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Washington D.C.
Washington,
D.C. is the capital city of the United
States of America. "D.C." stands for the
"District of Columbia" which is the federal
district containing the city
of Washington. The city is named for George Washington,
military leader of the American Revolution and the first
President of the United
States. The District of Columbia and the city of Washington
are coextensive and are governed by a single municipal
government, so for most practical purposes they are considered
to be the same entity. It is known locally as the District
or simply D.C. Historically, it was called the Federal
City.
The
District of Columbia, founded on July 16, 1790, is a federal
district as specified by the United States Constitution
with limited—and sometimes contentious—local
rule. The District is ruled "in all cases whatsoever"
by the U.S. Congress, while nevertheless going unrepresented
in that body. The land forming the original District came
from the states of Virginia
and Maryland.
However, the area south of the Potomac River (39 mi²
or about 100 km²) was returned, or "retroceded",
to Virginia
in 1847 and now is incorporated into Arlington County
and the City
of Alexandria. The term "District of Columbia"
uses an old poetic name for the United
States, Columbia, which has otherwise fallen out of
common use since the early 20th century.
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The centers
of all three branches of the U.S. federal government are in
Washington, D.C.,
as well as the headquarters of most federal agencies. Washington
also serves as the headquarters for the World Bank, the International
Monetary Fund, and the Organization of American States, among
other international (and national) institutions. All of this
has made Washington
the frequent focal point of massive political demonstrations
and protests, particularly on the National Mall. Washington
is also the site of numerous national landmarks, museums, and
sports teams, and is a popular destination for tourists.
The population
of the District of
Columbia, as of 2003 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, is 563,384.
The Greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area includes the
District of Columbia
and parts of Maryland,
Virginia, and West
Virginia, with a population surpassing 4.7 million. If Washington,
D.C. were considered a state, it would rank last in area
behind Rhode Island,
50th in population ahead of Wyoming,
and 36th in Gross State Product, ahead of 15 states.
Washington D.C. Arial View
| County
(none) |
Federal
district |
1888
German Map of Washington D.C. |
Area
- Total
- Water |
177.0
km² (68.3 mi²)
18.0 km² (6.9 mi²) 10.6% |
Population
- Total (2004)
- Density
- Metropolitan |
553,523
(est.)
3,481.3 /km²
1,592.6/km² |
| Time
zone |
Eastern:
UTC–5 |
| Location |
38°53'22.56?
N 77°2'6.72? W |
| Mayor
(2005) |
Anthony
A. Williams |
| City
Motto |
Justitia
Omnibus (Justice for All) |
| City
Nickname |
"D.C." |
| Official
Bird |
Wood
Thrush |
| |
|
History
A Southern
site for the capital was agreed at a dinner between Thomas Jefferson
and Alexander Hamilton. The initial plan for the Federal City
was a diamond, ten miles wide on each side, giving it 100 square
miles (260 square kilometers). The actual site on the Potomac
River was chosen by President Washington. Washington may have
chosen the site for its natural scenery, in the belief that
the Potomac would become a great navigable waterway. The city
was officially named "Washington" on September 9,
1791. Out of a sense of modesty, George Washington never referred
to it as such, preferring to call it "the Federal City".
Despite choosing the site and living nearby at Mount Vernon,
he rarely visited.
On August
24, 1814, British forces burnt the capital during the most notable
destructive raid of the War of 1812. President James Madison
and U.S. forces fled and British forces burned public buildings
including the Capitol, the Navy Yard, and the Treasury building.
The Presidential Mansion was also gutted.
Washington
remained a small city of a few thousand permanent residents
until the outbreak of the U.S. Civil War in 1861. The significant
expansion of the federal government to administer the war—and
its legacies, such as veterans' pensions—led to notable
growth in the city's population. But on April 14, 1865, just
days after the end of the war, President Abraham Lincoln was
assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in Ford's Theater.
In the early
1870s, Washington was given a territorial government, but governor
Alexander 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.
Newspaper Row, Washington, D.C., 1874
The Washington
Monument opened in 1888. Plans were laid to further develop
the monumental aspects of the city, with work contributed by
such noted figures as Frederick Law Olmsted and Daniel Burnham.
