Washington District of Columbia

**Washington, D.C.** is the capital of the United States of America and the seat of its three branches of government, as well as the federal district of the U.S. The city has an unparalleled collection of free, public museums and many of the nation's most treasured monuments and memorials. The vistas on the National Mall between the Capitol, Washington Monument, White House, and Lincoln Memorial are famous throughout the world as icons of the world's wealthiest and most powerful nation.

## Background

Washington, D.C., is a city borne of politics, by politics, and for politics. It wasn't the first national capital: Baltimore, Lancaster, York, Annapolis, Trenton, Philadelphia, and even New York City all hosted the national government. However, it was clear that the nation's capital would need to be independent from the then-powerful state governments and that the southern states would refuse to accept a capital in the north. On July 16, 1790, Congress passed **The Residence Act**, which established that the capital of the U.S. will be located along the Potomac River. On January 24, 1791, President Washington announced the specific location of the new federal city just north of his 70,000-acre estate. A diamond-shaped federal district was carved out of land from the states of Maryland and Virginia and the federal government purchased large swaths of mostly-undeveloped land from its owners. The existing municipalities of Georgetown and Alexandria remained independent cities within the newly created District of Columbia.

The French-born architect Pierre L'Enfant was hired to plan the city layout. L'Enfant's plan, modeled after some of the leading cities in Europe, envisioned large parks and wide streets, including a grand boulevard connecting the "President's House" to the Capitol Building, with a huge waterfall cascading down Capitol Hill. However, L'Enfant was eccentric and fought bitterly with President Washington and the commissioners appointed to supervise the capital's construction. At the urging of Thomas Jefferson, L'Enfant resigned from his post and never received payment for his work.

Issues with financing and a lack of skilled craftsmen slowed the construction of the city. The commissioners ultimately relied on African slaves lent from nearby plantations to complete construction. The federal government finally moved to the new capital in 1800, which by then had been named Washington, in honor of its founder (though Washington still preferred to call it the "Federal City").

During the War of 1812, British forces burned the Capitol Building, Treasury, and White House, although they were all rebuilt shortly thereafter. The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal was built in 1831 to bypass the treacherous rapids of the Potomac River and move goods from the western territories along the Ohio River all the way to Georgetown, where they could then be loaded onto ships. However, the canal was unable to compete with the more efficient Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, which was completed around the same time as the canal.

Alexandria suffered from economic stagnation, since the government's plans favored the port at Georgetown and all government buildings were, by law, built on the formerly-Maryland side of the Potomac River. The economic stagnation, combined with rumors that Congress would ban slavery in the capital city, led the citizens of Alexandria to petition Congress to return the land south of the Potomac River to Virginia. Congress voted to do so and, after a referdum of the citizens of Alexandria, approval by President James K. Polk, and a vote by the Virginia General Assembly, the "retrocession", which spoiled the city's fine diamond shape, was effected, leaving only the land originally donated by Maryland under federal control.

Washington D.C.'s compromise location on the border of North and South proved precarious during the **Civil War**. Surrounded by Confederate Virginia and southern sympathizers in Maryland, President Lincoln established a network of forts surrounding the capital. As the center of war operations for the Union, government workers, soldiers, and runaway slaves flooded into the city. Despite the city's growth, Washington still had dirt roads and lacked basic sanitation.

The District of Columbia Act of 1871 created a new territorial government. Georgetown and Washington were formally combined. In 1873, President Grant appointed Alexander Robey Shepherd as governor, charged with modernizing the capital. Sewers and gas lines were installed, streets were paved, and the town was transformed into a modern metropolis. However, the modernization initiative wound up costing 3 times the original estimate, possibly in part due to cronyism, and in 1874, the city filed for bankruptcy protection. Congress replaced the territorial government with a 3-member board of commissioners that it appointed.

By the early 1900s, the grand national capital had become marred by slums and randomly placed buildings, including a railroad station on the National Mall that created so much noise, it disrupted sessions of Congress. In 1901, Congress created the McMillan Commission, a team of architects and planners charged with developing the city generally in accordance with L'Enfant's grand plan. The commission re-landscaped the Capitol Building grounds, straightened the National Mall by reclaiming land from the Potomac River, eliminated the slums and alleys surrounding the Capitol Building and the National Mall, established a city-wide park system, and paved the framework for the monuments. The northern border of the city was pushed beyond Boundary Street (now Florida Ave) and the streetcar lines were extended, spurring the development of the neighborhoods of Bloomingdale, Eckington, Mount Pleasant, and Columbia Heights. The New Deal spending of the 1930s under president Franklin Delano Roosevelt created many more federal agencies and led to the construction of even more federal buildings, including the Pentagon. With the start of World War II, government spending in Washington increased, a trend that has continued over the decades.

In 1957, Washington became the first city to have a majority African-American population and the population of the city exceeded 800,000. The March on Washington and the *I Have A Dream* speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963 were major events in the civil rights movement. After the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in April 1968, riots broke out at the intersection of 14th St and U St and 1,200 buildings were badly damaged or destroyed. Many businesses were forced to permanently close and thousands of jobs were permanently lost.

