Washington

About Washington, District of Columbia 

Washington, D.C., or District of Columbia in full, serves as the nation's capital. It is situated on the northern shore of the Potomac River at the river's navigation head, or the transshipment point between waterway and land transport, and is coextensive with the District of Columbia (the city is frequently referred to as simply "D.C."). Maryland shares borders with the District of Columbia to the north, east, and west, and Virginia shares borders with the District along the Potomac River's southern bank. 

The U.S. Congress created a 100 square mile (260 square kilometre) region in 1790 to act as the federal government's permanent seat. (The region, in which Washington, D.C., was established, was eventually given the name District of Columbia.) The new territory's position was in the middle of the Eastern Seaboard states, roughly 90 miles (145 km) inland from the Atlantic Ocean, and it was on land that Maryland and Virginia had given up. The area south of the Potomac River that Virginia had given up was given back to the state in the middle of the 19th century, which resulted in the district's current size. 

After the American Civil War (1861–1865), Washington's population grew beyond the area that had been initially envisioned, and the city formally merged with the District of Columbia. Washington, D.C., which is still a territory and not a state, has been run by a locally elected mayor and city council since 1974, although Congress has the veto authority. Nearly 4,000 square miles (10,360 square km) or 10 counties make up the Washington metropolitan region, with Montgomery, Prince George's, Frederick, Charles, and Calvert being the five counties in Maryland and five counties in Virginia (Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Stafford, and Prince William). District has a land area of 68 miles (176 square km). Population: 572,059 in 2000; 3,727,565 in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Metro Division; 4,796,183 in 2010; 601,723 in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Metro Division; 4,377,088 in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Metro Area. 

Character of the City 

A thriving federal city, an international metropolis, a scenic tourist attraction, a priceless repository of the nation's history and relics, and a metropolitan hub with a quaint small-town feel, Washington is an extraordinary city with many characters. Washington's significance as the nation's capital frequently overshadows its vibrant local history and its challenging political, economic, and social problems. The U.S. government owns about half of the land in Washington and doesn't have to pay taxes on it. The federal government employs several hundred thousand individuals in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region. 

The "suburban flight" of the middle class throughout the latter half of the 20th century was a factor in the city losing more than one-fourth of its population. The population of the suburbs rose by up to 50% per decade as new employment, particularly in high-tech companies, were generated in Maryland and Virginia. However, by the first decade of the twenty-first century, younger employees had started to relocate into the city's renovated neighborhoods, which led to an increase in Washington's population. The economy of the district and the adjacent states of Maryland and Virginia continue to be interconnected despite these population migrations. 

Climate 

Washington experiences high humidity levels in its moderate environment. The amount of precipitation falls uniformly throughout the year, averaging between 3 and 4 inches (75 and 100 mm) every month. Extremes in temperature and significant snowfalls are uncommon during the rainy winter months. Considering that the usual winter daytime temperature is in the mid-30s F (about 2 °C), the infrequent moist, light snow frequently evaporates rapidly. However, freezing temperatures at night can swiftly turn the melted snow to ice. In the summer, there are frequently brief spikes in temperature that are accompanied by excessive humidity. Mid-70s Fahrenheit (approximately 24 °C) is the typical summertime daytime temperature, however highs above 100 °F (about 39 °C) sometimes happen. Pleasantly mild seasons that are often longer than summer and winter are spring and fall. 

City Layout 

City Plan 

Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a French army engineer who participated in the American Revolution, served as Washington's creative planner. L'Enfant's mastery of 18th-century Baroque landscape architecture and his experience with the city of Paris and the grounds of Versailles were two important influences on his imagination as he built the capital city. L'Enfant carefully considered essential sites for principal buildings based on the order of their importance, starting with the U.S. Capitol building, which he put on a high ridge, and adjusted the city's formal plan to the area's natural terrain. He then figuratively connected it to the White House, which is located on a somewhat lower slope, through Pennsylvania Avenue. 

L'Enfant divided the city into four sections: the northwest (the largest quadrant), the northeast, the southeast, and the southwest by centering the Capitol on the street layout and drawing surveyors' lines through it to the points of the compass. North Capitol, East Capitol, and South Capitol streets are three of the four surveyors' lines that became actual streets. From the Capitol to the Potomac River in the west, the fourth dividing line runs across the center of the mall. 

Wide north-south and east-west flowing streets are arranged in a grid over a pattern of large diagonal avenues in Washington. As a result, a well-planned network of broad avenues lined with trees opens up beautiful views and connects to both potent focal points and spacious public areas. While their intersections with grid streets generate triangular and trapezoidal lots and parks, the intersections of two or three diagonal avenues are interrupted with landscaped circles and squares, creating fascinating streetscapes. 

