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94-734: Aside from some local news programming, virtually no mass media content originates from Cumberland. The local media tends to rebroadcast Hagerstown, Baltimore and Washington, DC, television stations for news coverage. Commercial Media is available from such companies as Allegany Media, and Commercial Video. Both companies as based out of Cumberland, Maryland. Cumberland is served by 18 radio stations, 14 FM and 4 AM. Most are owned by local companies, such as WTBO-WKGO Corporation, LLC, which owns WFRB 560/WFRB-FM 105.3, WRQE 106.1 and WTBO-AM 1450; Cumberland Broadcasting Company owns two stations, WCBC-AM 1270/FM 107.1. Others are owned by West Virginia Radio Corporation out of nearby Morgantown, WV. Cumberland and

188-488: A cascading waterfall with Italian Renaissance -style architecture. Modern , Postmodern , contemporary , and other non-classical architectural styles are also seen in the city. The National Museum of African American History and Culture deeply contrasts the stone-based neoclassical buildings on the National Mall with a design that combines modern engineering with heavy inspiration from African art . The interior of

282-518: A progressive think tank that itself supports statehood, found that support was at 43%, a seven-percent increase on a previous poll by the same group in March 2019. Another poll conducted by Data for Progress in February 2021 found that 54% of likely voters supported D.C. statehood, and just 35% were opposed. Geoffrey Skelly at FiveThirtyEight noted that the question asked if they supported giving statehood "to

376-499: A referendum on D.C. statehood resulted in an 85% support among Washington, D.C., voters for it to become the nation's 51st state . In March 2017, the city's congressional delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton introduced a bill for statehood. Reintroduced in 2019 and 2021 as the Washington, D.C., Admission Act , the U.S. House of Representatives passed it in April 2021. After not progressing in

470-474: A shadow congressional delegation of two senators and a representative to lobby Congress for statehood. In November 1993, a statehood bill made it to the full House of Representatives for debate and a vote for the first time, where it was defeated by a 277–153 margin. Since then, a statehood bill has been introduced every year without reaching a vote. In 2016, the mayor of the District, Muriel Bowser , called for

564-481: A bill admitting D.C. as a state to be passed by Congress, President Trump would veto it. The election of Joe Biden as president removed the threat of a presidential veto to such a bill, as Biden has declared his support to admitting D.C. However, Mitch McConnell , the then- Senate majority leader , made it clear that while there remains a Republican majority in the Senate, any D.C. admission bill would not be granted

658-580: A consequence, no longer had representation in the Congress. The incorporation of Alexandria County into the District caused serious economic injury to that community, so it was retroceded to Virginia in 1846. (The county was reorganized into the Independent City of Alexandria and the adjacent County of Arlington.) This reduced the district to its current size of 65 square miles (170 km ). The same act that retroceded Alexandria to Virginia also amalgamated

752-408: A garden-lined grand avenue about 1 mile (1.6 km) long and 400 feet (120 m) wide in an area that is now the National Mall inspired by the grounds at Versailles and Tuileries Gardens. In March 1792, President Washington dismissed L'Enfant due to conflicts with the three commissioners appointed to supervise the capital's construction. Andrew Ellicott , who worked with L'Enfant in surveying

846-496: A modern glass exterior and heavy curvature. CityCenterDC is home to Palmer Alley, a pedestrian-only walkway, and houses several apartment buildings, restaurants, and luxury-brand storefronts with streamlined glass and metal facades. Outside Downtown D.C., architectural styles are more varied. Historic buildings are designed primarily in the Queen Anne , Châteauesque , Richardsonian Romanesque , Georgian Revival , Beaux-Arts , and

940-431: A relatively high homelessness rate, despite its high living standard compared to many American cities. Washington, D.C., is divided into four quadrants of unequal area: Northwest (NW) , Northeast (NE) , Southeast (SE) , and Southwest (SW) . The axes bounding the quadrants radiate from the U.S. Capitol. All road names include the quadrant abbreviation to indicate their location. House numbers generally correspond with

1034-577: A snowstorm in January 1772. Hurricanes or their remnants occasionally impact the area in late summer and early fall. However, they usually are weak by the time they reach Washington, partly due to the city's inland location. Flooding of the Potomac River , however, caused by a combination of high tide, storm surge, and runoff, has been known to cause extensive property damage in the Georgetown neighborhood of

