Everything about District Of Columbia totally explained
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"District of Colombia" (sic) redirects here. For political subdivisions of the country, Colombia, see Departments of Colombia.
Washington, D.C., is the
capital of the
United States. Washington (the city) covers the same area as (for example is coterminous 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. 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. Washington is a popular destination for tourists as the site of numerous
national landmarks, monuments, the
Smithsonian Institution, galleries, universities, cathedrals, performing arts centers, and music venues. The District also includes substantial areas of wild natural habitat, particularly along the
Potomac and
Anacostia rivers, as well as
Rock Creek Park and
Theodore Roosevelt Island.
The District of Columbia and the City of Washington are governed by a single municipal government and are considered to be the same entity. This hasn't always been the case. For example, prior to 1871 the current neighborhoods of
Georgetown was one of multiple cities and towns within the District of Columbia. Although there's a municipal government and a
mayor, pursuant to Article I of the U.S. Constitution,
Congress has the supreme authority over the District, which results in the residents of the city having less self-governance than residents of the states. The District has a non-voting
at-large Congressional
delegate, but no senators.
History
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 "
retroceded" (for example returned) to Virginia in 1847. That territory is now present-day
Arlington County and the
City of Alexandria. The District of Columbia is now situated on territory that all originally belonged Maryland, including islands in the Potomac River.
Planning
A
Southern site for the new national capital was agreed upon between
James Madison and
Alexander Hamilton at a dinner hosted by
Thomas Jefferson. At the time, Southern states were hesitant to agree to a
Northern plan for all the states to
pool their debts incurred during the
Revolutionary War. The Southern states had largely paid off their individual debts and wouldn't have benefited from such a plan. In return for the Southern states agreeing to a collectivize their debts, the Northern states agreed that the new capital would be located in the South.
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 and the city was named in his honor on
September 9,
1791. Out of modesty, George Washington never referred to it as such, preferring to call it "the Federal City" instead. Despite choosing the site and living nearby at
Mount Vernon, he rarely visited the city. The federal district was named the District of Columbia because
Columbia was a poetic name for the United States used at the time, and the District's founding was close to the 300th
anniversary of
Christopher Columbus's first voyage to the
Americas in 1492.
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 the County of Washington was on the north bank. 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 which are still standing.
The plans for the City of Washington were 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
planned city's layout was modeled in the
Baroque style, which incorporated broad avenues radiating out from traffic circles, providing for maximum open space and landscaping. As constructed, Washington City was centered on its current area but ended at present-day
Rock Creek Park to the west, "Boundary Street" (now
Florida Avenue) and Benning Road to the north, and the
Potomac and
Anacostia rivers to the south and east. Although the new City of Washington was constructed in the geographic and geometric center of the federal territory, there were also a number of other communities located in the District of Columbia including
Georgetown, "Tennally's Town" (for example
Tenleytown), and a village commonly known today as "
Anacostia." In time, all of these communities would be annexed by the City of Washington.
The
cornerstone of the White House, the first newly constructed building of the new capital, was laid on
October 13,
1792.
19th century
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). Initially, the British had approached the city hoping to secure a truce but were fired upon, which ultimately led to the sacking of government buildings. President
James Madison and U.S. forces fled before the British arrived. The
Capitol,
Treasury and White House were burned and gutted. The
Washington Navy Yard was also burned, but by American sailors, to keep ships and stores from falling into the hands of the British.
During the 1830s, the population of the Alexandria County was unhappy with their economic conditions and resented the heavy competition with the port of Georgetown, Maryland, which was further inland. At the time, the District was home to one of the largest
slave trading operations in the country the people of Alexandria feared greater economic hardship if slavery was outlawed in the capital as was rumored. In 1846, the population of Alexandria County voted in a referendum to ask Congress to
retrocede Alexandria back to the Commonwealth of Virginia; Congress complied on
July 9 of that year. The slave trade, though not slavery, was outlawed in the capital as part of the
Compromise of 1850.
Washington remained a relative 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 as a result of the war led to notable growth in the city's population, as did a large influx of freed slaves. By the 1870s, the District's population had grown to nearly 132,000 and 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.
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 but Georgetown was allowed to remain nominally separate until 1895 when it was formally combined with Washington.
