The Washington critic., 1886-09-20
THE VISITORS GUIDE.
Objects Of Interest in and About the
National Capital.
THE GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS.
Parks, Squares, Statues, Gardens and
Other Points of Attraction.
THE WAY TO REACH THEM.


Washington is fast becoming the
most attractive city of the country. AS
the Capital of the Nation 1t presents
more objects Of interest to the visitor
than any other on the continent, and a
brief directory of its prominent points
will be of service to the vast number Of
persons who annually resort to the po-
Itical metropolis. For 1t Is estimated
that over three hundred thousand
strangers pay visit every year to this
city to behold the varied objects of in
tcrest which so thickly stud the his
toric "Ten Miles Square"
The System of Numbering Houses.
Numbers are displayed over the entrances TO
all houses. and the decimal system. as
adopted In Philadelphia, is used-one hun
dred numbers being allotted to each square
or block-commencing at First street west,
running west, First street east running
east, street north, running north. and A
street south, running south. The odd mum.
bers are always on the Iight-hand side GO
ing from the Capitol and the even numbers
into four quarters or sections, northeast and
northwest southeast and southwest, the
streets being designated accordingly; those
running north and south numerically, and
those running east and west by the letters
of the alphabet, the dividing lines being
North and South Capitol streets, running
on q line due north aud south from the Cap
itol and East Capitol street and a continue
tion ON the same west of the Capitol, run
ming due east and west.
The Capitol.
This great building is the central point of the
original District, and Is the largest cdiice
in the country Its centre marks the Me-
ridian OF Washington. The middle portion,
Immediately under the dome, Is the part
t.,tl,,
British in 1914, but was completely restored
by 1877. II incloses the "crypt''-where the
remains of Washington were intended to be
placed, the Library, the Rotunda, the old
Representatives Hall, now the Gallery of
Statuary, and the old Senate Chamber. now
the Supreme Courtroom. The old Supreme
Courtroom, in the first story, Is now occu-
pied by the Law Branch of the Library.
The cornerstone of the Capitol extension
the north and south wings-was laid July 4,
1851, Daniel Webster delivering the oration
of the occasion from the balcony of tho
Library. The south wing contains tho
House of Representatives. and the north
wingth Senate Chamber. The rotunda is dis
tinguished for its historic paintings, for tho
famous bronze doors, with their alto
reliefs. and for Brumidis frescoings. In the
Hall of Statuary are the natural pictures In
Potomac marble, representing faces of cer-
freak of nature. From the little rotunda,
Immediately north Of the great rotunda, the
staircase to the top of the dome begins its
winding way. From the top of the dome, or
as far as the visitor can ascend, the view
Of the surrounding, country Is magnificent.
homcly and formal In appearance, have
park and are now most eSaui,iteIy peauti::
feet above Ordinary I low tide S in 'P the Potomac aa
The total height from east base to the top
Of the temple covering the dome is 2sS feet;
the statue Of the Goddess Of Liberty, 1914
the statue 30116 feet This crest Is 800 feet
higher than the west gate of the grounds,
and 997 feet above low tide in the Potomac,
west. The building is Isl feet long by sSi
wide, and covers sx acres. 1t is the finest
and in many respects the costest and
handsomest. 1t is moreover the growth of
less than century-a fact which adds to
iol, or centre building, is an imitation,
| though not slavsh one, of the Mason
Carree at Nismes. The yew from the west
pSbe &c as TSn nna s he s the % ctg u
| illuminate the darkness Is one of the most
| beautiful and picturesque In the world and
| is well worth journey of thousand miles
| The White House.
| From the west balcony OF the capitol, looking
down Pennsylvania avenue, the White
House Is seen rearing its snowy-hued walls
above the dense mass of foliage that EN-
bowers it. like gigantic Gala lily springing
up amid its enfoidng green blades. Were
| II not for the partly Intervening Treasury
| building the view of the White House from
| the Capitol would be full and complete. The
| White House is the center of Uptown" as
| the Capitol Is the center of Down town."
| 1t is beautifully located, the view from the
| south windows covering the whole southern
front of the city, as the view from the north
up Sixteenth street west exhibits the best
part of the Northwest section to the gaze
The White House Is copy of the palace of
the Duke of Leinster at Dublin. with the
addition of large porch on the north front,
| which was added during Andrew Jackson's
administration. The reservation in which
1t stands embraces nearly 81 acres. The
main entrance is on the north, reached by
the Pennsylvania avenue cars. IL IS Two
stories high on the north, is built of white
free.stone, 40 feet long by So wide. IL con-
tains on the first floor the famous Green,
Red, Blue and East rooms, the State Dining
| Room and the great conservatories. The
| Blue Room Is the Presidents Official recep-
tionroom and the drawing-room of the ladies
of his family. The East Room, originally
late as 1887 and In the latter part OF tho
century used as drying-room for clothes
by Mrs. President Adams, is the largest and
most noted room in the building. 1t Is -
feet high, so feet long and 40 wide. IT is
open to visitors every day except Sundays.
Upstairs are the Cabinet room, the private
offices, the Presidents Office the library
and the family apartments. All these
rooms except the latter are open to visitors,
by special permission, at suitable hours.
Lafayette Square.
| Due north from the White House Is Lafayette
Square, the first public reservation in Wash
ington that was improved. 1t contains the
| equestrian statue of Andrew Jackson, by
Clark Mills. Many of its trees are old forest
| nonarchs, hundreds of years old. II is IN
| part specimen of the old formal landscape
gardening so fashionable in England two
hundred years ago, a style that was i'm
| ported into this country. Lafayette Square
i was, one hundred years ago, part # grave
| yard that enclosed tho square north, on
which st. Johns Church Is built, and the
square east on which are situated the At
torney Generals Office formerly the Freed
mans Bank), the Surgeon. Generals Office
| and Riggs Bank (both in the building for
merly used as the United States Bank),
| Commodore Decatur's house, corner Fiji
| teenth and a.half and II streets, and the
old Club House, near which Philip Barton
Key was killed by Daniel L. Sickles, Mem
| ber of Congress from New York, The last
bodies from this graveyard We're not re-
| moved until 1919.
1T. Johns y. IL. Church.
st. Johns p. L. Church, which mas been often
called the State Church because more Piesi'