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1128-657: A special committee charged with beautifying Washington's ceremonial core. What became known as the McMillan Plan was finalized in 1901 and included relandscaping the Capitol grounds and the National Mall, clearing slums, and establishing a new citywide park system. The plan is thought to have largely preserved L'Enfant's intended design for the city. By law, the city's skyline is low and sprawling. The federal Height of Buildings Act of 1910 prohibits buildings with height exceeding

1222-627: A stream valley that bisects the city. Established in 1890, it is the country's fourth-oldest national park and is home to a variety of plant and animal species, including raccoon, deer, owls, and coyotes. Other National Park Service properties include the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park , the National Mall and Memorial Parks , Theodore Roosevelt Island , Columbia Island , Fort Dupont Park , Meridian Hill Park , Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens , and Anacostia Park . The District of Columbia Department of Parks and Recreation maintains

1316-515: A time clause that required states to ratify it within seven years of the proposal. But of 38 required, only 16 states had ratified the amendment by August 22, 1985, so the amendment failed. The failure of the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment saw the beginning of concerted efforts to bring about statehood for the District. Even before the Voting Rights Amendment failed, voters in

1410-468: A variety of Victorian styles. Rowhouses are prominent in areas developed after the Civil War and typically follow Federal and late Victorian designs. Georgetown 's Old Stone House , built in 1765, is the oldest-standing building in the city. Founded in 1789, Georgetown University features a mix of Romanesque and Gothic Revival architecture . The Ronald Reagan Building is the largest building in

1504-507: A vote by residents on whether they approved of the proposal of admitting the District as a state. In November of the same year, a referendum was held in which 85.69% of those that voted approved the motion to petition Congress for admission. Following this, the D.C. council passed a resolution changing the proposed name from "New Columbia" (which had been on the ballot), to "State of Washington, D.C.", with "D.C." standing for "Douglass Commonwealth", referring to Frederick Douglass , who lived in

1598-518: A vote on the floor of the Senate. This would require the introduction of a new bill once the new session of Congress began on January 3, 2021. On January 4, 2021, Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.'s non-voting delegate, reintroduced H.R. 51 into the 117th Congress with a record 202 co-sponsors. On January 6, following the victory of the two Democratic candidates in the Senate elections in Georgia that gave

1692-566: Is carried on Atlantic Broadband cable channel 49 for Cumberland, Frostburg, and Keyser. W43BP is owned by Trinity Broadcasting Network. Local TV news is provided by Hagerstown station, WDVM-TV 25. Rarely though is Cumberland or any part of Western Maryland featured unless it is a large story. Atlantic Broadband provides cable service to Cumberland. Nearby communities Frostburg, Maryland , Keyser, West Virginia and Grantsville, Maryland are served Comcast (formerly Adelphia ). Washington, D. C. Washington, D.C. , formally

1786-861: Is generally popular among tourists and locals. In 2007, six of the top ten buildings in the American Institute of Architects ' ranking of America's Favorite Architecture were in the city: the White House , Washington National Cathedral , the Jefferson Memorial , the United States Capitol , the Lincoln Memorial , and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial . The neoclassical , Georgian , Gothic , and Modern styles are reflected among these six structures and many other prominent edifices in

1880-650: Is home to many national monuments and museums , located most prominently on or around the National Mall , including the Jefferson Memorial , the Lincoln Memorial , and the Washington Monument . It hosts 177 foreign embassies and serves as the headquarters for the World Bank , the International Monetary Fund , the Organization of American States , and other international organizations. Home to many of

1974-480: Is in plant hardiness zone 8a near downtown, and zone 7b elsewhere in the city. Summers are hot and humid with a July daily average of 79.8 °F (26.6 °C) and average daily relative humidity around 66%, which can cause moderate personal discomfort. Heat indices regularly approach 100 °F (38 °C) at the height of summer. The combination of heat and humidity in the summer brings very frequent thunderstorms, some of which occasionally produce tornadoes in

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2068-470: Is sea level at the Potomac River. The geographic center of Washington is near the intersection of 4th and L streets NW. The district has 7,464 acres (30.21 km ) of parkland, about 19% of the city's total area, the second-highest among high-density U.S. cities after Philadelphia . The city's sizable parkland was a factor in the city being ranked as third in the nation for park access and quality in

