Washington+D.C

For my project, I have decided to have Washington D.C. as my topic. Last March, I went to Washington D.C. and learned a lot about it. To see the geography of Washington D.C, you can use the map below. media type="googlemap" key="http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=38.884886,-77.022572&spn=0.097812,0.138187&z=13&output=embed" width="425" height="350"

About Wash **ington D.C.**
Washington D.C. is much smaller than a state, but it is not a city either. Washington D.C. is a federal district, so it does not belong to any state. One of the buildings most associated with Washington D.C. is the White House. The White House is where every president has lived since 1814. In 1814 The original White House was burned down by the british during the war of 1812, and we had to rebuild it.

Another famous place in Washington D.C. is the Arlington National Cemetery. The Cemetery holds soldiers from every american war since the Revolutionary War. It also holds many other important people like John F. Kennedy and other members of the Kennedy family. The Cemetery also has the Tomb of the Unknowns, where unidentified american soldiers have been buried.

The official tourism site for Washington D.C. is http://www.washington.org/

Monuments and Memorials
One of the most well known monuments is the Washington Monument. The Washington Monument is over 555 feet high, and is currently the tallest free standing stone structure in the world. It is twice as high as the capitol building, and five times higher than every other building in Washington D.C.The Washington monument was unfinished for 20 years, and when they did finish it, they used a different kind of rock. You can still see the mark today. It is modeled after the obelisks ancient Egyptians created.

The Lincoln Memorial is also very famous. The Lincoln Memorial is famous partially because it is on the back of the penny and the five dollar bill. It is modeled after the greek Parthenon. In the middle of the structure is a large statue of Abraham Lincoln. On the five dollar bill and penny, you can see the statue of Lincoln. The statue is 19 feet tall, and looks like it was created from one piece of marble. It is actually made of 28 pieces of marble skillfully placed together by Daniel Chester French.

There are some lesser known monuments also. One is the original FDR memorial. Franklin D. Roosevelt was modest as a president. He said that for his memorial, all he wanted was a stone block about the size of his desk. We gave him that, but later we also gave him a huge four room memorial. Another lesser known monument is the Freedom Bell. The Freedom Bell is a mold of the famous Liberty Bell from before it cracked. It sits outside of Union Station.

Museums
There are also many museums in Washington D.C. The most famous ones are the Smithsonian Museums. The Red Castle was the first Smithsonian museum, and is currently the headquarters for the Smithsonians.

The Museum of National History is one very well known museum. It was completed in 1911, and it holds many famous things. It has the Hope Diamond, which is the largest blue diamond at 49 carats. An interesting thing about the Hope Diamond is that even though it is a blue diamond, when it is placed under UV rays, it glows red. Legend says that ever since the hope diamond was stolen from an Indian idol, every owner of the Hope Diamond has been cursed. It has the largest african elephant ever shot weighing eight tons. They also have fossils from 3.5 billion years ago.

Another well known museum is the Air and Space Museum. It is one of the most visited museums in the world. It contains many famous things like the original Wright brothers "Flyer". It was airborne for fifty nine seconds. It also has the "Sprit of St. Louis" which Charles Lindbergh used to be the first person to fly nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927.

There are some lesser known museums also. There is the Holocaust Museum. It is about the Holocaust, and dedicated to the victims of it. The inside of the Holocaust Museum is designed to look like a street. There is also the American Indian Museum. It was built to resemble an American Indian adobe. Outside of the museum, they grow native american crops. Lastly, there is the American History Museum. It currently holds the flag that inspired our national anthem on display. All of these museums are Smithsonians.

History
In 1788, after the American Revolution, the U.S. was a country, and we needed a capitol. There were several proposed locations for the capital, but James Madison came up with the idea we used. James Madison said that we needed the capital to be separate from the states. I think that this was a great idea. This way they would not have to choose the best state to put the capitol in. After they chose the location, they named it Washington D.C. Washington for our first president, district for federal district, and of Columbia because back then Columbia was another word for North America.