the Know-Nothings conducted a fraudulent election so they could take over the entire Society. Congress immediately rescinded its $200,000 contribution. The Know-Nothings retained control of the Society until 1858, adding 13 courses of the masonry to the Monument—all of which was of such poor quality that it was later removed. Unable to collect enough money to finish work, they increasingly lost public support. The Know-Nothings eventually gave up and returned all records to the original Society, but the stoppage in construction continued into, then after, the Civil War. Interest in the Monument grew after the Civil War ended. Engineers studied the foundation several times to see whether it remained strong enough. In 1876, the Centennial of the Declaration of Independence, Congress agreed to appropriate another $200,000 to resume construction. The Monument, which had stood for nearly 20 years at less than one-third of its proposed height, now seemed ready for completion. Declaration of Independence Before work could begin again, however, arguments about the most appropriate design resumed. Many people thought that a simple obelisk, one without the colonnade, would be too bare. Architect Mills was reputed to have said that omitting the colonnade would make the monument look like "a stalk of asparagus"; another critic said it offered "little… to be proud of." This attitude led people to submit alternative designs. Both the Washington National Monument Society and Congress held discussions about how the Monument should be finished. The society considered five new designs, concluding that the one by William Wetmore Story seemed "vastly superior in artistic taste and beauty." Congress deliberated over those five as well as Mills's original; while it was deciding, it ordered work on the obelisk to continue. Finally, the members of the Society agreed to abandon the colonnade and alter the obelisk so it conformed to classical Egyptian proportions. Construction resumed in 1879 under the direction of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Lincoln Casey of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Casey redesigned the foundation, strengthening it so it could support a structure that would ultimately weigh more than 40,000 tons. He then followed the society's orders and figured out what to do with the memorial stones that had accumulated. Though many people ridiculed them, Casey managed to install all 193 stones in the interior walls. The building of the Monument proceeded quickly now that Congress had provided sufficient funding. In four years it was finally completed, with the 3,300 lb (1.65 t) marble capstone being put in place on December 6, 1884, during another elaborate dedication ceremony.

Later history

At the time of its construction it was the tallest building in the world. It is still the tallest building in Washington D.C., and, due to a 1910 law restricting new buildings' height to be no more than 20 feet (6 m) greater than the width of the street they're on, probably always will be (there is a popular misconception that the law specifies that no building may be taller than the Washington Monument, but in fact the law makes no mention of it). Ordinary antique obelisks were seldom taller than around 100 feet (30 m), making this monument vastly taller than the obelisks around the capitals of Europe and in Egypt. Egypt celebrations]] The Washington Monument drew enormous crowds even before it officially opened. During the six months that followed its dedication, 10,041 people climbed the 893 steps to the top. After the elevator that had been used to raise building materials was altered so that it could carry passengers, the number of visitors grew rapidly. As early as 1888, an average of 55,000 people a month went to the top, and today the Washington Monument has more than 800,000 visitors each year. For ten hours in December of 1982, the Washington Monument was "held hostage" by a nuclear arms protester, Norman Mayer, claiming to have explosives in a van he drove up to the Monument's base. Eight tourists trapped in the Monument at the time the standoff began were set free, and the incident ended with U.S. Park Police opening fire on Mayer and killing him. The Monument was undamaged in the incident, and it turned out that Mayer never had explosives. On July 4, 2005, a $15 million security and landscaping enhancement project was completed. The design, an innovative and subtle series of concentric circles 30 in (0.76 m) high, is designed to make it impossible to drive up to the monument, though approaching on foot or on bicycle should be unimpeded. In addition to the security upgrade, the construction, which required the monument to be closed starting in September 2004, also included an upgrade to the external lighting of the monument. The Monument was evacuated on October 7, 2005, after a bomb threat was called in, although a search turned up nothing worrisome. A second bomb threat was called in on October 13; here, again, nothing suspicious was found.

Construction details

The completed monument stands 555 ft 5 1/8 in (169 m) tall, with the following construction materials and details:
- Phase One (1848 to 1858): To the 152 foot (46 m) level, under the direction of Superintendent William Daugherty. :: Exterior: White marble from Texas, Maryland (adjacent to and East of North I-83 near the Warren Road exit in Cockeysville :: Exterior: White marble, four courses or rows, from Sheffield, Massachusetts
- Phase Two (1878 to 1888): Work completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, commanded by Lt. Col. Thomas L. Casey. :: Exterior: White marble from another Cockeysville quarry [http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/stones/stones4.html]
- Interior: Granite from Maine
- cap is made from aluminum, at the time a rare metal, valued about the same as silver. The cap was forged by William Frishmuth and a detailed history was printed in [http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/9511/Binczewski-9511.html JOM].

Inscriptions

The four faces of the pyramidal point all bear inscriptions:
North Face West Face South Face East Face
JOINT COMMISSION
AT
SETTING OF CAPSTONE.
 
CHESTER A. ARTHUR.
W. W. CORCORAN, Chairman.
M. E. BELL.
EDWARD CLARK.
JOHN NEWTON.
Act of August 2, 1876.		 CORNER STONE LAID ON BED OF FOUNDATION
JULY 4, 1848.
 
FIRST STONE AT HEIGHT OF 152 FEET LAID
AUGUST 7, 1880.
 
CAPSTONE SET DECEMBER 6, 1884.		 CHIEF ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT, THOS. LINCOLN CASEY, COLONEL, CORPS OF ENGINEERS. Assistants: GEORGE W. DAVIS, CAPTAIN, 14TH INFANTRY, BERNARD R. GREEN, CIVIL ENGINEER. Master Mechanic. P. H. MCLAUGHLIN. LAUS DEO.