However, development of the Lincoln Memorial and other structures
on the National Mall did not get underway until the early 20th
century.
The Twenty-third
Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on
March 29, 1961 allowing residents of Washington,
D.C. to vote for president and have their votes count in
the Electoral College.
The District's
population peaked in 1950, when the Census for that year recorded
a record population of 802,178 people. At the time, that ranked
the city as the ninth-largest in the country, ahead of Boston
and behind Saint Louis. The population declined in the following
decades, mirroring the suburban out-migration of many of the
nation's older urban centers following World War II.
The first
4.6 miles (7.4 kilometers) of the Washington Metro subway system
opened on March 27, 1976.
Walter Washington
became the first elected mayor of the District in 1974. Marion
Barry became mayor in 1978, but was arrested for drug use in
an FBI sting on January 18, 1990, and would serve a six-month
jail term. His successor, Sharon Pratt Kelly, became the first
black woman to lead a city of that size and importance in the
U.S. But Barry defeated her in the 1994 primary and was once
again elected mayor for his fourth term, during which the city
nearly became insolvent and was forced to give up some home
rule to a Congressionally appointed financial control board.
The Washington
area was the target of at least one of the four hijacked planes
in the September 11, 2001 attacks. One plane struck the Pentagon
in nearby Arlington County, Virginia,
killing 125 people in addition to the 64 aboard the plane, while
another that was downed in a field in Pennsylvania
is believed by many to have been intended to hit the U.S. Capitol.
Shortly
thereafter, Washington
endured an anthrax attack, when what may have been a domestic
terrorist sent anthrax-contaminated mail to numerous members
of Congress. Thirty-one staff members were infected, and two
U.S. Postal Service employees at a contaminated mail sorting
facility at Brentwood
later died.
During three
weeks of October 2002, John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo
killed ten people and wounded three others in the region in
what became known as the Beltway Sniper attacks. One person
was killed in the extreme northern part of the District. In
March 2004, Muhammad was sentenced to death and Malvo to life
imprisonment by a Virginia court.
In November
2003, the toxin ricin was found in the mailroom of the White
House, and in February 2004, in the mailroom of U.S. Senate
Majority Leader Bill Frist. As with the earlier anthrax attacks,
no arrests have been made.
Partly in
response to these events from the past few years, the Washington
area has taken many steps to increase security.
When US
forces in Pakistan raided a house suspected of being a terrorist
hideout, they found information several years old, about attacks
on Washington, D.C.,
New
York City, and Newark,
New Jersey. It was directed to intelligence officials, and
on August 1, 2004, the Secretary of Homeland Security put the
city on Orange (High) Alert.
A few days
later security checkpoints were popping up in and around the
Capitol Hill and Foggy Bottom neighborhoods, and fences were
erected on monuments once freely accessible, such as the Capitol.
Tours to the White House can only be arranged by a member of
Congress. Screening devices for biological agents, metal detectors,
and vehicle barriers became much more commonplace at office
buildings as well as government buildings and in transportation
facilities.
This ultra-tight
security was referred to as "Fortress Washington"—people
protested that "Walling off Washington" due to information
several years old was not acceptable.
Thanks in
part to the renewed expansion of the federal government after
the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, as well
as the thriving real estate market, Washington
has experienced a huge housing boom that has seen thousands
of units constructed, along with thousands of people moving
to the District. This has led the city government to dispute
a 2005 estimate made by the Census Bureau that the District's
population will drop to 433,000 by 2030, claiming that Census
officials routinely undercount the city's population and that
the data they employed did not anticipate current economic and
social trends. City officials have also released their own growth
reports that estimate that the District's population will rise
to 712,000 by 2030.
On September
29, 2004, Major League Baseball announced plans to relocate
the Montreal Expos to Washington
for the 2005 season. On November 22, a new name was announced
for the team: the Washington Nationals. A very public back-and-forth
between the city council and MLB threatened to scuttle the agreement
until December 21, when a plan for a new stadium in Southeast
D.C. was finalized. The Nationals will play at R.F.K. Stadium
for the 2005, 2006, and 2007 seasons, with the new stadium slated
to be ready for 2008. The market is also home to many fans of
the Baltimore Orioles whose owner, Peter Angelos, opposed the
move of the Expos to D.C.