## Landmarks

### The Mall

The Mall is the location between the Museum of Technology, Museum of History, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and Capitol Building. The Capitol Building and Lincoln Memorial are on the far ends, the Washington Monument near the center, and the Museums are on the sides.

**Washington Monument**

Directly in the center of the Mall, it is the tallest structure in Washington D.C and can be seen from a far distance away. Inside holds a bronze statue of first president George Washington.

**Capitol Building**

The United States Capitol Building houses the legislative branch of the government of the United States. It is located in Washington, D.C., on top of Capitol Hill at the east end of the Mall. The other side of the Capitol opens onto Seward Square.

**Lincoln Memorial**

The Lincoln Memorial stands in ruins at the heart of D.C.; the seated statue of Lincoln is missing its head (it is located in the Temple of the Union). Sandbags are scattered around the memorial, which is used as cover by slavers and possibly runaway slaves if a quest is completed. The head may be restored after following a quest given by Hannibal Hamlin who leads a small unit of escaped slaves that are trying to create a haven for other runaway slaves.

#### **National Archives**

The National Archives houses an agency that is charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records.

#### **Museum of History**

The Museum of History is one of the most visited museums in Washington. With the space exibit is the most popular exibit. In the center you can find a woolly mammoth statue. The museum holds 4 exibit entryways including WWII, the Anchorage Reclamation, Resource Wars, and the Abraham Lincoln.

**Museum of Technology**

A museum to man's pride and archievements, the Museum of Technology holds all of these. The Wright brothers' Flier can be seen hanging, A monument to man's pride and achievement. The Virgo II Lander that sent man to the moon is present, containing the communications relay dish, and plaques about several artifacts. There is also an exhibit, recreation, of a Vault-Tec vault, labeled vault 106.

### Pentagon

The Pentagon is the main headquarters for the United States armed forces. The area is off-limit for civillians. The name dervives from the buildings shape. Though actually in Virginia, it is considered a part of D.C.

### Jefferson Memorial

The Jefferson Memorial was built in dedication to 3rd U.S president Thomas Jefferson and main writer of the U.S draft of independence. In the center, holds a statue to Jefferson. A smaller side entrance to the gift shop is open toward the west.

### White House

The White House is the presidential home of the U.S president. It is off limit to civilians and is government property.

### Arlington Cemetery

Arlington Cemetery is located in the Arlington district. In the center, there is the Arlington House. Many of the country's war heroes were buried beneath this soil.

### Anchorage War Memorial

The Anchorage War Memorial is a war memorial commemorating the battle of Anchorage, Alaska.

## Districts

**Anacostia district**

**Arlington Cemetery district**

**Bailey's Crossroads district**

**Chevy Chase district**

**Potomac River**

**Seward Square district**

**Takoma Park district**

**The Mall district**

**Dupont district**

**Falls Church district**

**Georgetown district**

**L'Enfant district**

**Mason District**

**Pennsylvania Avenue district**

**Vernon Square district**

## Suburban locations

### **Annandale**

A suburb of Washington D.C, Annandale is located in Fairfax County in Virginia. It is home to the oldest and largest branch of the Northern Virginia Community College system.

**Bethesda**

Bethesda is a major town in the DC area. There is a Metro and City Liner service to this city. As the west-east highway ends in the city, another highway traveling north passes through the area. The city has a local park, named after the largest employer in this city, where baseball is played.

**Friendship Heights**

Friendship Heights is a large apartment complex/metro station located on the northern outskirts of Washington, D.C.

**Springvale**

North-west of Arlington is a small suburb of Washington D.C.

**Fairfax**

Fairfax is an idependent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and a suburb of Washinton.

## Metro system

Main article: Metro

An extensive transit network, providing service to Washington, D.C. and the surrounding areas. Complemented by an above-ground network of City Liner buses, the network of stations and rail lines were advertised as a faster, more convenient, cleaner commuter option.

## Stay safe

The number of reported incidents of certain types of crime, but not all types of crime, within a certain proximity to any street address can be tracked on the DC Crime Map.

#### Homicides

As a visitor, you are extremely unlikely to be victim of a homicide; the vast majority of homicide victims in the U.S. are acquainted with their murderer long before the crime. The majority of homicides occur in the less-traveled parts of the city, especially near public housing projects.

#### Muggings and robberies

Muggings are a problem in the nightlife-centered neighborhoods of Shaw, Adams Morgan, and Near Northeast and the area around the Gallery Place-Chinatown Metro station. However, visitors should not avoid these areas—on the contrary, it would be a shame to miss out on them—but visitors should be vigilant. In particular, avoid walking at night on side streets—stick to the well-lit main commercial strips, travel in groups, and maintain a basic level of sobriety.

Be extra vigilant with your mobile phones; they are a very popular snatch-and-grab item around the Metro stations and on the trains.

**Atomic war**

As capital of the United States, Washington is 100% likely to get nuked. In the event it does happen seek refugee in a local vaults. All vaults in the D.C region are located either in Virginia and Maryland. If near Virginia, make may to Vault 87 or Vault 112. If near Olney in Maryland, make your way to Vault 92. If near Arlington, make your way to Vault 101. If you find yourself in Springvale make your way to Vault 106. If near Canturbury Commons make your way to Vault 108. Washington is likely to be flattened.