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The culture of Washington, D.C. is reflected in its status as the capital of the United States and the presence of the federal government, its large Black population, and its role as the largest city in the Chesapeake Bay region. The presence of the U.S. federal government, in particular, has been instrumental in developing numerous cultural institutions throughout the city, such as museums and performing arts centers. The city's historic Black population has also helped drive cultural activities and artistic pursuits. During the early 20th century, for example, Washington's U Street Corridor became an important center for African American culture.
Washington is a major national center for the arts, with many venues for the performing arts in the city. Theater dates back to the early 19th century when a theater was established in Samuel Blodgett Jr's Great Hotel on E Street in 1800, soon after the capital was relocated to Washington, D.C.[1] The National Theatre opened in 1835 on E Street, near the White House. DAR Constitution Hall opened in 1929, and remained the city's primary concert hall until the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts opened in 1971.[1]
DAR Constitution Hall, National Theatre, and other venues remained segregated throughout the early part of the 20th century. ContraltoMarian Anderson was barred from performing at Constitution Hall in 1939, instead performing at the Lincoln Memorial to large crowds. The U Street Corridor was the center of African American culture in Washington, D.C. The Lincoln Theatre hosted the likes of Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald on U Street (known as "Washington's Black Broadway") prior to the 1968 riots.[2]
The GALA Hispanic Theatre is a national center for the Latino performing arts that has showcased over 200 productions that range from classical Spanish theater to the works of local, young Latinos.[6] Founded in 1976 by Hugo Medrano, GALA shares the Latino art and culture to the public by creating productions that touch communities today, and preserves the Hispanic heritage for future generations.[7] The GALA Hispanic Theater is housed in the historic Tivoli Theatre in Columbia Heights.
The historic Ford's Theatre was one of the top entertainment venues in Washington, D.C., during the Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln visited the theater at least ten times before being assassinated. After Lincoln's assassination in the theater, Ford's Theater remained closed for over 100 years before becoming a national historic site in 1968 that continues to operate as a functioning performance space today.[8]
The Kennedy Center Honors are awarded the first weekend of December every year to individuals in the performing arts who have contributed greatly to the cultural life of the United States.[10] The Honors Gala is one of the annual cultural highlights of the Washington, D.C., art scene and is attended by various respected individuals in film, theater, dance, and music as well as the President of the United States and the First Lady.
Washington, D.C. is one of the top cities in the United States for pre-professional dance students to train. Schools, such as the Kirov Academy of Ballet of D.C. and Washington School of Ballet, receive hundreds of students from around the country for their summer and year-round programs.
Washington Ballet, formerly known as the Washington School of Ballet, was founded in 1944 by dance pioneer Mary Day.[12] Washington Ballet remains as one of the foremost training schools in the United States that attracts students from across the country and abroad to train in the nation's capital. Mary Day, founder and former director of the Washington Ballet from 1976 to 1999, possessed a unique vision for American ballet and is credited with having trained countless influential dancers, including Kevin McKenzie, Virginia Johnson, Amanda McKerrow, Marianna Tcherkassky, and Patrick Corbin.[13]
The Suzanne Farrell Ballet is a ballet company at the Kennedy Center that began as a series of classes for local dance students. Founded in 2006 by Suzanne Farrell, an American ballerina student of George Balanchine, the troupe has evolved to be a prestigious ballet company attracting students from around the world. The company has performed iconic works of George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and Maurice Béjart. Farrell announced in September 2016 that the company will disband indefinitely in December 2017, citing her desire to return to teaching full-time.[14]
Washington, D.C., hosts several contemporary and modern dance companies that tour frequently in the area, including Urban Bush Women and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, as well as Broadway musicals, plays, and revivals.[15]
Chuck Brown performing go-go musicJazzist Duke Ellington, shown here performing in Washington in 1946, is among the most prominent musicians to come from DC.
D.C. has its own native music genre, called go-go, a musical subgenre that is a blend of funk, blues, and rhythm, and old-school hip-hop that originated in the Washington, D.C., area in the early 1970s by Chuck Brown.[16] The term "go-go" was originally used to describe places where young people partied. During concerts, the percussion section of a band would continually play music while the band leader engaged the audience through a call and respond method during concerts. This call and respond method later changed the term "go-go" to represent the music subgenre.[17] Many bands contributed to the evolution of go-go music including Rare Essence, Trouble Funk, Junkyard Band, and Experience Unlimited.[18]
Washington was an important center in the genesis of punk rock in the United States. Punk bands of note from Washington include Tru Fax & the Insaniacs, Fugazi, Bad Brains, and Minor Threat. Washingtonians continue to support punk bands, long after the punk movement's popularity peaked. The region also has a significant indie rock history and was home to TeenBeat, Dischord Records and Simple Machines, among other indie record labels. DC's punk rock movement was critically important in the broader hardcore punk movement. The local genre is called DC hardcore.
