The Capitol

There are 100 Senators (two from each state) and 435 members of the House of Representatives (based on the population in each state). The Senate meets in the north wing of the Capitol, and the House of Representatives meets in the south wing. A flag flies over each wing of the Capitol when that part of Congress is in session.

Capitol fast facts

-          The flag flying over the entrance to the Capitol is one of several flags authorized by Congress to remain raised 24 hours a day.

-          Below the Rotunda, there is an empty crypt that was built to hold the body of George Washington. It remains empty today, as Washington’s body is buried at his home, Mt. Vernon.

-          The cast-iron dome atop the Capitol is the fourth largest in the world, rising 180 feet above the floor and weighing almost nine million pounds.

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D.C. by the Numbers

     68.3             Square miles covered by the District

     22 million     Number of tourists that visit the D.C. area each year  (including you!)

     1600            House number on Pennsylvania Ave. where the White House can be found

     581,530       Population as of 2006 (over 30,000 people more than the 2005 Census estimate)

     555              In feet, the height of D.C.’s tallest building, the Washington Monument

     1790            Year of the District’s founding

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Monumental Lighting

Believe it or not, there’s actually a strict hierarchy that governs the lighting of D.C.’s famous monuments.  Over the years, a non-written (yet nonetheless strongly upheld) code has come to require that the exterior lighting on buildings near the National Mall and other D.C. monuments be less bright than nearby monuments, as to avoid competition.  Upon the design of new buildings such as the US Institute of Peace, architects are required to submit nighttime simulations of the building’s lighting scheme to the D.C. Fine Arts Commission and the National Capital Planning Commission.

Other issues faced by lighting designers in D.C. have required lots of thought and creativity: Lighting the very top of the Jefferson Memorial dome, maintaining the proper glow during the switch from incandescent to halogen bulbs, covering the entire Washington Monument with a narrow beam of light, and regulating interior lights in newly built glass buildings (e.g. the much anticipated Newseum) have all created unique challenges for lighting officials.

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D.C. Statues

The District has more outdoor sculptures than any other US city, and ten of these monuments and statues were recently featured by Frommer’s.  Here are several of the most interesting stories:

• The General Ulysses S. Grant memorial, overlooking the Reflecting Pool on the east end of the Mall, was sculpted with authenticity in mind.  Henry Merwin Shrady studied Grant’s life mask to replicate the president’s face, and a horse borrowed from the New York Police Department modeled as Grant’s charger, Cincinnatus.  The sculptor even is storied to have hosed down the horse in order to better scrutinize its muscles!  Ironically, Shrady died two weeks before the statue’s dedication ceremony in 1922.
• The monument to Major General Andrew Jackson has been the subject of many debates regarding its location, because it is the only monument in Lafayette Square that is not a Revolutionary War hero.  The statue has proven difficult to move because of its historical significance, however; it has resided directly across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House since 1853 and was dedicated by President Franklin Pierce.  Two identical statues can be found elsewhere in the United States: one in Jackson Square in New Orleans, and the other in Nashville, by the Tennessee State Capitol.
• Near the World War II Memorial, a bronze General Simón Bolívar, liberator of many South American countries from Spain, sits atop his horse in what is claimed to be the largest equestrian statue in the world.  The monument was a 1959 gift of Venezuela, a country which Bolívar helped liberate.

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The US Constitution

September 17^th is known as Constitution Day in the US, because on that day in 1787 the members of the Constitutional Convention first signed the document. At first, only nine of the original thirteen states ratified the Constitution.  In fact, Rhode Island didn’t even participate in the writing the document but became the last existing state to ratify it three years later.  Since then, each new state to join the Union has also had to ratify the Constitution.  Here are some other interesting Constitutional facts:

• On the original document, the word “Pennsylvania” is misspelled just above the Constitutional Convention delegates’ signatures.
• The Constitution does not specify who has the right to vote in US elections.
• George Washington originally established Thanksgiving as a day to give thanks for the Constitution.
• Although the original document is usually housed in the National Archives in D.C., it was taken to Fort Knox for safekeeping for a short time after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
• Patrick Henry declined his invitation to join the Constitutional Convention.
• The US Constitution is the shortest written national constitution in the world, consisting of only 4,400 words.
• “Democracy” is not one of these words.

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The Smithsonian Castle

Many people know of the Smithsonian Institution for its fifteen renowned museums; however, many are surprised to find upon their arrival in D.C. that the Smithsonian’s main office is actually a castle on the National Mall!  The Smithsonian Institution Building, fondly nicknamed the “Smithsonian Castle,” was designed by architect James Renwick, Jr. in 1846 in response to a $500,000 gift to the Institution.  Renwick designed the building to look like a Norman-style castle, celebrating the donors, English scientist James Smithson and his father, the Duke of Northumberland.  Despite appearing symmetric, the Smithsonian Castle is actually built with a fortress motif at one end and a cathedral motif at the other.  The building has inspired a number of colleges’ architectures, including the University of Chicago and Worchester Academy.

Until the 1960s, the Castle housed all operations of the Smithsonian, including a small exhibit hall.  The first Secretary of the Smithsonian even used the building as a home for his family during the building’s construction.  The Castle is now home to the Smithsonian’s administrative offices and visitor’s center.

Interesting fact: A polka about the Smithsonian was written in 1855.