20th century
Washington's population remained relatively stable until
Great Depression in the
1930s. Washington's population grew dramatically in the period between the start of the depression and the end of
World War II. President
Franklin D. Roosevelt's
New Deal legislation led to growth in the federal bureaucracy as did
World War II in the 1940s. The District's population peaked in 1950, when the census recorded the District's population at 802,178 people.
After the assassination of civil rights leader
Martin Luther King, Jr., in
Memphis, Tennessee 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.
In 1973, Congress enacted the District of Columbia Self-Rule and Governmental Reorganization Act, providing for an elected mayor and
city council for the District. With this change,
Walter Washington became the first elected and first African American mayor of Washington, D.C. in 1975. In 1979,
Marion Barry was elected mayor and then reelected twice more, serving three successive four-year terms. After his arrest for
drug use in an
FBI sting operation on January 18, 1990, and sentence to a six-month jail term, Barry didn't seek re-election. His successor,
Sharon Pratt Kelly, became the first black woman to lead a U.S. city of Washington's size. Barry ran again in 1994, defeating Kelly in the Democratic primary and winning the general election for mayor. During his fourth term, the city became nearly
insolvent and was forced to give up some home rule to a congressionally appointed financial control board.
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.
Geography
Topography
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 68.3 square miles (177.0 km²). 61.4 square miles (159.0 km²) of it's 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). The District interrupts those states' common border, the
Potomac River, both upstream and downstream from the District. The Potomac River, as it passes Washington, is almost entirely within the District of Columbia due to a colonial-era
riparian rights agreement between Maryland and Virginia before the District was established. Washington 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 located in the city:
Dalecarlia Reservoir, which crosses over the northwest border of the District into Maryland;
McMillan Reservoir near
Howard University; and
Georgetown Reservoir.
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).
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. The quadrants are not equal in size; Northwest is the largest quadrant, followed by Northeast, then Southeast, and finally Southwest. As a result, the geographic center of the District of Columbia is located near 4th Street NW, L Street NW, and New York Avenue NW.
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. Spring and fall are mild with low humidty and 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. 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.
While
hurricanes (or their remnants) occasionally track through the area in late summer and early fall, they've often weakened by the time they reach Washington partly due to 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 as well as in nearby
Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.
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 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, while 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, and only 64.4 nights below freezing.
Nature
Most of the natural habitat in Washington, D.C., is managed by the
U.S. National Park Service, including
Rock Creek Park, the
National Mall,
Theodore Roosevelt Island, and
Anacostia Park. The
U.S. Department of Agriculture operates the
U.S. National Arboretum while various other federal agencies, both military and civilian, have minor holdings of wild land within the District. The
Great Falls of the Potomac River are located upstream (for example northwest) of Washington. George Washington once surveyed this area for a
"Pawtomack" Canal that would allow barge traffic to bypass the falls. The
Potomac Gorge, also known as Mather Gorge, cuts into hard metamorphic bedrock and extends from Great Falls downstream to Georgetown,
Rosslyn, Virginia, and Theodore Roosevelt Island, all located at the boundary between the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain.
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
Historic sites and museums
Washington is home to numerous national landmarks. The
National Mall is a large, open park area in the center of the city featuring many monuments to American leaders. Located prominently in the center of the Mall is the
Washington Monument. Other notable points of interest on the Mall include the
Lincoln Memorial, the
National World War II Memorial at the east end of the
reflecting pool, the
Korean War Veterans Memorial, the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the
Albert Einstein Memorial. Also located on the mall, the
National Archives houses thousands of documents important to American history including the
Declaration of Independence, the
United States Constitution, the
Bill of Rights, and the
Magna Carta.
The
Tidal Basin is located directly south of the mall and features rows of
Japanese cherry blossom trees that were presented as gifts from the nation of
Japan to the city as a symbol of friendship in 1912 and again in 1965 after
World War II. Each year the Tidal Basin hosts the
National Cherry Blossom Festival, which draws thousands tourists to Washington when the trees are in peak bloom. The
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial,
Jefferson Memorial, and the
District of Columbia War Memorial are also located around the Tidal Basin.
