"The District"

Welcome to District of Columbia

District of Columbia/Virginia border on Memorial Bridge
May 18, 2006

I would imagine that people are pretty familiar with our nation's capital. Most Americans have made a trip to Washington at some point in their lives, whether it was a high school trip, part of a road trip with mom and dad, for business or maybe even a protest. The District of Columbia holds an interesting place in American politics: the seat of our government, the hub of American democracy, yet its citizens do not have a voting member in Congress. D.C. is full of museums, memorials and historical sites, yet I find it interesting that it's only been the capital since 1790, with several cities, most notably Philadelphia and New York preceding it. I wonder if anyone calls our nation's capital by its full name: Washington, District of Columbia (I never have).

Finding this sign was pure luck on my part. I was trying to visit Arlington National Cemetery and got off I-95 and headed west. I couldn't find parking, so I ended up heading across the Memorial Bridge into D.C. (you can see the Lincoln Memorial in the background). Fortunately, I had my camera in the front seat and I snapped this lousy picture. If you can't read it, it says "Welcome to Washington. Anthony A. Williams, Mayor." Looking at other sites, this might be the only sign welcoming people to the district, since I never saw a welcome sign on I-95.

United States Capitol

May 21, 2006

Since the District of Columbia is one city, it would be redundant to describe Washington here once again. Despite not being in the geographic center of the District, the capitol dictates how the district is divided into quadrants. I would argue it is the most visible symbol of American politics over the White House, since it depicted in news graphics and the backdrop of stand-up reports constantly. Most of the other state capitols are modeled after the U.S. Capitol and its neoclassical style, reviving architecture of ancient Greek buildings. From this perspective, the House is on the right and the Senate is on the left. There always seems to be activity on the Mall, and the day I visited D.C. was no different. On this day it was George Washington University's commencement ceremony, and it makes for an interesting foreground image.

Miscellaneous District of Columbia Symbols

State Route Sign Courtesy of James Teresco

License Plate

Seal

Quarter