Washington D.C is the capital city of the United States and former District of Columbia. The city was named after George Washington, the first United States president and founding father. The capital served as the government seat of the independent country after the American Revolution. Washington is an important political capital that has several international governments. The city is found on River Potomac and borders Virginia and Maryland. Moreover, it is ranked as the first city visited by many tourists. Here are five interesting and surprising facts about D.C that you may not know.
1. New voting rights
Residents of Washington were not allowed to vote for presidential elections before 1961 given Electoral College. Every state gets several votes basing on the total of house representatives and senators. However, Washington is not a state thus it does not have representatives in congress. For this reason, D.C cannot participate in elections. In 1961, the 23rd amendment of the constitution allowed Washington to have several votes if it was a state but not more than Wyoming. It is the least populated state with only three electors. Therefore, D.C will only get a maximum of 3 electoral votes.
2. Monument and memorial
Washington has a large, white monument built on the national mall. The monument commemorates George Washington, the first United States president and commander in chief of the army. Located on the east and reflects a swimming pool, Lincoln memorial, monument made of granite, marble and bluestone gneiss. Jefferson Memorial is a monument made to commemorate Thomas Jefferson, United States president who served from 1743 to 1826. This memorial was drawn by John Russell and got inspiration from Rotunda at Virginia University and pantheon in Rome that Thomas designed. Lincoln Memorial was built to dedicate to Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of states. Located on the west side of the national mall and designed by Henry Bacon. The memorial was constructed from 1914 to 1922.
3. Space and air museum
This is the world’s most well-known museum. It has a large collection of spacecraft and a history of making air. Crafts available are the original wright brothers’ flyer of 1903 and spirit of St. Louis of Charles Lindbergh, the first craft to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. Flights in the making include Apollo 11, took part in the 1st mission of Lunar landing.
4. National art gallery
This is a house on a separate building from the space museum but connected with a tunnel. The gallery of art is a popular museum in the world and the United States. It is based on financier collection and Andrew Mellon, a treasury secretary. Also, the gallery has various collections like American Paintings, decorative arts, sculpture, and European masterpieces.
5. Capital of the United States
Washington is also referred to as a capital building and is recognized globally as a symbol of the United States. D.C is the home of congress, legislative branch and federal government of the United States. The capitol is found on Capitol Hill on the east side of the National Mall. This is a national symbol and it attracts dozens of tourists across the world.
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