The
Smithsonian Institution is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and the city is home to most of its museums and galleries. The Smithsonian is chartered and partially funded by the U.S. government, making the Smithsonian's museums and galleries open to the public free of charge. The most visited of the Smithsonian museums is the
National Air and Space Museum located on the National Mall. The Air and Space Museum features exhibits on the history of
human aviation and
space exploration and houses the
Albert Einstein Planetarium. Other Smithsonian Institution museums and galleries located on the mall are: the
National Museum of African Art; the
National Museum of American History; the
National Museum of Natural History; the
National Museum of the American Indian; the
Sackler and
Freer galleries, which both focus on Asian art and culture; the
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; the
Arts and Industries Building, the original Smithsonian museum; and the
Smithsonian Institution Building (also known as "The Castle"), which contains a few exhibits and serves as the Smithsonian Institution's headquarters.
The
Smithsonian American Art Museum (formerly known as the National Museum of American Art) and the
National Portrait Gallery are located in the same building, the
Donald W. Reynolds Center, near Washington's
Chinatown. The
Renwick Gallery is also officially part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum but is located in a separate building near the
White House. The Reynolds Center was known as the
Old Patent Office Building until 2006, and many still refer to the building using its former name. Other Smithsonian museums and galleries include: the
Anacostia Community Museum in Southeast Washington; the
National Postal Museum near
Union Station; and the
National Zoo in
Woodley Park. The National Zoo features exhibits and provides education about unique animals, including the zoo's famous
giant pandas. Recently however, the National Zoo has been criticized for mismanagement and an overall degradation in quality. A new master plan introduced in 2008 provides for major changes to the park including redesigning exhibits, a new visitors center, and constructing an
aerial tram.
The
National Gallery of Art is situated prominently on the National Mall near the Capitol, but isn't a part of the Smithsonian Institution; it's instead wholly owned by the U.S. government. As a government institution, admission to the gallery is also free. The gallery's west wing features the nation's collection of
American and
European art through the
19th century. The east wing, designed by architect
I.M. Pei, features works of
modern art. The National Gallery also has its own
sculpture garden located next to the west gallery. Given the similarities in their names and collections, the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery are often confused with the National Gallery of Art when they're in fact entirely separate institutions. The
National Building Museum, located near
Judiciary Square, is also chartered by Congress and hosts temporary and traveling exhibits.
There are many private art museums in the District of Columbia, which house major collections and exhibits open to the public such as: the
National Museum of Women in the Arts; the
Corcoran Gallery of Art, the largest private museum in Washington; and
The Phillips Collection in
Dupont Circle, the first museum of modern art in the United States. However, as they're not chartered or funded directly by the U.S. government, there's often a fee for admission to these galleries. Other private museums in Washington include the
Newseum, the
International Spy Museum, and the
Marian Koshland Science Museum. The private
National Geographic Society is also headquartered in Washington and operates its own museum. The
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum located near the National Mall maintains exhibits, documentation, and artifacts related to
The Holocaust.
Other points of interest in the District include: the
United States Capitol; the
White House; the
Library of Congress; the
Supreme Court; the
Washington National Cathedral in upper Northwest; the
United States Navy Memorial in
Penn Quarter; the
Arena Stage; the
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception; the
National Arboretum; the
Folger Shakespeare Library;
Ford's Theatre; the
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site; the
African American Civil War Memorial on
U Street; the
Old Stone House, the oldest standing building in the District; the
Mount St. Sepulchre Franciscan Monastery; and the
Victims of Communism Memorial.
Performing arts and music
Washington, D.C. is a major national center for the arts. The
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is home to the
National Symphony Orchestra, the
Washington National Opera, and the
Washington Ballet. The
Kennedy Center Honors are awarded each year to those in the
performing arts who have contributed greatly to the
cultural life of the United States. The
President and
First Lady typically attend the Honors ceremony, as the First Lady is the
honorary chair of the Kennedy Center
Board of Trustees.
Arena Stage was one of the first
non-profit regional theaters in the nation and produces an eight-show season, which features both classic works as wells as new American
plays. The
Shakespeare Theatre Company, a non-profit theatre founded in 1985, is regarded as "one of the world's three great Shakespearean theatres" for its reinterpretations and production of classical plays. Other professional theaters like
The Studio Theatre and venues such as the
National Theatre bring
Broadway and other critically-acclaimed productions to Washington.