2162-485: Is treated as a state for purposes of the presidential election , except that it cannot have more electoral votes than the state with the least number of electors. In 1970, Congress passed the District of Columbia Delegate Act, which allowed for the election of a non-voting delegate representing the District in the House of Representatives . Congress then passed the District of Columbia Home Rule Act in 1973, which replaced

2256-492: The Anacostia River to the east. Washington, D.C.'s street grid was extended, where possible, throughout the district starting in 1888. Georgetown's streets were renamed in 1895. Some streets are particularly noteworthy, including Pennsylvania Avenue , which connects the White House to the Capitol; and K Street, which houses the offices of many lobbying groups. Constitution Avenue and Independence Avenue , located on

2350-623: The Compensated Emancipation Act in 1862, which ended slavery in the district, freeing about 3,100 slaves in the district nine months before the Emancipation Proclamation . In 1868, Congress granted the district's African American male residents the right to vote in municipal elections. By 1870, the district's population had grown 75% in a decade to nearly 132,000 people, yet the city still lacked paved roads and basic sanitation. Some members of Congress suggested moving

2444-685: The Continental Congress and under the Articles of Confederation . New York City was the first capital upon the adoption of the Constitution , succeeded by Philadelphia , which was capital from 1790 to 1800. On October 6, 1783, after the capital was forced by the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783 to move to Princeton, Congress resolved to consider a new location for it. The following day, Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts moved "that buildings for

2538-564: The D.C. Admission Act , is a bill introduced during the 116th United States Congress . The bill would grant Washington, D.C. , admission into the Union as a state (which would also make it the country's first and only city-state). The bill was originally introduced in the 116th Congress on January 3, 2019, and was reintroduced on January 4, 2021, and January 9, 2023, in the 117th and 118th Congresses . The United States House of Representatives passed it on April 22, 2021. The Constitution of

2632-530: The District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C. , is the capital city and federal district of the United States . The city is on the Potomac River , across from Virginia , and shares land borders with Maryland to its north and east. It was named after George Washington , the first president of the United States . The district is named after Columbia , the female personification of

2726-688: The District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801 , which officially organized the district and placed the entire territory under the exclusive control of the federal government. The area within the district was organized into two counties, the County of Washington to the east and north of the Potomac and the County of Alexandria to the west and south. After the Act's passage, citizens in the district were no longer considered residents of Maryland or Virginia, which ended their representation in Congress. On August 24, 1814, during

2820-477: The Potomac River forms the district's border with Virginia and has two major tributaries, the Anacostia River and Rock Creek . Tiber Creek , a natural watercourse that once passed through the National Mall , was fully enclosed underground during the 1870s. The creek also formed a portion of the now-filled Washington City Canal , which allowed passage through the city to the Anacostia River from 1815 until

2914-602: The Twenty-third Amendment , passed in 1961. Washington, D.C. anchors the southern end of the Northeast megalopolis . As the seat of the U.S. federal government , the city is an important world political capital . The city hosts the buildings that house federal government headquarters, including the White House , the Capitol, the Supreme Court Building , and multiple federal departments and agencies . The city

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3008-428: The U.S. East Coast . The city has a total area of 68.34 square miles (177 km ), of which 61.05 square miles (158.1 km ) is land and 7.29 square miles (18.9 km ) (10.67%) is water. The district is bordered by Montgomery County, Maryland , to the northwest; Prince George's County, Maryland , to the east; Arlington County, Virginia , to the west; and Alexandria, Virginia , to the south. The south bank of

3102-616: The War of 1812 , British forces invaded and occupied the city after defeating an American force at Bladensburg . In retaliation for acts of destruction by American troops in the Canadas , the British set fire to government buildings in the city, gutting the United States Capitol , the Treasury Building , and the White House in what became known as the burning of Washington . However, a storm forced

3196-600: The Washington Metro stations and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden are designed with strong influence from the 20th-century Brutalism movement. The Smithsonian Institution Building is built of Seneca red sandstone in the Norman Revival style. The Old Post Office building, located on Pennsylvania Avenue and completed in 1899, was the first building in the city to have a steel frame structure and

3290-515: The 1850s. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal starts in Georgetown and was used during the 19th century to bypass the Little Falls of the Potomac River, located at the northwest edge of the city at the Atlantic Seaboard fall line . The highest natural elevation in the district is 409 feet (125 m) above sea level at Fort Reno Park in upper northwest Washington, D.C. The lowest point