LAUS DEO

Exterior structure


- Total height of monument:
555 ft 5 1/8 in (169.294 m)
- Height from lobby to observation level:
500 ft (152 m)
- Width at base of monument:
55 ft 1 1/2 in (16.80 m)
- Width at top of shaft:
34 ft 5 in (10.5 m)
- Thickness of monument walls at base:
15 ft (4.6 m)
- Thickness of monument walls at observation level:
18 in (460 mm)
- Total weight of monument:
90,854 short tons (82,421 t)
- Total number of blocks in monument:
36,491

The pyramidion and capstone


- Pyramidion weight:
300 tons (272 t)
- Capstone weight:
3300 lb (1.5 t)
- Capstone cuneiform keystone measures 5.16 ft (1.57 m) from base to the top
- Each side of the capstone base: 3 ft (914 mm)
- Width of aluminum tip: 5.6 in (142 mm) on each of its four sides
- Height of aluminum tip at base:
8.9 in (226 mm)
- Weight of aluminum tip on capstone:
100 oz (2.8 kg) See frustum

Foundation


- Depth of foundation:
36 ft 10 in (11.23 m)
- Weight of foundation:
36,912 short tons (33,486 metric tons)
- Area of foundation:
16,002 ft² (1487 m²)

Interior


- Number of memorial stones in stairwell: 193
- Present elevator installed: 1998
- Present elevator cab installed: 2001
- Elevator travel time: 60 s
- Number of steps in stairwell: 897

Other Washington monuments

frustum For other Washington Monuments, see Washington Monuments (world).

See also


- George Washington
- List of towers
- Monument

External links


- [http://www.nationalparksgallery.com/parks/Washington-Monument Washington Monument] — National Parks Gallery
- [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/displayPhoto.pl?path=/pnp/habshaer/dc/dc0900/dc0968/sheet&topImages=00001a.gif&topLinks=00001r.tif,00001a.tif&title=&displayProfile=0 Historic American Buildings Survey / Historic American Engineering Record: Architectural rendering of the Washington Monument]
- [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/dec06.html Today in History — Dec 6th]
- [http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/9511/Binczewski-9511.html A History of the Aluminum Cap of the Washington Monument]
- [http://www.googleearthhacks.com/dlfile69/Washington-Monument---3d.htm 3D plug-in for Google Earth] Category:American architecture Category:Buildings and monuments honoring American Presidents Category:George Washington Category:Historic civil engineering landmarks Category:Monuments Category:National Mall Category:National Memorials in the United States Category:National memorials in Washington, DC Category:Obelisks

2004

2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. It was designated the:
- International Year of Rice (by the United Nations)
- International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO)
- 2004 World Health Day topic was Road Safety (by World Health Organization)
- Year of the Monkey (by the Chinese calendar) See the world in 2004 for a description of the state of the world in this year. See also Wikipedia's almanac of events for this year.

Events

January


- January 1 - Pervez Musharraf gets a vote of confidence from an electoral college consisting of Parliament and the provincial assemblies, confirming him as President of Pakistan until 2007.
- January 3 - Flash Airlines Flight 604 crashes into the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt, killing all 148 aboard.
- January 4 - Mikhail Saakashvili wins the presidential elections in Georgia.
- January 4 -NASA's MER-A (Spirit) lands on Mars.
- January 8 - Queen Elizabeth II christens the RMS Queen Mary 2 cruise liner, currently the largest ocean liner in the world.
- January 13 - An Uzbekistan Airways plane crashes in Uzbekistan's capital of Tashkent, killing 37.
- January 22 - The European Union bans the import of poultry from Thailand, as bird flu spreads throughout Southeast Asia.
- January 24 - NASA's MER-B (Opportunity) lands on Mars.
- January 27 - The British government narrowly wins a House of Commons vote on the proposed introduction of tuition top-up fees in British universities.
- January 28 - The findings of the Hutton Inquiry are published in London. The British Government is found not to have falsified information in the "sexed up dossier". The report criticises the BBC's role in the death of David Kelly, a weapons expert on Iraq.
- January 28 - At a hearing of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, it is revealed that the September 11, 2001, terrorists used Mace (a brand of tear gas) or pepper spray in overpowering the flight crew of American Airlines Flight 11.

February


- February 1 - A hajj stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills 251 pilgrims.
- February 3 - The CIA admits that there was no imminent threat from weapons of mass destruction before the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
- February 6 - A suicide bomber kills 41 people on a metro car in Moscow.
- February 7 - Several leaders of Abnaa el-Balad arrested in Israel.
- February 10 - At least 50 people killed in a car bomb attack on a police recruitment centre south of Baghdad.
- February 10 - The French National Assembly votes to pass a law banning religious items and clothing from schools.
- February 12 - Same sex marriage in the United States: The City and County of San Francisco begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples as an act of civil disobedience.
- February 13 - Scientists in South Korea announce the cloning of 30 human embryos.
- February 14 - Riots break out between New South Wales Police and Aboriginal residents of Redfern, a suburb of Sydney, Australia.
- February 18 - A train carrying a convoy of petrol, fertiliser, and sulfur derails and explodes in Iran, killing 320 people.
- February 20 - Conservatives win a majority in the Iranian parliament election.
- February 24 - 6.5 Richter scale earthquake in Northern Morocco hits in the Rif mountains near the city of