Some of Washington's neighborhoods are renowned for their presence in the performing arts. The
U Street Corridor in Northwest Washington, known as "Washington's Black Broadway", is home to institutions like the
Lincoln Theatre which hosted music legends such as
Duke Ellington and
Ella Fitzgerald. The U Street area is also notable for its dozens of clubs and restaurants, such as
Bohemian Caverns and Twins, which feature near-nightly jazz performances. Other jazz venues feature modern
blues such as
Madam's Organ in
Adams Morgan and
Blues Alley in
Georgetown.
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.
Washington was also an important center for
indie culture and
music in the United States. The label
Dischord Records, formed by
Ian MacKaye, was one of the most crucial independent labels in the genesis of
80's punk and eventually
indie rock in the
1990s. 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. Washington also has a significant
indie label history and was home to
TeenBeat,
Dischord Records,
Simple Machines, and
ESL Music among others. Modern
alternative and
indie music venues like
The Black Cat and the near U Street have achieved notoriety for their ability to bring popular acts to smaller more-intimate venues.
Television shows
There have been several television series that have featured the District. Most of these have been related to government (for example,
The West Wing and
Commander in Chief) or security organizations (for example,
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
Washington, D.C. is home to five major professional mens' teams. The
Washington Wizards (
NBA) and the
Washington Capitals (
NHL) both play at the
Verizon Center (right) in
Chinatown.
Nationals Park, which opened in
Southeast D.C. in 2008, is home to the
Washington Nationals (
MLB). The
D.C. United (
MLS) play at
RFK Stadium. The
Washington Redskins (
NFL) play at nearby
FedExField in
Landover, Maryland.
The Washington area is also home to a number of women's professional sports teams. The
Washington Mystics (
WNBA) play at the Verizon Center and the
Washington Glory (
National Pro Fastpitch softball) play at
Westfield H.S. Sports Complex in
Fairfax County, Virginia. The
Washington Freedom are set to be revived in 2009 within the
Women's Professional Soccer league, the successor to the
WUSA. Other professional and semi-professional teams based in Washington include: the
Washington Bayhawks (
Major League Lacrosse), who play at
George Mason Stadium; the
Washington D.C. Slayers (
American National Rugby League); the Potomac Mavericks (
PIHA); the Baltimore Washington Eagles (
USAFL); the D.C. Divas (
NWFA); the D.C. Explosion (Minor League Football); and the
Washington RFC (
Rugby Super League).
Washington is one of only 13 cities in the United States with a team from all four major mens' sports:
football,
basketball,
baseball, and
hockey. When
soccer is included, Washington is one of only 8 cities to have all five professional mens' sports. D.C. has won a combined 13 professional league championships: the Washington Redskins have won 5; the D.C. United has won 4 (the most in MLS history); the Washington Bayhawks have won 2; and the Washington Wizards and the Washington Glory have each won a single championship. The
Legg Mason Tennis Classic, part of the
US Open Series, is held at
William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in
Rock Creek Park. The
Marine Corps Marathon and the
National Marathon are both held annually in Washington. The D.C. area is also home to one regional sports television network,
Comcast SportsNet (CSN), based in
Bethesda, Maryland.
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 Washington Times, a conservative daily, and the 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 Washington Metropolitan 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. Spanish-language television is also represented by
WZDC-LP 25 (
Telemundo),
WMDO-CA 47 (
TeleFutura), and
WFDC-TV 14 (
Univision). Given its proximity, many
Baltimore-area television stations can also be seen in the Washington region.
Several
cable television networks have their headquarters in the Washington, D.C. including
C-SPAN,
Black Entertainment Television (BET), and the
National Geographic Channel. The headquarters of
Discovery Communications is located in nearby
Silver Spring, Maryland and the
Public Broadcasting Service is headquartered in
Alexandria, Virginia. As a global political center, many major domestic and international news outlets including
NBC,
ABC,
CBS,
FOX,
CNN, the
BBC, the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), and
Al Jazeera all maintain bureaus or correspondents in Washington.
Radio
Several major
radio stations serve the D.C. metro area a wide variety of musical interests including:
contemporary station
99.5 FM (Hot 99.5);
rock and roll station
94.7 FM (The Globe);
alternative rock station
101.1 FM;
adult contemporary stations
97.1 FM and
107.3 FM;
country music station
98.7 FM;
classic hits stations
100.3 FM and
105.9 FM;
urban contemporary stations
95.5 FM,
96.3 FM,
102.3 FM,
93.9 FM and
97.5 FM (Radio CPR);
classical music station
90.9 FM;
jazz station
89.3 FM; Spanish-language station
99.1 FM (El Zol);
gospel stations
104.1 FM and
1580 AM; and
contemporary Christian stations
91.9 FM and
89.9 FM.
Freeform station
88.1 FM, which broadcasts from the nearby
University of Maryland, College Park, remains the last independent student radio station in the region.