3384-473: The 2018 ParkScore ranking of the park systems of the nation's 100 most populous cities, according to Trust for Public Land , a non-profit organization. The National Park Service manages most of the 9,122 acres (36.92 km ) of city land owned by the U.S. government. Rock Creek Park is a 1,754-acre (7.10 km ) urban forest in Northwest Washington, which extends 9.3 miles (15.0 km) through

3478-504: The British to evacuate the city after just 24 hours. Most government buildings were repaired quickly, but the Capitol, which was largely under construction at the time, would not be completed in its current form until 1868. In the 1830s, the district's southern territory of Alexandria declined economically, due in part to its neglect by Congress. Alexandria was a major market in the domestic slave trade and pro-slavery residents feared that abolitionists in Congress would end slavery in

3572-518: The Democrats the majority, the mayor of Washington, D.C., Muriel Bowser, issued a statement renewing the call for statehood for the District, stating her desire to see a Statehood bill on the desk of President Biden within 100 days of the start of the new Congress. The same day, the storming and occupation of the United States Capitol by supporters of President Trump led to calls from others for

3666-399: The District began looking at the statehood option. In 1980 , voters approved the creation of a constitutional convention to meet and draw up a proposed constitution for a new state, in the same manner as other territories had before their admission as states. This was ratified by voters in 1982, with the plan for a state named as "New Columbia". This constitution mandates the selection of

3760-565: The District between 1877 and 1895. In 2017, separate bills were introduced by the District's non-voting delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton , and Tom Carper , a senator from Delaware , for statehood, which again failed to reach a vote. In 2019, following the 2018 election that saw the Democratic Party regain control of the House of Representatives, the Democratic leadership put its support behind

3854-459: The District from its founding. The building of Washington likely relied in significant part on slave labor, and slave receipts have been found for the White House, Capitol Building, and establishment of Georgetown University. The city became an important slave market and a center of the nation's internal slave trade . After its survey, the new federal city was constructed on the north bank of

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3948-415: The District of Columbia a state within the question, which led to just 29 percent of respondents supporting statehood versus 55 percent opposing it. Skelly noted that this could mean that advocates for D.C. statehood should focus on the equality argument in favor of it to win public support, while those that oppose it should focus on the legal constraints. Voting for the bill in the House of Representatives

4042-452: The District of Columbia-Maryland Reunion Act as H.R. 472, followed by Louie Gohmert as H.R. 2651 on April 19; in the Senate, Senator Roger Marshall sponsored S.1361 under the same name on April 22, 2021. On April 30, Democratic senator Joe Manchin came out against both H.R. 51 and S. 51, effectively dooming their passage. A poll conducted by YouGov in June 2020 following the passing of

4136-480: The District of Columbia. Shepherd authorized large projects that modernized the city but bankrupted its government. In 1874, Congress replaced the territorial government with an appointed three-member board of commissioners. In 1888, the city's first motorized streetcars began service. Their introduction generated growth in areas of the district beyond the City of Washington's original boundaries, leading to an expansion of

4230-559: The District's status to be changed; because of its status, the activation of the District of Columbia National Guard to assist local law enforcement required the consent of the secretary of the Army , while the governors of Virginia and Maryland were able to activate units of their states' National Guard directly. On January 27, a companion bill, S. 51 , was introduced into the Senate by Tom Carper with 38 co-sponsors (7 more signed on later by May 13). S. 51 received no votes and H.R. 51

4324-444: The Potomac River, to the east of Georgetown centered on Capitol Hill . On September 9, 1791, three commissioners overseeing the capital's construction named the city in honor of President Washington. The same day, the federal district was named Columbia, a feminine form of Columbus , which was a poetic name for the United States commonly used at that time. Congress held its first session there on November 17, 1800. Congress passed

4418-455: The Residence Act, the exact location was to be selected by President George Washington , who signed the bill into law on July 16, 1790. Formed from land donated by Maryland and Virginia, the initial shape of the federal district was a square measuring 10 miles (16 km) on each side and totaling 100 square miles (259 km ). Two pre-existing settlements were included in the territory,