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Washington D.C.’s flag

For over a century, the District of Columbia had no official flag. In 1938, Congress created a commission to select a design for the flag. The commission held a public competition for design entries and eventually chose one submitted by Charles A. R. Dunn, a graphic designer. The flag consists of three red stars above two horizontal red stripes on a white background, a design which was modeled after George Washington family’s Coat of Arms. In a 2004 poll, the D.C. flag was voted the best design among United States city flags.

Activity: Imagine you were commissioned by Congress to create a new flag for Washington, D.C. What design do you think best represents our nation’s capital?

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The White House

Since the President not only works out of the White House but resides there as well, many presidents have made changes to the building to accommodate their tastes: John Quincy Adams had a billiard table put in; President Fillmore’s wife started the official library of the Executive Mansion; President Coolidge brought in an electric hobby horse; Teddy Roosevelt had the tennis courts placed on the south lawn; Franklin D. Roosevelt added a swimming pool (which was later filled in); President Truman provided three pianos; and President Gerald Ford had a new swimming pool put in.

Fun Facts:

• There are 134 rooms in the White House, 32 of which are for the President’s residential/private quarters.
• The White House operator receives thousands of calls each day. The incident that caused the highest number of phone calls in White House history was…..the death of Elvis Presley.
• The White House holds an Easter Egg hunt annually on the South Lawn. Children from all over the country come to hunt for the hidden treasures. But don’t worry, there’s no fear of a food fight starting…the eggs are wooden!

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The White House

Construction of the White House began on October 13, 1792 with the laying of the cornerstone.  The building took about eight years to complete and was ready for John Adams’ occupancy on November 1, 1800.  Though the White House has survived many setbacks over the years, including fires, countless redesigns, and the crowds of presidential inaugurations, it has remained a symbol of our nation’s capital for many years.  Some other interesting White House facts:

• Only 6 rooms had been completed when John Adams moved into the White House.
• Today, the building has 6 levels that house a total of 132 rooms.
• The White House was the biggest house in the country during the Civil War.
• It takes 570 gallons of white paint to cover the exterior of the building.
• The White House hasn’t always had that name.  In fact, it wasn’t until 1901 that Theodore Roosevelt officially named the building “The White House.”
• The White House kitchen stocks 13,092 forks, knives, and spoons and has 5 full-time chefs.
• The residence costs over $25,000 to operate each day.  That adds up to a yearly budget of well over $9 million!

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Jefferson Memorial - Did you know that...

Enclosed in the memorial’s cornerstone is a copy of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the U.S. , a copy of each of the four major Washington newspapers of the day, and other documents inspired or written by Jefferson .

More about the Jefferson Memorial....

The circular, colonnaded structure of the Memorial is an adaptation of Jefferson’s favored Pantheon in Rome .  Jefferson used this style in his home at Monticello , as well as in his design of the University of Virginia , and architect John Russell Pope thought it to be the only fitting design for a memorial in Jefferson ’s honor.  The 19-foot bronze statue in the center of the Memorial looks out across the Tidal Basin at the White House.  On the walls surrounding the statue are five inscriptions taken from Jefferson ’s various writings, illustrating the principles with which he dedicated his life.  The excerpts are taken from such documents as the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson’s Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, Notes on the State of Virginia , as well as letters to James Madison, George Wythe, and George Washington.

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Fun Facts about the Supreme Court

• Justice William Douglas holds the distinction of having served on the Court the longest: 36 years and 6 months.
• The “Conference handshake” has been a tradition since the late 19th century, where each justice shakes hands with each of the other eight before they assemble at the Bench each day.

• The Supreme Court Building is now located where the Old Capitol Prison
  used to be.
• You don’t have to be a lawyer to be on the Supreme Court.

For more information on new Chief Justice Roberts and Nominee Miers, click here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/supremecourt.

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THE KOREAN MEMORIAL

• The Korean Memorial is the first stainless steel memorial ever erected in D.C.
• To make the 164-foot-long wall, a computer-generated stencil guided the sandblasting that carved the images in stone.

Located directly across the Reflecting Pool from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Korean Memorial is dedicated to honor the thousands of Americans who served in the Korean conflict to try and keep Communist North Korea from overtaking South Korea. What was envisioned as a short, decisive repelling of the enemy became a prolonged, bitter, and frustrating fight that threatened to explode beyond Korean borders. The fighting raged for three years, killing over four million people. A settlement re-established the earlier boundaries of North and South, returning the region to an uneasy peace.

The 19 soldiers are arranged around strips of granite and scrubby juniper bushes to suggest the rice paddies of Korea, while windblown ponchos recall the harsh weather they endured. This symbolic patrol brings together members of the Air Force, Army, Marines, and Navy, and portrays servicemen from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. When seen reflected on the wall, there appear to be 38 men on patrol, representing the 38th parallel that divided Korea.

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The National Zoo's Giant Panda cub was officially named Tai Shan, pronounced tie shahn which means "peaceful mountain” on Monday, October 17^th.  The name Tai Shan was chosen as a result of the zoo's online poll which offered five choices of names that were approved by the China Wildlife Conservation Association. More than 202,000 votes were cast and the name Tai Shan won about 44 percent of the votes. Here are the names and respective total votes:

Tai Shan: 88,245
Qiang Qiang: 66,195
Sheng Hua: 18,146
Long Shan: 16,100
Huan Sheng: 13,359

The National Zoo will allow visitors to view Tai Shan beginning in December at the earliest. The cub is healthy and strong but public viewing has been delayed because the mother panda has been reluctant to let him venture into the exhibit area.  Visit http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/default.cfm to learn more about the pandas and to view Tai Shan on the live panda cam.

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