Stations that concentrate on
talk and
sports radio include:
106.7 FM and
630 AM (
conservative talk);
1260 AM (
progressive talk);
1450 AM (urban talk);
980 AM (sports talk);
92.7 FM,
94.3 FM, and
730 AM (Triple X ESPN sports radio);
105.1 FM and
780 AM (Christian talk);
103.5 FM (CBS radio news); and
107.7 FM and
1500 AM (3WT talk).
National Public Radio is headquartered in Washington, D.C. Its NPR affiliate station,
WAMU 88.5 FM, broadcasts from the
American University in northwest Washington and also provides content from
Public Radio International and
BBC News.
Voice of America, the U.S. government's
international broadcast news service, is located near the U.S. Capitol in southwest Washington. Most major radio stations from Baltimore can also be heard in the Washington metropolitan area.
Radio One, the largest African American media conglomerate, is headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded by
Cathy Hughes, a prominent figure in Washington radio since her days at Howard University's WHUR.
XM Satellite Radio is also based in Washington, D.C.
Economy
Washington, D.C. has a growing, diversified economy with an increasing percentage of professional and business service jobs. As of March 2008, the federal government accounted for approximately 27 percent of the jobs in Washington, D.C.'s nearly 700,000-strong workforce. Many other businesses such as
law firms,
independent contractors (both defense and civilian), numerous nonprofit organizations,
lobbying firms, national associations of labor and professional groups, catering, and administrative services companies are directly or indirectly sustained by the presence of the federal government. It is thought that Washington is relatively immune to downturns in the national economy due to the fact that federal government and its contractors continue operations even during economic recessions.
The city also serves as an economic anchor to the entire metropolitan area. Many of the jobs in D.C. are filled by
commuters from the Maryland and Virginia suburbs, thereby contributing greatly to the economic growth of both states. Further, the presence of many major government agencies outside of the District, including the
Department of Defense,
National Institutes of Health, and the
Food and Drug Administration, has led to additional economic development in the D.C. area. As of March 2008, the Washington Metropolitan Area had an
unemployment rate of 3.4 percent; the lowest rate among the 40 largest
metro areas in the nation. It is also significantly lower than the national average unemployment rate of 5.2 percent.
Washington also has growing industry unrelated to government, especially in the areas of
education,
finance and scientific research.
The George Washington University,
Georgetown University,
Washington Hospital Center,
Howard University, and
Fannie Mae are the top five non-government-related employers in the city. There are also five Fortune 1000 companies based in Washington (two of which are also Fortune 500 companies). The city has also become a leader in global real estate investment, behind London, New York City, and Paris. In 2006,
Expansion Magazine ranked D.C. among the top 10 metropolitan areas in the nation for climates favorable to business expansion. Washington, D.C. also has the 3rd largest
downtown in the United States in terms of commercial office space, directly behind
New York City and
Chicago.
Gentrification efforts are also taking hold in Washington, D.C., reviving once-decaying
neighborhoods into thriving urban centers. Most notable are the changes made in the
U Street Corridor,
Logan Circle, the
14th Street Corridor,
Shaw, and
Columbia Heights. A new
shopping mall opened in Columbia Heights in March 2008 represents the first new major retail center in the District in 40 years. The gross state product of the District in 2006 was
$87.664 billion, ranking at number 35 when compared with the fifty states. The District also had an unemployment rate of 6.2 percent as of March 2008; however, that rate fluctuates greatly within the city from 1.5 percent in affluent Ward 4, to 16.3 percent in Ward 8 (see above).
Demographics
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.
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's 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's 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. 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
The U.S. Congress has the ultimate authority over the District of Columbia. This power is given to Congress by
Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution. The
1973 Home Rule Act devolved certain Congressional powers over the District to a local government administered by an elected mayor and a
city council; however, Congress retains the right to review and overturn laws created by the city council and intervene in local affairs. Recently, Congress has used
its power to to reverse city policies such as those in regard to
gun control and the
D.C. public school system.