On March
8, 2003, the first of more than 40 arson fires (one of which
was fatal) was set in a 26-month-long series of fires set by
a serial arsonist. D.C. resident and KFC manager Thomas Sweatt,
50, was arrested on April 27, 2005 for setting the fires. He
was sentenced to life in prison on September 12, 2005.
Representation
in federal government
The U.S.
Constitution gives Congress direct jurisdiction for Washington,
D.C. While Congress has delegated various amounts of this
authority to local government, from time to time, Congress still
intervenes in local affairs relating to schools, gun control
policy, and other issues. Citizens of the District also lack
voting representation in Congress, though they do have three
electoral votes in the Presidental elections. Citizens of Washington
are represented in the House of Representatives by a non-voting
delegate (currently Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC At-Large)) who
sits on committees and participates in debate but cannot vote.
D.C. does not have representation in the Senate. Citizens of
Washington, D.C.
are thus unique in the world, as citizens of the capital city
of every other country have the same representation rights as
other citizens. Attempts to change this situation, including
the proposed District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment, have
been unsuccessful.
The U.S. Capitol, seat of the Legislative Branch
of the U.S. Federal Government, sits prominently east of the
National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Geography
Washington,
D.C. is located at 38°53'42? N 77°02'11? W (the
coordinates of the Zero Milestone, on The Ellipse). According
to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area
of 177.0 km² (68.3 mi²). 159.0 km² (61.4 mi²)
of it is land and 18.0 km² (6.9 mi²) of it is water.
The total area is 10.16% water.
Washington
is surrounded by the states of Virginia
(on its southwest side, and a small part of its northwest one)
and Maryland (on
its southeast and northeast sides, and most of its northwest
one); it interrupts those states' common border, which is the
Potomac River both upstream and downstream from the District.
The physical
geography of the District of Columbia is very similar to the
physical geography of much of Maryland.
The District has three natural flowing bodies of water: the
Potomac River, the Anacostia River, and Rock Creek. Both Anacostia
River and Rock Creek are tributaries of the Potomac. There are
also three man-made reservoirs: Dalecarlia Reservoir, which
crosses over the northwest border of the District from Maryland,
McMillan Reservoir near Howard University, and Georgetown Reservoir
upstream of Georgetown.
The highest
point in the District of Columbia is 410 feet (125 m) above
sea level at Tenleytown. The lowest point is one foot, which
occurs at least as far up the Potomac River as 0.35 miles (0.57
km) upstream from the terminus of Rock Creek.
Geographical
features of Washington,
DC include Theodore Roosevelt Island, Columbia Island, the
Three Sisters, and Hains Point.
USGS satellite image of Washington, DC, taken
April 26, 2002.
Climate
 Washington's
weather is highly seasonal with extreme variations between summer
and winter, and can be somewhat unpredictable. Summers tend
to be very hot and humid, which tends to be exacerbated in the
heart of the city with the presence of much concrete and steel.
Fall and spring are the best seasons, when chilly but bright,
perfect days are the norm. Sudden rain or snowfalls are possible.
In winter, the city is subject to heavy snowfalls, averaging
17 inches, and sudden arctic blasts or frozen rainstorms. The
highest recorded temperature was 106° F (41° C) in 1918
and 1930, and the lowest recorded temperature was -18° F
(-26° C) on February 11, 1899.
Demographics
|
As of the census of 2000, there are 572,059 people (2004
estimate: 553,523), 248,338 households, and 114,235 families
residing in the city. The population density is 3,597.3/km²
(9,316.4/mi²). There are 274,845 housing units at
an average density of 1,728.3/km² (4,476.1/mi²).
The racial makeup of the city is 60.01% Black or African
American, 32.78% White, 2.66% Asian, 0.30% Native American,
0.06% Pacific Islander, 3.84% from other races, and 2.35%
from two or more races. 7.86% of the population are Hispanic
or Latino of any race, with Salvadorans being the largest
Hispanic group. A plurality of whites are of British ancestry.
