Capitol, White House, Library of Congress: Famous sites in Washington DC

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(Free-Press-Release.com) March 16, 2006 -- Capitol

Three years after Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton decided that Washington should house the nation's capital in 1790, construction began on the grand Capitol that was to grace the hill east of the Potomac. By the turn of the century, the movers, shakers and lawmakers began to move in. The British nearly burned it to the ground in 1814, which demoralized the Americans almost enough to provoke the abandonment of the whole DC experiment. However, some last-minute resolve saw the Capitol rebuilt from 1817 to 1819. The House and Senate wings were added in 1857, the nine-million-pound iron dome in 1863 and the east face in the 1950s, making the current icon over twice as large as the original building. The Capitol is the epicenter of the city as well as being its most prominent landmark; Washington's major avenues intersect at an imaginary point under the dome. If you want to watch Congress in session, you'll have to get a pass for the visitors' gallery from your Congressional Representative (if you have one) or the Sergeant-at-Arms (if you don't).

The dramatic Capitol Rotunda is decorated with a fresco painted by Italian immigrant Constantino Brumidi. Called The Apotheosis of Washington, it shows George Washington being welcomed into heaven by 13 angels representing the original 13 states (and apparently modelled on 13 local prostitutes). The hallways are decorated with more murals, showing the nation's heroes and their deeds - the most recent is a portrait of the dead Challenger astronauts. Statuary Hall is filled with stone men - theoretically two distinguished citizens from each state, but in principal a few less than that, as the floor wasn't strong enough to bear the weight of so much marble.

White House

Every president since 1800 has snuggled down in the White House, ensuring that 1600 Pennsylvania Ave is the most famous address in the nation. The White House, a cozier-than-it-looks Neoclassical manor, has survived a torching by the British in 1814, a Jacqueline Kennedy redecoration campaign in the 1960s and Ronald Reagan doing broomstick reruns of the Kentucky Derby through the 1980s. Presidents have customized the property over time: Jefferson added toilets, FDR put in a pool, Truman installed a second-story porch, Bush added a horseshoe-throwing lane and Clinton put in a jogging track and a seven-seat hot tub. Some residents never leave: it's said that Eleanor Roosevelt and Harry Truman both sighted the ghost of Abe Lincoln in Lincoln's old study. Daily tours herd visitors through eight interior rooms but the grounds are only open on Easter Monday for the traditional Easter Egg Roll.

Library of Congress

A block east of the Capitol, the Library of Congress has about 100 million items, including 26 million books, 36 million manuscripts and maps, photographs, sheet music and musical instruments. It's the largest library in the world. Books from the library were used to light the 1814 Capitol fire, after which President Jefferson sold his collection to the library to get the numbers back up. The best part of the library is the 1897 Jefferson Building, with its vaulted ceilings and ornate decoration. Two modern annexes are nearby. The library screens free classic films, and occasionally concerts are given using the library's five Stradivarius violins.

Source: http://www.yahoo.com

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