Otázka: Washington, D.C.
Jazyk: Angličtina
Přidal(a): VariusMartin
Washington, D.C.
- The capital of the USA
- Located on the East coast, south of the NYC
- Centre of American political power (The White House – president, The U.S. Capitol – Congress)
- Washington D.C. is one of America’s most visited It is not just seat of the Federal Government, Supreme Court and the President of the United States; there are also memorials to commemorate important figures and events in American history
- The whole district is divided into four parts – Southeast, Southwest, Northeast and Northwest; centre of the division lines is the U.S. Capitol building
- Population: 650 000
- No taller buildings than Capitol (law)
History:
- American natives‘ settlement in the pre-colonial era on the Potomac River
- Became the capital after the Compromise of 1790 when Jefferson, Hamilton and Madison agreed on moving the capital from Philadelphia to the Southern United States (about 8000 inhabitants)
- First city in the world to be designed and newly built as the capital (Pierre L’Enfant)
- Former area of district was 100 sq. miles (as designed by George Washington)
- Huge economic decline prior to the outbreak of American Civil War in 1861 (first slaves freed on command of Abraham Lincoln) (about 100 000 inhabitants)
- Huge historical importance (Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech, signing place of The North Atlantic Treaty = The Washington Treaty) and many more
Transportation:
- Most of the transportation is public (Interstate 95 – the biggest highway on the East Coast runs around the district)
- Second-busiest subway and sixth-largest bus system
- Main train station = Union Station (over 70 000 people serviced every day)
- Three major airports: Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport
Places to visit:
- The White House – was not always white, painted white after the War with British of 1812
- The Capitol – centre of the US government
- The Lincoln Memorial – American National monument (form of Greek temple) – site for Martin Luther King’s „I have a dream“ speech
- The Washington Monument – 170 metres tall obelisk (world’s tallest stone structure), honour of George Washington
Comparison – New York City:
- Height of the buildings
- Washington, D.C.- small buildings that are not taller than the Capitol
- New York City- tall skyscrapers
- Rivers
- Washington, D.C.- no river
- New York City- the Hudson river (border between Manhattan and New Jersey) and the East river
- Numbers of streets
- Population
- Washington, D.C.- 650 000
- New York City- 8 500 000