Founded in 1798, the United States Marine Band is the country's oldest professional musical organization whose unique mission is "to provide music for the President of the United States and the Commandant of the Marine Corps." On New Year's Day in 1801, the band officially debuted at the White House for President John Adams and has since performed for State Dinners, South Lawn Arrivals, presidential inaugurations, and receptions. The Marine Band performs on average 200 times a year.[19]
The Navy band was often an ensemble of a fife and drummer until the group expanded and became the United States Navy Band, the oldest band in the U.S. Navy. In May 1794, Captain Robert Dale ordered a crew that consisted of 21 privates, one sergeant, one corporal, and two musicians. In 1836, John H. Page became the first bandmaster in the Navy. The United States Navy Band's headquarters is at the Washington Navy Yard.[20] They perform at official events and public concerts around the city.
The U Street Corridor is a commercial and residential district in Northwest Washington, D.C., that holds many restaurants, clubs, shops, and art galleries. Formerly known as "Washington's Black Broadway", U Street was once the center of African-American culture in the United States. U Street is the home to the Bohemian Caverns and the Lincoln Theatre, and is where famed DC-native jazz musician Duke Ellington began his career. That area was an important center for jazz music during the jazz age.
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.
The Capital One Arena in Chinatown, home to the Capitals, Mystics, Wizards and the Georgetown Hoyas, is also a major venue for concerts, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) professional wrestling, and other events, having replaced the old Capital Centre. Since its opening in 1997, the arena has served as a catalyst of prosperity in Chinatown. Office buildings, high-end condominiums, restaurant chains, movie theatres, and other luxuries have sprung up around Chinatown. On the downside, the growth has forced out many Chinatown landmarks, and only a fraction of Chinatown remains "Chinese".[25]
The city's soccer team, D.C. United, is the most successful franchise in MLS history, with 4 league championships and 10 total tournament victories, both league highs. The city is also considered the most passionate soccer market, with a list of people including MLS Commissioner Don Garber and TV Commentator (and former US National team and MLS star) Eric Wynalda outright declaring Washington the country's best soccer market.
Washington, D.C. has a robust and vibrant food scene[26] that has been growing in recent years.[27]
D.C. is the birthplace of the half-smoke,[28] which is a half-pork, half-beef sausage, typically placed in a hotdog-style bun and topped with chili, onions, and mustard. Half-smokes are sold at numerous locations throughout the D.C. region, but are most notably sold at the city's landmark restaurant, Ben's Chili Bowl. Mumbo sauce is a D.C.-area condiment that is a mix of sweet barbeque and ketchup sauce, often placed on meat or french fries. Washington is also the birthplace of jumbo slice pizza, which is an enlarged New York-style pizza. Jumbo slice is particularly popular in the Adams Morgan neighborhood.[29]
The Gin Rickey was invented in 1883 at Shoomaker's in Washington, D.C.[34] and is D.C.'s official cocktail.[35]
D.C.'s fine dining scene is among the most prominent in the country. As of 2023, the city had the third-highest number of Michelin-starred restaurants in the United States, only after New York City and San Francisco.
The Washington Post is the oldest and most-read daily newspaper in Washington, and it has developed into one of the most reputable daily newspapers in the U.S. It is most notable for exposing the Watergate scandal, among other achievements. The Washington Post also had a daily free newspaper called the Express, summarizing events, sports, and entertainment. The conservative daily The Washington Times, online DCist, and free weekly Washington City Paper also have substantial readership in the District, as does the magazine Washingtonian. On February 1, 2005, the free daily tabloidWashington Examiner debuted, having been formed from a chain of suburban newspapers known as the Journal Newspapers.
Many neighborhoods in the District have their own community newspapers, usually published on a weekly basis. Some of these include The Current Newspapers, which has editions serving Dupont Circle, Foggy Bottom, Georgetown, Chevy Chase, 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), and DC North (Northeast DC). In addition, several specialty newspapers serve the U.S. Congress; most notable are Roll Call and The Hill.
