1. THE CAPITOL
2. MEMORIAL TO LINCOLN 3. THE WHITE HOUSE, (SOUTH FRONT)
4. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Washington, D. C. [The “City of Magnificent Distances,” from its being laid out on a large and regular scale; originally named Georgetown, but when selected in 1790 as the Federal Capital was re-named Washington in honor of the first President of the United States.]
The City of Washington, the Capital of the United States, lies on the left bank of the Potomac River, in the District of Columbia, one hundred and fifty-six miles from Chesapeake Bay, one hundred and eighty-five miles from the Atlantic Ocean, two hundred and twenty-six miles southwest of New York, one hundred and thirty-six miles of Philadelphia, and forty miles of Baltimore.
The city lies on a plain with slight elevations and surrounded by hills, and is generally accepted as the most beautiful in the United States, being finely laid out, with wide asphalted streets, opening up vistas of handsome public buildings, monuments, or leafy squares, with the Capitol and the Washington Monument dominating the entire view.
The original plan of Washington City was made by L’Enfant, a French engineer, who had adopted America as his residence. Based largely upon the topography of Versailles, its characteristic features are the crossing of the rectangular streets by frequent broad transverse avenues, one hundred and twenty to one hundred and sixty feet wide, lined with trees and named for various States of the Union. The streets running north and south are numbered, those running east and west are named by the letters of the alphabet. The circles formed by the intersection of the streets and avenues are one of the most charming features of the city.
Pennsylvania Avenue, between the Capitol and the White House (a distance of one and one-third miles), is the chief thoroughfare, and other important business streets are Seventh Street, Fourteenth Street, Ninth Street, and F Street. Among the finest residence streets are New Hampshire Avenue, Massachusetts Avenue, Vermont Avenue, Connecticut Avenue, and Sixteenth Street.
The new Union Railway Station, completed in 1908 at a cost of fifteen million dollars, including grounds and tunnels, is undoubtedly one of the most successful buildings in the country. It is situated at the junction of Massachusetts and Delaware Avenues, about one-third of a mile, and in full view of the Capitol. In front is a large plaza, embellished with shrubbery, fountains, and the finely sculptured Columbus monument.
The Capitol, splendidly situated on a hill ninety feet above the level of the Potomac, dominates the entire city with its soaring dome and ranks among the most beautiful buildings in the world. It stands in a park of about fifty acres, is seven hundred and fifty-one feet in length and one hundred and twenty-one to three hundred and twenty-four feet wide, and consists of a main edifice of sandstone, painted white, and of two wings of white marble. The building covers an area of three and one-half acres.