Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly called Washington or D.C., is the capital city and the federal district of the United States. The city is located on the east bank of the Potomac River, which forms its southwestern border with Virginia and borders Maryland to its north and east. Washington, D.C. was named for George Washington, a Founding Father, victorious commanding general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and the first president of the United States, who is widely considered the "Father of his country". The district is named for Columbia, the female personification of the nation.
Judiciary Square is a neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C., the vast majority of which is occupied by various federal and municipal courthouses and office buildings. Judiciary Square is located roughly between Pennsylvania Avenue to the south, H Street to the north, 6th Street to the west, and the Interstate 395 access tunnel to the east.
The Council of the District of Columbia is the legislative branch of the government of the District of Columbia. As permitted in the United States Constitution, the district is not part of any U.S. state and is overseen directly by the federal government.
The history of Washington, D.C., is tied to its role as the capital of the United States. The site of the District of Columbia along the Potomac River was first selected by President George Washington. The city came under attack during the War of 1812 in an episode known as the Burning of Washington. Upon the government's return to the capital, it had to manage the reconstruction of numerous public buildings, including the White House and the United States Capitol. The McMillan Plan of 1901 helped restore and beautify the downtown core area, including establishing the National Mall, along with numerous monuments and museums.
Freedom Plaza, originally known as Western Plaza, is an open plaza in Northwest Washington, D.C., United States, located near 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, adjacent to Pershing Park. The plaza features an inlay that partially depicts Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant's plan for the City of Washington. The National Park Service administers the Plaza as part of its Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site and coordinates the Plaza's activities.
The Taft Bridge is a historic bridge located in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. It carries Connecticut Avenue over the Rock Creek gorge, including Rock Creek and the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, connecting the neighborhoods of Woodley Park and Kalorama. It is named after former United States president and Supreme Court Chief Justice William Howard Taft, and sits to the southwest of the Duke Ellington Bridge.
Petworth is a residential neighborhood in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. It is bounded to the east by the Armed Forces Retirement Home and Rock Creek Cemetery, to the west by Arkansas Avenue NW, to the south by Rock Creek Church Road NW and Spring Road NW, and to the north by Kennedy Street NW.
Alexander Robey Shepherd, was one of the most controversial and influential civic leaders in the history of Washington, D.C., and one of the most powerful big-city political bosses of the Gilded Age. He was head of the DC Board of Public Works from 1871 to 1873 and Governor of the District of Columbia from 1873 to 1874. He is known, particularly in Washington, as "The Father of Modern Washington."
The District of Columbia has a mayor–council government that operates under Article One of the United States Constitution and the District of Columbia Home Rule Act. The Home Rule Act devolves certain powers of the United States Congress to the local government, which consists of a mayor and a 13-member council. However, Congress retains the right to review and overturn laws created by the council and intervene in local affairs.
District of Columbia City Hall, also known as "Old City Hall" and the "District of Columbia Courthouse", is a historic building at Judiciary Square in downtown Washington, D.C. facing Indiana Avenue. Originally built for the offices of the government of the District of Columbia, the District's courthouse was subsequently used as a Federal courthouse, and was the scene of several notable criminal trials including those of three accused presidential assassins. The building was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960. It now houses the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
Washington, D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. Below is a list of Washington, D.C.-related articles.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to District of Columbia:
The Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium is a 750-seat historic Neoclassical auditorium located at 1301 Constitution Avenue NW in Washington, D.C. The auditorium, which connects two wings of the William Jefferson Clinton Federal Building, is owned by the U.S. government but available for use by the public.
Brevet Lt. General Winfield Scott is an equestrian statue in Washington, D.C., that honors career military officer Winfield Scott. The monument stands in the center of Scott Circle, a traffic circle and small park at the convergence of 16th Street, Massachusetts Avenue and Rhode Island Avenue NW. The statue was sculpted by Henry Kirke Brown, whose best-known works include statues of George Washington in New York and Nathanael Greene in Washington, D.C. It was the first of many sculptures honoring Civil War generals that were installed in Washington, D.C.'s traffic circles and squares and was the second statue in the city to honor Scott.
The statue of John Aaron Rawlins, a United States Army general who served during the Civil War and later as Secretary of War, is a focal point of Rawlins Park, a small public park in Washington, D.C.'s Foggy Bottom neighborhood. It was installed in 1874, but relocated several times between 1880 and 1931. The statue was sculpted by French-American artist Joseph A. Bailly, whose best known work is the statue of George Washington in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
Alexander Robey Shepherd is a bronze statue, by Ulric Stonewall Jackson Dunbar. It is located at the John A. Wilson Building, Northwest, Washington, D.C., on the north front.
The Samuel Hahnemann Monument, also known as Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, is a public artwork dedicated to Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy. It is located on the east side of Scott Circle, a traffic circle in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. The Classical Revival monument consists of an exedra designed by architect Julius Harder and a statue sculpted by Charles Henry Niehaus, whose works include the John Paul Jones Memorial in Washington, D.C., and several statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection. The monument is significant because Hahnemann is the first foreigner not associated with the American Revolution to be honored with a sculpture in Washington, D.C.
One Judiciary Square is a highrise office building at 441 Fourth Street NW in the Judiciary Square neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Designed by architect Vlastimil Koubek, the building is 129.67 feet (39.52 m) tall and has approximately 10 floors. Its construction ended in 1990.
The mayor of the District of Columbia is the head of the executive branch of the government of the District of Columbia. The mayor has the duty to enforce district laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the D.C. Council. In addition, the mayor oversees all district services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and the district public school system. The mayor's office oversees an annual district budget of $8.8 billion. The mayor's executive office is located in the John A. Wilson Building in Downtown Washington, D.C. The mayor appoints several officers, including the deputy mayors for Education and Planning & Economic Development, the district administrator, the chancellor of the district's public schools, and the department heads of the district agencies.
The Henry J. Daly Building is located at 300 Indiana Avenue, NW, and 301 C Street, NW, in the Judiciary Square neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. The administrative building is owned by the government of the District of Columbia and has served as the home of various city offices since it opened in 1941 as a unified location for previously dispersed municipal functions. Currently, the building is primarily occupied by the Metropolitan Police Department; although the District of Columbia Department of Corrections, the District of Columbia Office of the Chief Financial Officer and the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA) also maintain offices in the building.