North-south streets are numbered, whereas east-west streets are lettered. Both numbered and lettered streets are divided into two sets. East of the Capitol, one set of numbered streets begins, while west of the Capitol, another set begins. To the north and south of the Capitol, the two corresponding sets of lettered streets start. Following the name of each street is the quadrant it is located in, abbreviated (e.g., 1st Street NW or A Street SE). The two B Streets were renamed Constitution Avenue and Independence Avenue, and there are no J, X, Y, or Z streets. Several diagonal streets bear state names from the United States. 

During the city's centennial celebration in 1900, L'Enfant's city plan was revised (Congress first convened in Washington in 1800). The nation's top architects, artists, and landscape designers were hired by the Senate Park Commission, led by Michigan senator James McMillan, to evaluate and improve L'Enfant's concept for the 20th century. In the end, numerous new monuments, federal structures, parks, and museums were built. 

To safeguard the L'Enfant plan and restore its neglected components, a new 100-year "Extending the Legacy" concept was unveiled in 1997. The National Capital Planning Commission's plan aims to entice local authorities, foreign organizations, and private developers to settle in some of the city's less developed neighborhoods, to boost the local economy, to revitalize Washington's vast waterfront properties, and to enhance public transportation both within the city and in the surrounding area. 

Architecture 

Restrictions on building height, classicism, and conservatism have all had a significant impact on the architecture of Washington. On the other hand, Modernism started to make a difference around the middle of the 20th century. 

Concerns about the fire safety and aesthetics of tall buildings led Congress to impose height restrictions for buildings in Washington as early as 1899. The Height of Buildings Act of 1910 also guaranteed the city's horizontal landscape. No building in Washington may be taller than 130 feet (40 meters), yet some constructions are permitted to extend an additional 30 feet along certain sections of Pennsylvania Avenue (9 metres). The maximum width of an office building on a street is the street's width plus 20 feet (6 meters), and the majority of them are roughly 120 feet (37 meters) wide. As a result, D.C. lacks the distinctive skyscrapers present in other sizable American cities. Additionally, as the city grew, it stretched out rather than up, replacing low-rise business and residential neighborhoods with rows of uniform box-like office buildings. 

Many of Washington's buildings' architecture and design have been influenced by classicism since 1800. (a style known for rationality, beauty, order, and balance). The evolution of classical architecture in Washington has occurred in stages, with the 18th-century Georgian and Palladian styles, the 19th-century Greek Revival and Second Empire styles, the early 20th-century Neoclassical style, which was influenced by Art Deco, the mid-20th-century Modernism, and finally the late 20th and early 21st-century postmodernism. 

Some of the earliest Classical constructions include the White House (18th-century Palladian architecture) and the Capitol (19th-century Greek Revival). William Thornton created the Capitol's design in 1792. (Later additions included the Renaissance-style cast-iron dome and the building's two enormous marble wings, one for the Senate and one for the House of Representatives.) One of the world's greatest mansions for a head of state is the White House, which James Hoban created in 1792 and was influenced by Leinster House in Dublin, Ireland. The Treasury Department building from the 19th century and the Supreme Court building from the 20th century both add to the legacy of classical architecture in Washington. The Federal Triangle office buildings are examples of the more contemporary and Art Deco-influenced Neoclassical designs. They were constructed in the years following World War I (1914–18) in response to the government's requirement for additional office space. Buildings for the Federal Trade Commission, the National Archives, the Internal Revenue Service, the Postal Service, and the Department of Justice are among them. The Ronald Reagan Structure and International Trade Center is a late addition to the Federal Triangle buildings that was dedicated in 1998. Inside, it includes a soaring atrium, while the outside of the building is classical, mirroring that of its older neighbors. 

The architecture of many of Washington's private and governmental buildings reflects a heritage of conservatism. In Washington, new architectural trends are rarely used until years after they have gained popularity elsewhere in the nation. The use of the Second Empire style from the 1850s, particularly in the structure that once housed the Corcoran art collection (now known as the Renwick Gallery), and the early 1980s postmodern style, which was used in numerous commercial structures on Connecticut Avenue close to Dupont Circle and on Pennsylvania Avenue in the east end of Georgetown, were two exceptions to this rule. 

The majority of Washington's early buildings were replaced by those of the 20th-century Modernist movement, which promoted an architectural style that was devoid of adornment, despite the city's currents of Classicism and architectural conservatism. There aren't many early 19th-century structures still standing in Downtown Washington, with the exception of three 1820s-era homes located at 637–641 Indiana Avenue in Northwest D.C. The facades of numerous other earlier buildings were successfully saved by historic preservation efforts around the turn of the 20th century, and some of these facades can be seen today along Red Lion Row on the 2000 block of Pennsylvania Avenue in Northwest Washington, D.C. 

