Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. is the capital of the United States of America (D.C., District of Columbia, named in honour of Columbus, the discoverer of America, is not a state but Federal land). It bears the name of the first US President George Washington and was created to be the seat of the government of the USA. President Washington took an active part in selecting the area of the District of Columbia (a hundred square miles from the states of Maryland and Virginia) and in designing the city. He called upon a famous French engineer Pierre Charles l,Enfant who draw the master plan of the city. In the very centre of the city rises the Capitol, the highest building of the capital. (Washington is an American city without skyscrapers.) From this centre the city is divided into four sections: North West, North East, South West and South East. The Capitol is also the point from which the city’s streets are numbered and lettered. The streets west and east of the Capitol are numbered.