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Landmarks are the Touchstones of the Meandering Traveler From the sites where American democracy was born, to unique archive collections, art galleries, and architectural must-sees in the middle of this bustling city, Washington, DC is home to 75 National Historic Landmarks. Tour the Capital City and travel back in time to discover the unique stories of its history. Carefully curated by a local historian, Historic Washington, DC: A Tour of the District’s Top 50 National Landmarks is the essential guide to the most memorable historic sites in our nation’s capital. Whether you are a history enthusiast, a local visitor, or a tourist, there is something for everyone in this guide to Washington, DC’s past.
The waters of the Potomac and the Anacostia Rivers surround and define the nation's capital. For centuries, these rivers have been manipulated environments--transformed by native populations, settlers, politicians and real estate developers. With docks and wharves extending from the Anacostia River to Georgetown, the architect of the young capital, Pierre L'Enfant, planned to develop the waterfront into a prosperous inland seaport. Decades later, the Civil War took a devastating toll on the District's maritime economy with civilian port facilities pressed into military service and the failure of many riverfront plantations. Author John R. Wennersten explores this early history of Washington, D.C.'s waterfront even as he tackles its twentieth-century redevelopment and the challenges the rivers face today.
A travel guide with character, this fact-filled keepsake offers all the history, beauty, charm, and culture of our nation's capital city. In eye-catching watercolors and detailed sketches, artist Diana Gessler captures the allure that makes Washington DC one of the most visited destinations in the country. In addition to the national landmarks, stirring memorials, and vibrant neighborhoods, there's the Cherry Blossom Festival, the Twilight Tattoo (a military pageant featuring the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps and the U.S. Army Drill Team), colorful row houses, famous hotels and restaurants, and more museums than you'll be able to visit in just one trip. Gessler covers the city's most popular attractions but also heads off the beaten path to share hidden gems, like the quirky Albert Einstein Memorial and Eastern Market, where you can dine on bluebucks and browse for flea market finds. Also included are an index of sites and a useful appendix of addresses, Web sites, Metro stops, and phone numbers. Very Washington DC is a picture-perfect guidebook—a one-of-a-kind memento for tourists and a cherished reminder of the city's riches for those who have always lived in America's hometown.
Washington, DC, gleams with stately columns and neoclassical temples, a pulsing hub of political power and prowess. But for decades it was one of the worst excuses for a capital city the world had ever seen. Before America became a world power in the twentieth century, Washington City was an eyesore at best and a disgrace at worst. Unfilled swamps, filthy canals, and rutted horse trails littered its landscape. Political bosses hired hooligans and thugs to conduct the nation's affairs. Legendary madams entertained clients from all stations of society and politicians of every party. The police served and protected with the aid of bribes and protection money. Beneath pestilential air, the city’s muddy roads led to a stumpy, half-finished obelisk to Washington here, a domeless Capitol Building there. Lining the streets stood boarding houses, tanneries, and slums. Deadly horse races gouged dusty streets, and opposing factions of volunteer firefighters battled one another like violent gangs rather than life-saving heroes. The city’s turbulent history set a precedent for the dishonesty, corruption, and mismanagement that have led generations to look suspiciously on the various sin--both real and imagined--of Washington politicians. Empire of Mud unearths and untangles the roots of our capital’s story and explores how the city was tainted from the outset, nearly stifled from becoming the proud citadel of the republic that George Washington and Pierre L'Enfant envisioned more than two centuries ago.