The housing in Washington reflects the shifting preferences and demands of the various demographic groupings. Block after block of linked row houses in mid-19th century residential districts, with only minor variations in size, height, design, and building material. Greater lots were available in later 19th-century neighborhoods that expanded beyond the original city limits, and many single-family homes with a variety of architectural styles were built for the middle class's ascension. Elegantly designed multiroom houses with terra-cotta trim were built in the 1870s out of limestone or ornate brick, especially in Northwest Washington, D.C.'s Dupont Circle and Kalorama neighborhoods. Many of these homes were transformed into embassies, exclusive clubs, and office buildings starting in the 1930s. To accommodate the expanding number of government employees, apartment buildings were constructed throughout World War I, immediately following the conflict, and again following World War II (1939–45). At the same time, senior government officials, military officers, and ambassadors favored luxurious apartment-hotels. By the turn of the century, some of Washington's once underdeveloped neighborhoods had seen the construction of brand-new condominium complexes, luxury hotels, and mixed-use apartment buildings. 

Population 

The city of Washington is situated in the county of District of Columbia. It is the largest city in the District of Columbia and the 21st largest city in the United States as of 2020, with a population of 768,583. Washington's population has grown by 9.49% since the most recent census, which showed a population of 701,974 in 2020, and is now rising at a pace of 1.16% annually. Washington has a population density of 12,572 persons per square mile and a length of nearly 68 miles. 

The poverty rate in Washington is 17.48%, with an average household income of $127,890. The median monthly cost of rent in recent years has been, and the median value of a home is. In Washington, the median age is 34.1 years, 34 years for men and 34.2 years for women. 

The capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. (officially the District of Columbia), commonly referred to as the District, D.C., or simply Washington. Both Maryland and Virginia gave property for the creation of this capital region on the Potomac River in 1790, which comprised parts of Alexandria and Georgetown. Washington, D.C. was formally established in 1791 and is called in honor of George Washington. 

The population of Washington, D.C., which was estimated at 632,300 in 2012, is thought to have increased slightly in 2013. Although it is currently the 24th most populous city in the country, its 5.7 million residents make up the 7th largest metropolitan area. The number of people living in Washington, D.C. increases by one million throughout the workweek as commuters pour in from the suburbs of Virginia and Maryland. 

The Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Region, which is the fourth-largest Combined Statistical Area in the United States, has a population of more than 8.5 million when the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area includes Baltimore and its suburbs. 

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Current City Mayor 

Muriel Bowser is dedicated to ensuring that every Washingtonian has an equal opportunity to succeed in a developing and flourishing Washington, DC. Her administration is committed to furthering DC values, increasing equity in prosperity, and creating safer, more resilient, and healthier neighborhoods throughout DC's eight wards. 

In contrast to other American cities, Washington, DC has a mayor who also serves as a governor, county executive, and mayor. Like governors, Mayor Bowser has the power to manage Medicaid, issue licenses, and collect taxes. Mayor Bowser manages the public education system in addition to managing the local jail, unlike the majority of mayors who only manage the local jail. In 2020, Washington, DC will have a population of 705,000 spread across 68 square miles, a AAA bond rating, and a more than $15 billion yearly budget. 

On November 6, 2018, Muriel Bowser won a second term as mayor of Washington, DC, making history as the first woman to do so and the first mayor to do it in 16 years. Since taking office, the Mayor has made bold decisions to improve the competitiveness of DC both nationally and internationally, hastened the production of affordable housing, diversified the DC economy, raised satisfaction with city services, and made investments in programs and policies that will enable more families to live and prosper in DC. 

Bowser held the position of Ward 4 Councilmember on the District of Columbia Council before taking office as mayor in 2015. He was initially elected in a special election in 2007 and re-elected in 2008 and 2012. She was a Councilwoman and chaired the Committee on Economic Development, which oversaw the construction of the new soccer stadium, more over 5,000 affordable housing units, and the acquisition of the best Walter Reed site for DC by the federal government. Additionally, she inspired her colleagues to approve extensive ethics reform and more open government contracts. 

In addition to receiving honorary doctorates from Trinity University and Chatham University, Mayor Bowser has a Bachelor of Arts in History from Chatham University, a Master of Arts in Public Policy from American University, and a Master of Public Policy from American University. She was elected to her first elected position as an Advisory Community Commissioner in the Riggs Park neighborhood, where she has more than 20 years of experience in local government.