TOURISM The national monuments and museums attract more than 18 million visitors each year. The city hosts many conventions annually and hotels and conference centers are numerous. The functions of federal and local government and the tourism industry have created a large service economy, which employs over one third of all Washington's workers.
TRANSPORTATION The Metro Subway system is about 100mi long and extends into the Maryland and Virginia suburbs. Subway service combined with bus service provides an effective transportation network. The city is served by three commercial airports Washington National Airport, Dulles International Airport, and Baltimore-Washington International Airport. Union Station, located N of the Capitol, is Washington D.C.'s principal railroad station.
LANDSCAPE Washington's street system is essentially a grid pattern overlaid by broad radial avenues. This plan produces a series of squares and circles at the points of intersection. Many of these intersections were planned to occupy natural rises in the terrain. The city as a whole is divided into four quadrants (NW, NE, SW, and SE) by lines running N-S and E-W through the U.S. Capitol. The central open space, called the Mall, is surrounded by public buildings and museums and is flanked on the East by the Capitol and on the West by the Lincoln Memorial. The major federal office buildings are located in the vicinity of this nucleus. The city's downtown area is extensive, primarily because of an ordinance limiting building height. Pennsylvania Ave links the White House and the Capitol, is Washington's ceremonial street and the site of the president's inaugural day parade.
PARKS AND MONUMENTS The parklike center of Washington is formed by the Mall and the scenic Tidal Basin. In this area are the Vietnam Veterans Memorial built in 1982, the Jefferson Memorial in 1943, the Lincoln Memorial in 1922, and the Washington Monument in 1884, a 555-ft obelisk that offers a commanding view of the city. Across the Potomac River, in Virginia, is Arlington National Cemetery and the Pentagon.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS The Capitol of the United States, because of its majestic architecture and its situation on a hill, is one of the most recognizable buildings in the world. The north wing of the Capitol houses the U.S. Senate, the south wing, the House of Representatives. In front of the Capitol are the Supreme Court Building and the main Library of Congress, with its two annex buildings. About 1.5 miles west of the Capitol is the White House (begun 1792, rebuilt after 1814). Initially named the President's House, it was first occupied by President John Adams and has been the home of every U.S. president since. On Pennsylvania Ave., equidistant between the White House and the Capitol, is the National Archives Building . The National Archives is one of several large government buildings that also include Justice, Internal Revenue Service, Post Office, and Commerce departments which occupy a complex known as the Federal Triangle. On display in the National Archives are the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES Washington has become a major American cultural center. On either side of the Mall are a number of important museums, many of which are administered by the Smithsonian Institution. The original red brick Smithsonian Building, constructed in 1855, is located between the Freer Gallery of Art, which has collections of Oriental art, and the Arts and Industries Building. Among the more recent museums and galleries are the National Museum of African Art, dedicated to the conservation and study of the arts of Africa south of the Sahara, and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (1987), with ancient and modern Asian arts. Other museums on the Mall are the huge National Air and Space Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, a noted modern art museum, the National Gallery of Art, the Museum of American History, and the National Museum of Natural History. Near the Mall is the Holocaust Memorial Museum.
THEATRE Overlooking the Potomac, the multitheater John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which opened in 1971 as a memorial to President Kennedy, is a center for drama, opera, film, and music. Other major theaters in the downtown areas are Lisner Auditorium, Constitution Hall, the National Theater, Warner Theater, and Ford's Theater. Near the Capitol is the Folger Shakespeare Library, which contains the world's leading collection of works by and about William Shakespeare.