The city is currently administered by
Mayor Adrian Fenty and the
Council of the District of Columbia. The council is composed of 13 members: one elected from each of the city's 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
Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) elected by small neighborhood districts. Suggestions made by ANCs are required to be given "great weight" by the D.C. Council and city agencies.
The mayor and council adopt a budget, which Congress has the right to change. Local
income,
sales, and
property taxes provide revenue to fund city government agencies and services.
Much of the property in the District, 57.7 percent, is owned by the Federal government, foreign governments, or other tax-exempt organizations, all of which are exempt from paying city property taxes. In addition to having a lower property tax base, the District of Columbia government is also barred by Congress from imposing an income or commuter tax on the over 400,000 suburban commuters who work in District and use city services. 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. However, the administration of
Mayor Anthony Williams oversaw a period greater prosperity,
urban renewal, and budget surpluses starting in the late 1990s that continues on today. Mayor Adrian Fenty's administration continues to press forward with reforms, especially in the area of education. Despite these gains, the city still faces daunting problems that affect many urban areas such as lack of decent affordable housing and public health problems. In late 2007, the story broke on a scandal at the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue that involved city employees embezzling over $44 million in city funds by writing fraudulent tax refund checks. The situation resulted in a black mark for the Fenty administration, which had made regaining the public trust a top priority.
Federal representation and taxation
Citizens of the District of Columbia 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 can't vote. D.C. has no representation at all in the
Senate. Unlike U.S. territories such as
Puerto Rico or
Guam, which also have non-voting delegates, citizens of the District of Columbia are subject to all U.S. federal laws and taxes. In the financial year 2005, D.C. residents and businesses paid $18.1 billion in federal taxes; higher than the federal taxes collected from 20 other states. The District also pays the most
federal taxes per capita.
Efforts to raise awareness about the lack of representation for D.C. residents within the Federal government have included campaigns by organizations such as
D.C. Vote
as well as featuring the city's 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 of Colubmia in Congress.
President Clinton used the "Taxation Without Representation" tags on the Presidential limousine in a show of support for the city; however,
President George W. Bush had the plates replaced to those without the motto shortly upon taking office.
Attempts to grant the District voting representation in Congress, including the
D.C. statehood movement and the proposed
District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment, have been unsuccessful. The
Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution allows residents of Washington, D.C. to participate in
presidential elections; the District is afforded three electoral votes in the selection of the President.
Domestic partnerships
Using data from the
2000 U.S. Census, it's estimated that there are 33,000
gay,
lesbian, or
bisexual adults in the District of Columbia. There were also an estimated 3,768 same-sex couples living in Washington. Given these statistics, there's general support for same-sex unions, including marriage, in the District of Columbia; however, due to Congressional oversight, any attempt at legalizing same-sex marriage would likely be overturned.
The D.C. Council passed
domestic partnership legislation in 1992, but Congress forbid implementation of the law until 2002. On May 6, 2008 the D.C. Council unanimously passed the Omnibus Domestic Partnership Equality Amendment Act of 2008, which expanded domestic partner legislation to include nearly all the same legal rights as marriage; in effect, creating
civil unions like those found in other states. Both same-sex and mixed-sex couples may register. The number of murders peaked in 1991 at 482, but the level of violence declined drastically in the 1990s. By 2006, the annual murder count in the city had declined to 169. Other forms of property crime, including thefts and robberies, also declined by similar percentages. Despite the declining trends, the
FBI's 2006
Uniform Crime Report still ranks
overall crime in Washington as the seventh-highest in the nation among cities with populations over 250,000.
Like most large cities, crime is typically restricted to specific areas that are associated with
illegal drugs and
gangs. The more affluent neighborhoods of
Northwest Washington experience low levels of crime, but the incidence of crime increases as one goes further east (see map at right). Once plagued with violent crime, many D.C. neighborhoods such as
Columbia Heights and
Logan Circle are becoming become safe and vibrant areas due to the effects of
gentrification. As a result, crime in the District is being displaced even further east and across the border into
Prince George's County, Maryland.
On March 16, 2008, the
Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in the case of
District of Columbia v. Heller. The plaintiffs in the case argue that the District of Columbia's 36-year-old ban on handguns violates their
Second Amendment rights to gun ownership. City leaders, including
Mayor Adrian Fenty and D.C.