The metro area is 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 WRC 4 (NBC), WTTG 5 (Fox), WJLA 7 (ABC), WUSA 9 (CBS), WDCA 20 (MyNetwork TV) and WDCW 50 (The CW) as well as WETA 26 and WHUT 32 (PBS) stations. Channels 4 and 5 are Owned-and-operated stations. Public Access on Cable Television is 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. A regional news station, News Channel 8, is carried on Channel 8 on all cable systems in Washington, D.C. and surrounding communities. Additionally, most Baltimore area television stations can be seen in the Washington region. Besides being viewed clearly in the District, they can especially be seen in the suburbs of the Interstate 95 corridor between both cities. They are:
Spanish-language television is also represented by TelemundoWZDC-LP 25 and Telefutura affiliate WMDO-CA 47, but these are low-power television stations limited to within the Capital Beltway area. Univision's WFDC 14, however, transmits as a full power station and can be received as far north as Baltimore.
Incidentally, D.C's Univision and Telefutura stations (owned by Entravision) switched call letters on January 1, 2006; meaning that now Univision is the only Spanish station which can be seen at full power over the whole Washington metropolitan area. The Univision network moved from low-powered Channel 47/WMDO to full-powered Channel 14/WFDC; Univision's youth-oriented Telefutura network moved from 14 to 47. The change caused Univision and Telefutura to exchange channel locations on D.C. area cable TV systems, too.
Azteca America announced they would start transmitting from a new full powered Spanish-language broadcast affiliate in the region, Channel 69/WQAW-LD on October 6, 2006, as well as its addition to local channel lineups for Comcast Cable. However it has not been seen on the air as of yet. Earliest reports from viewers do not indicate availability of its broadcasts inside the District, as far south as Prince William County, Virginia, or as far north as the Columbia/Baltimore area.
The Sports Junkies is a popular sports talk radio show on 106.7 FM. The show's hosts John Auville, Eric Bickel, Jason Bishop, and John-Paul Flaim, are life-long friends and have been working together on the show since 1996. The show is on weekdays from 6am to 10am.
WOL 1450 AM, WKYS 93.9 FM, and WMMJ 102.3 are owned by Washington's Radio One, the largest African American media conglomerate in the country. It was founded by Cathy Hughes, a prominent figure in Washington radio since her days at Howard University's WHUR.
The Latino community represents 9% of Washington, D.C.'s population.[citation needed] In 2010, the largest Latino population in Washington, D.C., were Salvadorans, followed by Mexicans and Puerto Ricans respectively.[37] Communities from Peru, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, and other Latin American countries are also represented in Washington, D.C.
Services
Spanish is the second most-spoken language in the country. Many government programs and facilities provide services in Spanish for the Latino community. Centers, such as the Whiteman-Walker Clinic and the Department of Human Services, offer services in Spanish and have special programs for the Latino community. The Metro and other transportation systems offer information in both English and Spanish. The Office of Latino Affairs was created in 1976 to serve the Latino community in the area. Ayuda is a national immigration legal directory that helps Latinos and other immigrants with legal issues.[38] The Hispanic Access Foundation is a non-profit organization in Washington, D.C., that works to improve the lives of Latinos in the United States by promoting civic engagement and helping them gain trustworthy support systems.[39]
Health
Several medical centers, such as La Clínica del Pueblo, Mary's Center, and M Health Fairview, cater to the needs of the Latino population by providing services in Spanish. Many hospitals offer bilingual services including translators and bilingual staff on call twenty-four hours a day.
Sarasota is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Greater Tampa Bay Area, and north of Fort Myers and Punta Gorda. Its official limits include Sarasota Bay and several barrier islands between the bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Sarasota is a principal city of the Sarasota metropolitan area. According to the 2020 U.S. census, Sarasota had a population of 54,842.
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington is 135 miles (217 km) southwest of Chicago and 162 miles (261 km) northeast of St. Louis. The 2020 census showed the city had a population of 78,680, making it the 13th-most populated city in Illinois and the fifth-most populous outside the Chicago Metropolitan Area. Combined with Normal, the twin cities have a population of roughly 130,000. The Bloomington area is home to Illinois Wesleyan University and Illinois State University. It also serves as the headquarters for State Farm Insurance and Country Financial.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. It was named in 1964 as a memorial to assassinated President John F. Kennedy. Opened on September 8, 1971, the center hosts many different genres of performance art, such as theater, dance, orchestras, jazz, pop, psychedelic, and folk music.
Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) is an American professional ballet company and school based in Harlem, New York City. It was founded in 1969 under the directorship of Arthur Mitchell and later partnered with Karel Shook. Milton Rosenstock served as the company's music director from 1981 to 1992. The DTH is renowned for being both "the first Black classical ballet company", and "the first major ballet company to prioritize Black dancers".
Penn Quarter, often referred to as Old Downtown, is a historic neighborhood of Downtown Washington, D.C., located north of Pennsylvania Avenue, in Northwest D.C. Penn Quarter is roughly equivalent to the city's early downtown core near Pennsylvania Avenue and 7th Street NW, Penn Quarter is an entertainment and commercial hub, home to many museums, theaters, cinemas, restaurants, bars, art galleries and retail shops. Landmarks include the Capital One Arena, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Harman Center for the Arts, among others. The area is also home to a popular farmers market and several food, wine, art, and culture focused festivals.
Michael M. Kaiser is an American arts administrator who served as president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (2001–2014) in Washington, D.C.
The New National Theatre, Tokyo (NNTT) is Japan's first and foremost national centre for the performing arts, including opera, ballet, contemporary dance and drama. It is located in the Shinjuku area of Tokyo. Since 1997 more than 650 productions were staged. There are about 300 performances per season with approximately 200,000 theatergoers. The centre has been praised for its architecture and state-of-the-art modern theatre facilities, which are considered among the best in the world. In 2007, the NNTT was branded with the advertising slogan: Opera Palace, Tokyo.
The Shakespeare in Washington Festival was a cultural festival held in Washington, D.C. from January through June 2007 in honor of the works of William Shakespeare.
The Gateway Region is the primary urbanized area of the northeastern section of New Jersey. It is anchored by Newark, the state's most populous city. It is part of the New York metropolitan area.
This article gives an overview of the media in Washington, D.C., United States. As the country's capital city, Washington has a heavy and historic media presence. Numerous of the country's main news outlets have either their headquarters in the Washington area or major offices in the area. Additionally, numerous local media organizations as well as international news companies have Washington correspondents that cover American political, cultural, and diplomatic news from the city.
The Suzanne Farrell Ballet is a ballet company housed at the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C., and founded in 2000 by Suzanne Farrell, one of George Balanchine's most celebrated ballerinas, and a former New York City Ballet principal dancer. Until 2017, the Suzanne Farrell Ballet was a full-fledged company produced by the Kennedy Center and had performed there since 1999 in addition to presenting extensive national and international tours. In September 2016, the Center announced that the company would be disbanding at the end of 2017, citing "possibilities of new expansion" and indicating that Farrell would likely return to "full-time teaching."
Grace Cavalieri is an American poet, playwright, and radio host of the Library of Congress program The Poet and the Poem. In 2019, she was appointed the tenth Poet Laureate of Maryland.
Tessitura is an enterprise application used by performing arts and cultural organisations to manage their activities in ticketing, fundraising, customer relationship management, and marketing. It refers to itself as "arts enterprise software."
Kyle Abraham is an American choreographer and dancer. He founded his own company A.I.M by Kyle Abraham in 2006 in New York City and has produced many original works for A.I.M such as The Radio Show (2010), Absent Matter (2015), Pavement (2012), Dearest Home (2017), Drive (2017), INDY (2018), Studies on Farewell (2019), and An Untitled Love (2021). Kyle has also been commissioned to create new works for international dance companies such as Untitled America (2016) for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, The Runaway (2018) for New York City Ballet, The Bystander (2019) for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Only The Lonely (2019) for Paul Taylor American Modern Dance and Ash (2019).
The arts in Atlanta are well-represented, with a prominent presence in music, fine art, and theater.
The cross cultural arts festival known as INTERSECTIONS: A New America Arts Festival is a music, theater and dance festival held annually in Washington, D.C.
Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts (CCTA) is a Greater Washington D.C. Area regional theater school based in Columbia, Maryland. CCTA is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that is funded, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Maryland State Arts Council, and the Howard County Arts Council from Howard County, Maryland.
Shawn Short is an American choreographer, dancer, photographer, and film director. He also established the Ngoma Center for Dance and its main program, Dissonance Dance Theatre.
References
1 2 Meersman, Roger (1980). "The Kennedy Center: From Dream to Reality". Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 50: 527.
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