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. The streets north and south of the Capitol are lettered in the alphabetic order - A Street, C Street, D Street and so on. There is no B Street and there are no streets for the letters J, X, Y, and Z. The city is also crossed by broad avenues named after thirteen American states (Maryland Avenue and so on).
The Capitol is the seat of the legislative branch of the US government. One of its large wings contains the Senate Chamber, and the other – the Hall of Representatives. Since Washington’s only big business is the business of Government, the White House (the President’s residence), the Supreme Court, the Pentagon, the Headquarters of the Department of Defence are located in Washington. Power is what Washington is all about.
Other places of interest:
The Library of Congress (13 000 000 books, 19 000 000 manuscripts and other items)
The Washington Monument (500 feet high, in Potomac Park, behind the White House)
The Union Railroad Station
National Gallery of Art
The Jefferson Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial
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. The streets north and south of the Capitol are lettered in the alphabetic order - A Street, C Street, D Street and so on. There is no B Street and there are no streets for the letters J, X, Y, and Z. The city is also crossed by broad avenues named after thirteen American states (Maryland Avenue and so on).
The Capitol is the seat of the legislative branch of the US government. One of its large wings contains the Senate Chamber, and the other – the Hall of Representatives. Since Washington’s only big business is the business of Government, the White House (the President’s residence), the Supreme Court, the Pentagon, the Headquarters of the Department of Defence are located in Washington. Power is what Washington is all about.
Other places of interest:
The Library of Congress (13 000 000 books, 19 000 000 manuscripts and other items)
The Washington Monument (500 feet high, in Potomac Park, behind the White House)
The Union Railroad Station
National Gallery of Art
The Jefferson Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial
Комментарии
Отправить комментарий