There
are 248,338 households out of which 19.8% have children
under the age of 18 living with them, 22.8% are married
couples living together, 18.9% have a female householder
with no husband present, and 54.0% are non-families. 43.8%
of all households are made up of individuals and 10.0%
have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older.
The average household size is 2.16 and the average family
size is 3.07.
In
the city the population is spread out with 20.1% under
the age of 18, 12.7% from 18 to 24, 33.1% from 25 to 44,
21.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who are 65 years of age
or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females
there are 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and
over, there are 86.1 males.
The
median income for a household in the city is $40,127,
and the median income for a family is $46,283. Males have
a median income of $40,513 versus $36,361 for females.
The per capita income for the city is $28,659. 20.2% of
the population and 16.7% of families are below the poverty
line. Out of the total population, 31.1% of those under
the age of 18 and 16.4% of those 65 and older are living
below the poverty line.
As
of 2000, 83.2% of Washington,
D.C. residents age 5 and older speak English at home
and 9.2% speak Spanish. French is the third most spoken
language at 1.8%, followed by African languages at 1.0%
and Chinese at 0.5%.
According
to the 2001 American Religious Identification Survey,
nearly four out of five District residents self-identified
as Christians. This breaks down to 72% Christian (27%
Catholic, 19% Baptist, and 26% as some other form of Protestant),
13% stating no religion, and minor religions including
4% Buddhist, 2% Muslim, and 1% Jewish. As with all survey
data, the estimates are subject to sampling error and
non-response bias. For instance, given that most African
Americans are Baptist or Methodist and blacks comprise
60% of DC's population, it appears that Baptists and Methodists
were undersampled.
|
| Historical
populations |
Census
year |
Population
|
1800 |
8,144
|
1810 |
15,471 |
1820 |
23,336 |
1830 |
30,261 |
1840 |
33,745
|
1850 |
51,687
|
1860 |
75,080 |
1870 |
131,700 |
1880 |
177,624 |
1890 |
230,392 |
1900 |
278,718
|
1910 |
331,069
|
1920 |
437,571 |
1930 |
486,869
|
1940 |
663,091
|
1950 |
802,178 |
1960 |
763,956
|
1970 |
756,510 |
1980 |
638,333
|
1990 |
606,900
|
2000 |
572,059 |
|
Crime
During the
violent crime wave of the early 1990s, Washington,
D.C. was known as the murder capital of the United
States. The number of homicides peaked in 1991 at 482, with
violence declining drastically since then. Once plagued with
violent crime, many D.C. neighborhoods, such as Columbia Heights,
are becoming safe and vibrant areas as a result of gentrification.
While not as intensely violent, crime hot spots have since displaced
further into the eastern sections of Washington, D.C. and across
the border into Maryland.
Although the eastern side of the city has developed a reputation
of being unsafe, these crime hot spots are generally concentrated
in very specific areas that are associated with drugs and gangs.
Other areas east of the U.S. Capitol, as well as the city's
wealthier Northwest neighborhoods, experience low levels of
crime. Despite the declining trends, Washington D.C. crime rates
(2004) remain among the highest of U.S. cities — behind
only Camden,
New Jersey, Detroit,
Michigan, St.
Louis, Missouri, and Gary,
Indiana.
Landmarks and
Museums
Washington
is the home of numerous national landmarks and is one of the
most popular tourist destinations in the United
States. The National Mall is a large, open area in the center
of town that features many of the monuments to American leaders,
as well as connects the White House and the United States Capitol
buildings. Located prominently in the center is the Washington
Monument. Other notable points of interest here include the
Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Memorial, National World War II Memorial, Korean War Veterans
Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the Albert Einstein
Memorial.
The world
famous Smithsonian Institution, is also located in Washington.
This is a collection of museums including the Anacostia Museum,
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Hirshhorn Museum, National Air and
Space Museum, National Museum of American History, National
Museum of the American Indian, National Museum of Natural History,
National Portrait Gallery, National Postal Museum, Smithsonian
American Art Museum, and the National Zoo.
There are
also many art museums in town, in addition to those in the Smithsonian,
including the National Gallery of Art, National Museum of Women
in the Arts, and the Corcoran Museum of Art.
The Library
of Congress and the National Archives also house thousands of
documents covering every period in American history. Some of
the more notable documents in the National Archives include
the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.
