4_Washington_DC,_New_York

4) Washington DC, New York

Washington DC and NYC are two of the most important cities in the USA.

The first one, Washington DC, is located in the east coast of the continent. It is the capital city of the United States, which is situated on the Potomac River. It’s the Seat of the President and Congress.

According to the estimates from 2005, over 580,000 people live there. The whole metropolitan area, extending even to the states of Maryland and Virginia, has over 5.8 million people.

After the Declaration of Independence was accepted in 1776, the government had to choose one city, which should be the future capital of their new state.

To prevent from battles, they decided to found whole new one in distinct area which didn’t belong to any state. So Virginia and Maryland gave parts of their territories, which formed new federal district. This area is called District of Columbia or abbreviated just DC. It was named after Christopher Columbus, founder of America.

The city itself was established in 1791 and its name was created as a tribute to the first American president George Washington. It became the capital in 1800. Washington himself choose the site along the Potomac River because he spent a part of his childhood nearby.

The north and east borders of the district are with Maryland and the southwest border is with Virginia. A natural border with Virginia is formed by the river Potomac, which is Washington situated on.

Because the city was from the beggining planned and built as a capital, there are lots of long and wide avenues, beautiful parks and gardens and many significant landmarks. The architect of the city was famous Pierre L’Enfant.

At the DC you can’t find skyscrapers, which are typical for other US cities. It’s because there is prohibited to build a building in the city higher than the Capitol, which is about 87.6 m.

The Capitol is at the same time one of the most visited attractions in Washington. It is the Seat of the US Congress and it is situated on the Capitol hill. The Capitol stands in the midlle of the first 13 British collonies and it‘s also the origin by which the quadrants of the District are divided.

Another popular tourists attraction is the White House, which is the principal residence of the President. It‘ s located in 1600 Pensylvania Avenue North West. The White House has been the executive residence of every American president since the second one, John Adams.

Well-known is also the National Mall, which is 1 mile long park in the centre of the city. It connects the Capitol and the Washington monument. Behind Washington monument, there is the rectangular Reflecting Pool which reflects both the monument and Lincoln memorial on the opposite side. The Reflecting Pool is a place where many popular meetings were held.

The National Mall is also bordered with the musseums of the Smithsonian Institution.

The Washington monument is the most prominent structure in Washington DC and one of the city’s early attractions. It was built in honor of George Washington, who led the country to independence as a military leader and then became its first president in 1776. The monument is shaped like an Egyptian obelisk because Washington was a freemason and the obelisk is one of their symbols. It’s 169 m high and often visible from 30 miles.