Washington, D.C. has long been known as a frustrating and sometimes confusing city for its residents to call home. The monumental core of federal office buildings, museums, and the National Mall dominates the city’s surrounding neighborhoods and urban fabric. For much of the postwar era, Washingtonians battled to make the city their own, fighting the federal government over the basic question of home rule, the right of the city’s residents to govern their local affairs. In Historic Capital, urban historian Cameron Logan examines how the historic preservation movement played an integral role in Washingtonians’ claiming the city as their own. Going back to the earliest days of the local historic preservation movement in the 1920s, Logan shows how Washington, D.C.’s historic buildings and neighborhoods have been a site of contestation between local interests and the expansion of the federal government’s footprint. He carefully analyzes the long history of fights over the right to name and define historic districts in Georgetown, Dupont Circle, and Capitol Hill and documents a series of high-profile conflicts surrounding the fate of Lafayette Square, Rhodes Tavern, and Capitol Park, SW before discussing D.C. today. Diving deep into the racial fault lines of D.C., Historic Capital also explores how the historic preservation movement affected poor and African American residents in Anacostia and the U Street and Shaw neighborhoods and changed the social and cultural fabric of the nation’s capital. Broadening his inquiry to the United States as a whole, Logan ultimately makes the provocative and compelling case that historic preservation has had as great an impact on the physical fabric of U.S. cities as any other private or public sector initiative in the twentieth century.
The Evolution of Washington, DC is a striking volume featuring select pieces of the extraordinary collection of Washingtoniana donated by Albert H. Small to the George Washington University in 2011. It showcases treasures such as an 1860 lithograph of the equestrian statue of Andrew Jackson in front of the White House and a contemporary print of old Potomac River steamboats. Other unique pieces include early designs for the White House, the Capitol, and the Washington Monument as well as presidential portraits and Civil War memorabilia. Each object--from architectural plans and topographical maps to letters and advertisements--tells a fascinating story, and together they illustrate the history of our nation's capital and indeed our nation itself.
Taking readers on an unforgettable tour of the nations capital, this revised Washington Post bestseller is jampacked with stories of the historic sites and the extraordinary people who shaped the city. 125 photos. 17 maps.
The Historical Society of Washington, D.C., an educational and cultural institution serving the residents of metropolitan Washington, presents Growing Up in Washington, D.C.: An Oral History, a book of memories excerpted from dozens of oral history interviews about childhood in Washington during the twentieth century. Telling stories of the past-from playing soccer on the National Mall to visiting the Zoo, from marching in inaugural parades to riding the roller coasters at Suburban Gardens-residents from all four quadrants of the city, from different racial and religious backgrounds, have documented the vital history of our nation's capital in their hearts and minds. In this collection, they share their personal experiences of attending school, celebrating holidays, playing games with friends, riding the streetcars and metro, and growing up in families and neighborhoods that, early on, shaped the course of their lives. Their fascinating tales and anecdotes provide a window into the city's development as seen through the innocent, yet discerning, eyes of its children. Illustrated with historic images of city life, such as eating at the Hot Shoppes and ice skating on the mall, and of recognizable local landmarks, such as Hains Point, the fun house at Glen Echo, and Rock Creek Park, Growing Up in Washington, D.C. brings to life the people and places that have helped to create the city's singular character. A one-of-a-kind testament to the variety of life in the great capital of the United States, this collection of personal childhood stories and vintage photographs offers a wealth of perspectives on growing up in Washington during the twentieth century.
From Mount Vernon to Georgetown, The White House to the monuments, Historic Photos of Washington D.C. is a photographic history collected from the areas top archives. With about 200 photographs, many of which have never been published, this beautiful coffee table book shows the historical growth of our nation's capital in stunning black and white photography. The book shows life, government, events and people important to Washington D.C. and the building of this unique city.
Experience the history of America’s capitol with this uniquely engaging and informative guidebook. Alternating between site visits and brief historical narratives, this guide tells the story of Washington, DC, from its origins to current times. From George Washington’s Mount Vernon to the Kennedy Center, trek through each era of the federal district, on a tour of America’s most beloved sites. Go inside the White House, the only executive home in the world regularly open to the public. Travel to President Lincoln’s Cottage and see where he wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. And visit lesser-known sites, such as the grave of Pierre L’Enfant, the city’s Botanical Gardens, the Old Post Office, and a host of historical homes throughout the capital. This is the only guide you’ll need to curate an unforgettable expedition to our shining city on a hill.