Other exciting
points of interest in the District include Arena Stage, Basilica
of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Blair House,
Folger Shakespeare Library, Ford's Theatre, Frederick Douglass
National Historic Site, International Spy Museum, National Building
Museum, Old Post Office Building, The Phillips Collection, Theodore
Roosevelt Island, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and
the Washington National Cathedral.
Washington Monument |
Jefferson Memorial |
Lincoln Memorial |
Media
Newspaper
The Washington
Post is the oldest and most read daily newspaper in Washington,
and has developed into one of the most reputable daily newspapers
in the U.S., perhaps most notable for cracking the Watergate
Scandal, among other achievements. The daily Washington Times
and the free weekly Washington City Paper also have substantial
readership in the District. On February 1, 2005 the free daily
tabloid Washington Examiner debuted, having been formed from
a chain of suburban newspapers known as the Journal Newspapers.
The weekly Washington Blade focuses on gay issues, and the Washington
Informer on African-American issues. Many neighborhoods in the
city have their own small-circulation newspaper, usually published
by the neighborhood association on a weekly basis. Some of these
papers included the Dupont Current (Dupont Circle), Georgetown
Current (Georgetown), In-Towner (Dupont Circle, Logan Circle,
& Adams Morgan), Northwest Current (Upper Northwest), and
the Voice of the Hill and the Hill Rag (Capitol Hill), and East
of the River (Anacostia).
Television
The metro
area is well 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 WUSA 9 (CBS), WJLA 7 (ABC), WRC 4,
(NBC), WTTG 5 (Fox), WBDC 50 (WB), WDCA 20 (UPN), as well as
WETA 26 and WHUT 32 (PBS) stations. Public Access on Cable Television
is also 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.
Several
cable television networks have their headquarters in the Washington
area including C-SPAN on Capitol Hill, Black Entertainment Television
(BET) in Northeast Washington, and Discovery Communications
in Silver
Spring, Maryland. Major national broadcasters and cable
outlets including NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, and CNN also maintain
a significant presence in Washington,
as do those from around the world including the BBC, CBC, and
Al Jazeera.
Radio
There are
also several major radio stations serving the metro area, with
a wide variety of musical interests. Rock stations include WARW
94.7 FM (classic rock), WIHT 99.5 FM (top 40), WWDC, 101.1 FM
(alternative rock), and WWZZ 104.1 FM (alternative rock). Urban
stations include WPGC 95.5 FM (Rhythmic CHR/Mainstream Urban),
WHUR 96.3 FM (student-run Howard University Urban AC station),
WMMJ 102.3FM (Urban Adult Contemporary|Urban AC]], WKYS 93.9
FM (Mainstream Urban), and Radio CPR 97.5 FM (a popular pirate
radio station broadcasting the area around Mount Pleasant, Adams
Morgan and Columbia Heights). Stations that concentrate on talk
and sports include WJFK 106.7 FM, WMAL 630 AM (conservative),
WPGC 1580 AM (Urban Gospel), WTEM 980 AM (sports talk), and
WTOP 1500 AM (all news).
There are
also two NPR affiliates: WAMU 88.5 FM (usual NPR programs, community
programming, and BBC news) and WETA 90.9 FM (round-the-clock
news/analysis, broadcasting shows originating mainly from NPR,
PRI, and BBC). Other stations include WASH 97.1 FM (adult contemporary),
WMZQ 98.7 FM (country music), WLZL 99.1 FM (Latin/Hispanic),
WGMS 103.5 FM (classical music), and WJZW 105.9 FM (smooth jazz).
XM Satellite
Radio is based in Washington,
as is National Public Radio.
Performing arts
There are
a number of venues for the performing arts in the city. Arena
Stage, one of the first not-for-profit regional theaters in
the nation is rich with history and produces an eight-show season
ranging from classics to world premieres, dedicated to the American
cannon of theater. The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
hosts the National Symphony Orchestra, the Washington National
Opera, the Washington Ballet, and a variety of other musical
and stage performances. Notable local music clubs include Madam's
Organ Blues Bar in Adams Morgan, and the black cat, the 9:30
Club, and the historic Bohemian Caverns jazz club, all in the
U Street NW area.