4512-539: The Senate and signed by president; it would have renamed the city Washington, Douglas Commonwealth and shrunk the Federal District to about the size of the national mall. Designed in 1791 by Pierre Charles L'Enfant , the city is divided into quadrants , which are centered around the Capitol Building and include 131 neighborhoods . As of the 2020 census , the city had a population of 689,545. Commuters from

4606-464: The Senate, the statehood bill was introduced again in January 2023. The bill would have made D.C. into a state with one representative and two senators, with the name Washington, Douglas Commonwealth (thus keeping the same abbreviation Washington, D.C.). The legalities, reasons, and impact of statehood have been heavily debated in the 2020s. Washington, D.C., is located in the Mid-Atlantic region of

4700-534: The United States was drafted to provide for a federal capital district that was not part of any state. The new capital was to be no more than 100 square miles (260 km ) in area and under the exclusive control of the Congress. In 1790, the Congress passed the Residence Act , which legislated the foundation of a new, permanent national capital, to be located along the banks of the Potomac River , using land ceded to

4794-881: The United States Constitution was ratified in 1961, granting the district three votes in the Electoral College for the election of president and vice president, but still not affording the city's residents representation in Congress. After the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, riots broke out in the city , primarily in the U ;Street, 14th Street, 7th Street, and H Street corridors, which were predominantly black residential and commercial areas. The riots raged for three days until more than 13,600 federal troops and Washington, D.C., Army National Guardsmen stopped

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4888-481: The Washington, D.C., Admission Act, thereby sending it to the Senate. Again sponsored in the Senate by Tom Carper, with the majority of the Democratic caucus as co-sponsors, the bill was the first time that the issue of D.C. statehood had reached the floor of the Senate. The Washington, D.C., Admission Act would enact several individual provisions related to the new state's admission: Republicans have strongly opposed

4982-434: The admission of the District as a state, with Nancy Pelosi , the speaker of the House of Representatives , one of the 155 co-sponsors of the bill introduced by Eleanor Holmes Norton in January 2019. The House passed H.R. 1, a nonbinding resolution of support for statehood, in March 2019. On June 26, 2020, D.C. statehood was approved by a chamber of Congress for the first time when the House voted by 232 to 180 to approve

5076-508: The already-implemented L'Enfant Plan , with the new McMillan Plan leading urban development in the city throughout the movement. Much of the old Victorian Mall was replaced with modern Neoclassical and Beaux-Arts architecture ; these designs are still prevalent in the city's governmental buildings today. Increased federal spending under the New Deal in the 1930s led to the construction of new government buildings, memorials, and museums in

5170-454: The appointed mayor and city council with an elected mayor and council. In 1978, a constitutional amendment was proposed that would have granted the District full representation and participation in Congress without granting it statehood. Introduced by Representative Don Edwards of California , the proposed amendment was approved by Congress on August 22, 1978, and dispatched to the states for ratification. The proposed amendment included

5264-498: The area. Blizzards affect Washington once every four to six years on average. The most violent storms, known as nor'easters , often impact large regions of the East Coast . From January 27 to 28, 1922 , the city officially received 28 inches (71 cm) of snowfall, the largest snowstorm since official measurements began in 1885. According to notes kept at the time, the city received between 30 and 36 inches (76 and 91 cm) from

5358-511: The bill by the House of Representatives during the 116th Congress found opinion remained divided on the issue, with 40% in favor of D.C.'s admission as a state and 41% opposed. In this poll, 37% of respondents believed that admitting D.C. would favor Democrats over Republicans, while 30% felt it would benefit both parties equally. Other polls have shown a more positive reception to statehood. A poll undertaken in September 2020 by Data for Progress ,

5452-556: The capital farther west, but President Ulysses S. Grant refused to consider the proposal. In the Organic Act of 1871 , Congress repealed the individual charters of the cities of Washington and Georgetown , abolished Washington County , and created a new territorial government for the whole District of Columbia. These steps made "the city of Washington...legally indistinguishable from the District of Columbia." In 1873, President Grant appointed Alexander Robey Shepherd as Governor of

5546-530: The capital. In the Compromise of 1790 , Madison, Alexander Hamilton , and Thomas Jefferson agreed that the federal government would pay each state's remaining Revolutionary War debts in exchange for establishing the new national capital in the Southern United States . On July 9, 1790, Congress passed the Residence Act , which approved the creation of a national capital on the Potomac River . Under