Chief of Police Cathy Lanier, are in favor of the ban. A decision is expected in June 2008.
Education
Primary and secondary education
The public school system in the city is operated by
District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) and currently consists of 167 schools and learning centers. In the 2007-2008 school year, 49,200 students were enrolled in the public school system. Enrollment in DCPS has been steadily decreasing and by next year the city expects total enrollment to fall to 47,700. Per-pupil expenditure on education will meet $8,770 in FY 2009, the highest in the nation. Despite those expenditures, DCPS still has one of the lowest-performing school systems in the country both in terms of infrastructure and student achievement. DCPS had only one school in the
U.S. News and World Report's ranking of the nation's Top 100 high schools. By comparison, suburban Washington public school systems had a total of 14 schools on the list.
Under a massive restructuring of the city's school system in 2007, the D.C. Council granted the mayor's office near-total authority over D.C. public schools. Mayor Fenty's new superintendent of DCPS,
Chancellor Michelle Rhee, has made sweeping changes to the school system by cutting administration staff, firing principals, ending teacher seniority, and even closing schools altogher. At the same time, enrollment in publicly-funded independent 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. There are also numerous medical research centers in the Washington area, most notably the
National Institutes of Health in
Bethesda, Maryland.
Washington Hospital Center (WHC) is the largest hospital campus in the District and is both the largest private and the largest non-profit hospital in the Washington Metropolitan Area. Immediately adjacent to the WHC is the National Rehabilitation Hospital and
Children's National Medical Center. Children's is among the highest ranked pediatric hospitals in the country according to
U.S. News and World Report and also provides care at 23 regional outpatient centers throughout the Washington Metropolitan Area.
Another prominent hospital in Washington, D.C. is the
Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The 5,500-bed hospital provides care for active-duty and retired personnel and their dependents from all branches of the armed forces. Due to a new
Department of Defense base realignment plan, Walter Reed is scheduled to move in 2011 to a facility in Bethesda, Maryland near the
National Naval Medical Center. Armed Forces veterans also receive care at the
Veterans Affairs Medical Center on the grounds of the Old Soldier's Home in Washington.
Three universities in Washington, D.C. have medical schools and associated
teaching hospitals. The George Washington University Medical Center treated
President Reagan in 1981 after a
failed assassination attempt; the hospital's emergency room is named in his honor.
Georgetown University Hospital is home to the Lombardi Cancer Center, the only comprehensive cancer center in the area recognized by the
National Cancer Institute. Howard University Hospital is the only hospital in the nation on the campus of a
historically-black university.
Providence Hospital in
Northeast D.C. was chartered by
Abraham Lincoln in 1861
and remains the city's oldest hospital in continuous operation. The Specialty Hospital of Washington (SHW) is a long-term acute care facility located near
Capitol Hill in Northeast D.C. SHW's sister facility, Hadley Memorial Hospital, is located in
Southwest Washington. There are two additional private, non-profit community hospitals in Washington:
Sibley Memorial Hospital in upper Northwest; and Greater Southeast Community Hospital, which generally serves the population east of the Anacostia River.
St. Elizabeths Hospital was the first federally-funded institution for the
mentally ill. The hospital is a
National Historic Landmark but has since fallen into disrepair and serves only a small number of patients. There are two other
psychiatric hospitals located in the city: Riverside Hospital and the Psychiatric Institute of Washington.
D.C. General Hospital near
Capitol Hill was the city's only
public health care facility.
Mayor Anthony Williams shut down D.C. General in 2001 in order to manage the city's recovery from
bankruptcy; the hospital lost money each year and its expenses became too great for the city to cover. In 2008, Mayor Fenty announced plans for a possible new "healthplex" on the site of D.C. General Hospital.
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 (WASA). In July 2007, tests showed unsafe levels of
chlorine and
lead in the water provided to many parts of the city. While 6,500 blood samples taken from city residents showed no increased health risk, WASA is working to replace 29,000 lead service pipes (for example the main water lines) by 2010 at an estimated cost of $400 million. A new water treatment technique introduced by WASA is meant to help slow the corrosion of the lead pipes. Current tests show lead levels to be within federal limits. WASA plans to have the city's lead pipes completely replaced by 2016.
Transportation
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.) Simila