The only
native D.C. music genre is go-go, a post-funk, percussion-driven
flavor of R&B that blends live sets with relentless dance
rhythms (that "go and go and go.") The most accomplished
practitioner of go-go was D.C. bandleader Chuck Brown, who brought
go-go to the brink of national recognition with his 1979 LP
Bustin' Loose. Go-Go band and Washington natives Experience
Unlimited hit the American pop charts in 1988 with their memorable
dance tune "Da Butt".
Washington
was also an important center in the genesis of punk rock in
the United States.
Punk bands of note from Washington
include Fugazi, Bad Brains, and Minor Threat. Native Washingtonians
continue to support punk bands, long after the punk movement's
peak in popularity. The region also has a storied indie rock
history and was home to TeenBeat and Simple Machines, among
other indie record labels.
There have
also been a number of television series that have featured the
District. Most of these have been related to government (The
West Wing) or security organizations (The District, Get Smart).
Other programs had the nation's capital as a secondary focus,
telling stories on their own that were not always tied to the
infrastructure of the government either in the district or for
the country. (Murphy Brown, which focused on the lives of the
reporters of a 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.
Sports
- Washington
Redskins Football, National Football League
- Washington
Nationals Baseball, Major League Baseball
- Washington
Wizards Basketball, National Basketball Association
- Washington
Mystics Basketball, Women's National Basketball Association
- Washington
Capitals Ice Hockey, National Hockey League
- D.C.
United Soccer, Major League Soccer
Washington
Metro area is home to several professional sports teams:
the MLS D.C. United, the NHL Washington Capitals, the NBA Washington
Wizards, the WNBA Washington Mystics, the MLB Washington Nationals,
and the NFL Washington Redskins (now based at FedEx Field in
Landover,
Maryland).
Other professional
and semi-professional teams based in D.C. include the USAFL
Baltimore Washington Eagles, the NWFA D.C. Divas, the Minor
League Football D.C. Explosion, and the Washington Cricket League.
It was also home to the WUSA Washington Freedom, and, during
the 2000–2002 NLL seasons, the Washington Power was based
in the city.
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.
Washington
was also home to several Negro League teams, including the Homestead
Grays, Washington Black Senators, Washington Elite Giants, Washington
Pilots, and Washington Potomacs.
The MCI
Center in Chinatown, home to the Capitals, Mystics, Wizards,
and the Georgetown Hoyas, is also a major venue for concerts,
WWE professional wrestling, and other events.
Washington
also hosts the annual Legg Mason Tennis Classic tennis tournament.
Economy
 Washington,
D.C. is first and foremost a company town, with the primary
company being, of course, the federal government. A significant
portion of the metro area's population has some sort of connection
to the federal government. Also, the presence of many major
government agencies, including the Department of Defense, National
Institutes of Health, or the Food and Drug Administration, has
led to a significant amount of business development both in
the District itself as well as in the suburbs of northern Virginia
and Maryland. These
businesses include federal contractors (defense and civilian),
numerous nonprofit organizations, law firms and lobbying firms,
catering and administrative services companies, and several
other industries that are sustained by the enormous economic
presence of the federal government.
This arrangement
has the effect of making the Washington economy virtually recession
proof relative to the rest of the country, because the federal
government will still operate no matter the state of the general
economy—and often grows during recessions.
The metro
area includes fourteen major Fortune 500 companies, including
Freddie Mac (McLean);
Fannie Mae; electric utility Pepco Holdings Incorporated; manufacturing
company Danaher; communications giant Nextel (Reston);
the credit card company Capital One (McLean);
AES Corporation (Arlington);
US Airways (Arlington,
soon to be moving to Phoenix,
Arizona upon completion of merger with America West Airlines);
Gannett (McLean),
the publisher of USA Today; SLM Corporation (Reston);
NVR Incorporated (McLean);
hotel services company Marriott International (Bethesda);
Coventry Healthcare Incorporated (Bethesda);
as well as defense contractors General Dynamics (Falls
Church) and Lockheed Martin (Bethesda).
In addition
to Nextel, several other major network and communications companies
are located in the area, including America Online (Dulles)
and MCI Communications (Ashburn).
Other media companies located in the DC metro area include the
new XM Satellite Radio and Al Hurra (Springfield),
a new cable new channel marketed towards Arabic countries. The
Public Broadcasting Service is also based in suburban Alexandria,
while Discovery Communications, the parent company such cable
networks as the Discovery Channel, is based in Silver
Spring.
The largest
private employer in DC is the Bureau of National Affairs, a
publishing company based in the west end of the city since the
early 1950s.
The aerospace
and commercial air travel industries also have a major presence
in the area, in addition to the aforementioned General Dynamics,
Lockheed Martin, and US Airways. Independence Air, based in
Dulles,
started service in 2004, and operates as a low-cost air carrier
to many major airports in the United
States. The regional airline Colgan Air, based in Manassas,
also operates out of the DC area. Defense contractor Orbital
Sciences Corporation is also based in Dulles
and specializes in satellite launch and manufacture.
Due to the
proximity to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda,
the American genomics industry has recently sprouted in the
Maryland suburbs
of Washington. Prominent players are Celera Genomics, The Institute
for Genomic Research (also known as "TIGR") and Human
Genome Sciences (all of which are in the city of Rockville).
The gross
state product of the District in 2004 was $75.264 billion, ranking
it #36 when compared with the fifty states.
Local Government
The city
is run by an elected mayor (currently in 2005 Anthony A. Williams)
and a city council. The city council is composed of 13 members
— a representative elected from each of the 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 school board that has both elected and appointed
members. There are also 37 elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissions
that provide the most direct access for residents to their local
government. However, the U.S. Congress has the ultimate plenary
power over the district. It has the right to review and overrule
laws created locally, and has often done so. The Tenth Amendment
to the United States Constitution does not apply to the District
of Columbia.
D.C. residents
do pay all federal taxes, such as income tax, as well as local
taxes. The mayor and council adopt a budget of local money with
Congress reserving the right to make any changes. Much of the
valuable property in the District is federally owned and hence
exempt from local property taxes; at the same time, the city
is burdened with the extraordinary expenses related to its role
as the capital, such as police overtime and street cleaning
for D.C.'s frequent parades and festivals. These factors are
often used to explain why the city's budget is frequently overstretched.
However, the federal government also appropriates funds for
the city. For instance, according to Public Law 108-7, the federal
government provided, among other funds, an estimated 25% of
the District's operating budget in 2003.
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 region. Prosperity in the late
1990s and early 2000s has lessened public pressure on Mayor
Williams, who still faces daunting urban renewal, public health,
and public education challenges.
Education
Public schools
The public
school system in the city is operated by District of Columbia
Public Schools (DCPS), and consists of 167 schools and learning
centers, which breakdown into 101 elementary schools, 11 middle
schools, 9 junior high schools, 20 senior high schools, 6 education
centers, and 20 special schools.
Private schools
Other schools
in the city include the Sheridan School, Reformed Theological
Seminary, Washington Theological Union, and German School, Washington,
D.C.
Colleges and universities
The city
also is home to one publicly-funded university and several private
universities. The University of the District of Columbia is
the city's public school, and is also a historically black college
and the nation's only urban land-grant university. The prestigious
Georgetown University, the alma mater of former U.S. President
Bill Clinton (as well as many other notable alumni) is also
located in the northwest quadrant of the city. The George Washington
University, founded by an act of Congress in 1821, is the largest
institution of higher education in the national's capital with
its main campus in Foggy Bottom and its Mount Vernon campus
in the Foxhall neighborhood of Northwest Washington. George
Washington University is also the second-largest landholder
and employer in the District—second only to the federal
government. The American University, chartered by act of Congress
in 1893, is situated on a 72 square acre campus in upper northwest
DC and is well known for its School of International Service
and the Washington College of Law (originally founded as a law
school for women). Also known for international affairs is the
world renowned Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School
of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), which is dedicated
to the graduate study of international relations and international
economics and is located on Dupont Circle's Embassy Row. The
District is also home to three private Catholic schools which
are also located in Washington, D.C., including The Catholic
University of America, Trinity University and Georgetown University
mentioned above. Other notable private colleges in the District
include Gallaudet University (the first school for the advanced
education of the deaf and hard-of-hearing Howard University
(a highly prestigious historically black college), and Southeastern
University. The Corcoran College of Art and Design has a very
reputable art program and museum downtown. The for-profit career
school, Strayer University, has a campus in Washington, D.C.
The USDA Graduate School, is a continuing education school located
in the District.
Transportation
Aviation
Washington,
D.C. is served by three major airports, two of them located
in suburban Virginia
and one located in Maryland.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport ((IATA: DCA, ICAO:
KDCA)) is the closest, being only 4.3 miles (6.9 km) south of
the city in Arlington.
The airport is conveniently located to the downtown area, however
has somewhat restricted flights to airports within the United
States due to noise and security concerns. Most major international
flights arrive and depart from Washington Dulles International
Airport ((IATA: IAD, ICAO: KIAD)), located 26.3 miles (42.3
km) west of the city in Fairfax County and Loudoun County, Virginia.
Dulles is the busiest airport in the region by passengers served,
and the second busiest international gateway on the Eastern
Seaboard. Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall
Airport ((IATA: BWI, ICAO: KBWI)), is located 31.7 miles (51.0
km) northeast of the city in Anne Arundel County, Maryland,
near Baltimore.
BWI is notable for its variety of low-cost carriers, such as
Southwest Airlines.
General
aviation is additionally available at several smaller airfields,
including Montgomery County Airpark (Gaithersburg,
Maryland), College Park Airport (College
Park, Maryland), Potomac Airfield (Friendly CDP of Prince
George's County, Maryland),
and Manassas Regional Airport (Manassas,
Virginia).
Roads
Interstate highways
The Capital
Beltway creates an artificial boundary for the inner suburbs
of Washington and is the root of the phrase "inside the
Beltway". Almost completely circling Washington, D.C.,
it crosses a tiny portion of the District at its southernmost
point. I-66 runs from the eastern edge of Georgetown, connects
with the Beltway, and continues through northern Virginia
to I-81. I-295 comes up from the south starting at the eastern
edge of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge on the Beltway and crosses
the Anacostia River into downtown, linking up with I-395, a
major commuter route extending from New York Avenue to the Beltway
and Interstate 95 in Springfield,
Virginia, and the unsigned I-695.
Other expressways
and parkways
The Anacostia
Freeway (DC-295) splits from I-295 on the south side of the
Anacostia, and links with the unnumbered Baltimore-Washington
Parkway via a short section of Maryland State Highway 201. The
Suitland Parkway connects the city with the southeastern suburbs
in Prince George's County, Maryland.
The Whitehurst Freeway, an elevated freeway over K Street in
Georgetown, allows U.S. Highway 29 traffic to bypass Georgetown
between the Key Bridge and K Street downtown. The E Street Expressway
connects I-66 with the city's Foggy Bottom area and the areas
immediately to the west of the White House. The Rock Creek and
Potomac Parkway provides access to downtown from the northern
and western ends of the city.
City streets
City streets
in the district are organized primarily in a grid-like fashion,
with several streets (typically named after states) intersecting
at a diagonal. Among the major roads in the city are MacArthur
Boulevard, 14th Street NW, 16th Street NW, Connecticut Avenue,
K Street NW, Wisconsin Avenue, M Street NW, Pennsylvania Avenue,
Constitution Avenue, Independence Avenue, Massachusetts Avenue,
U Street NW, North Capitol Street, South Capitol Street, East
Capitol Street, Georgia Avenue, Minnesota Avenue, Nannie Helen
Boroughs Avenue, Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, New York Avenue,
and Rhode Island Avenue.
Mass transit
The Washington
area is also serviced by the Washington Metro public transportation
system, which operates public buses (Metrobus) and the region's
subway system (Metrorail). Many of the jurisdictions around
the region also run public buses that interconnect with the
Metrobus/Metrorail system. Union Station is served by MARC and
VRE commuter trains, and Amtrak intercity rail. Intercity bus
service is available from the Greyhound Bus Terminal in Northeast
and from dragon buses leaving from Chinatown.
Sister cities
Washington,
D.C. has three sister cities: Bangkok (Thailand), Beijing (China),
and Dakar (Senegal).
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