5640-556: The city's 900 acres (3.6 km ) of athletic fields and playgrounds, 40 swimming pools, and 68 recreation centers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture operates the 446-acre (1.80 km ) United States National Arboretum in Northeast Washington, D.C. Washington's climate is humid subtropical ( Köppen : Cfa ), or oceanic ( Trewartha : Do bordering Cf downtown). Winters are cool to cold with some snow of varying intensity, while summers are hot and humid. The district

5734-402: The city's Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the city's daytime population to more than one million during the workweek. The Washington metropolitan area , which includes parts of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia , is the country's seventh-largest metropolitan area , with a 2023 population of 6.3 million residents. A locally elected mayor and 13-member council have governed

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5828-696: The city's classical-style architecture include buildings constructed in the French Second Empire style, including the Eisenhower Executive Office Building , and the modernist Watergate complex . The Thomas Jefferson Building , the main Library of Congress building, and the historic Willard Hotel are built in Beaux-Arts style , popular throughout the world in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Meridian Hill Park contains

5922-421: The city, was then tasked with completing its design. Though Ellicott revised the original L'Enfant plans, including changing some street patterns, L'Enfant is still credited with the city's overall design. By the early 20th century, however, L'Enfant's vision of a grand national capital was marred by slums and randomly placed buildings in the city, including a railroad station on the National Mall. Congress formed

6016-530: The city. Many of the government buildings, monuments, and museums along the National Mall and surrounding areas are heavily inspired by classical Roman and Greek architecture. The designs of the White House, the U.S. Capitol, Supreme Court Building , Washington Monument , National Gallery of Art , Lincoln Memorial, and Jefferson Memorial are all heavily drawn from these classical architectural movements and feature large pediments, domes, columns in classical order, and heavy stone walls. Notable exceptions to

6110-462: The city. Precipitation occurs throughout the year. The highest recorded temperature was 106 °F (41 °C) on August 6, 1918, and on July 20, 1930. The lowest recorded temperature was −15 °F (−26 °C) on February 11, 1899 , right before the Great Blizzard of 1899 . During a typical year, the city averages about 37 days at or above 90 °F (32 °C) and 64 nights at or below

6204-426: The district . Alexandria's citizens petitioned Virginia to retake the land it had donated to form the district, a process known as retrocession . The Virginia General Assembly voted in February 1846, to accept the return of Alexandria. On July 9, 1846, Congress went further, agreeing to return all territory that Virginia had ceded to the district during its formation. This left the district's area consisting only of

6298-490: The district over the next few decades. Georgetown's street grid and other administrative details were formally merged with those of the City of Washington in 1895. However, the city had poor housing and strained public works, leading it to become the first city in the nation to undergo urban renewal projects as part of the City Beautiful movement in the early 20th century. The City Beautiful movement built heavily upon

6392-425: The district since 1973, though Congress retains the power to overturn local laws. Washington, D.C., residents are, on the federal level, politically disenfranchised since the city's residents do not have voting representation in Congress; the city's residents elect a single non-voting congressional delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. The city's voters choose three presidential electors in accordance with

6486-420: The district with a total area of about 3.1 million square feet (288,000 m ). Washington Union Station is designed in a combination of architectural styles. Its Great Hall has elaborate gold leaf designs along the ceilings and the hall includes several decorative classical-style statues. Washington, D.C., Admission Act The Washington, D.C., Admission Act , often referred to simply as

6580-515: The district, though the chairman of the House Subcommittee on District Appropriations, Ross A. Collins of Mississippi , justified cuts to funds for welfare and education for local residents by saying that "my constituents wouldn't stand for spending money on niggers." World War II led to an expansion of federal employees in the city; by 1950, the district's population reached its peak of 802,178 residents. The Twenty-third Amendment to

6674-419: The federal government by Maryland and Virginia . The District was designed as a square diamond, each side 10 miles (16 km) long, with 65 percent of the District's territory on the northeast bank of the Potomac River and 35 percent on the southwest bank. The District included the pre-existing county and city of Alexandria, as well as the new County of Washington, which included the new City of Washington and

6768-407: The first session in the unfinished Capitol Building in 1800 after the capital moved from Philadelphia . In 1801, the District of Columbia, formerly part of Maryland and Virginia and including the existing settlements of Georgetown and Alexandria , was officially recognized as the federal district; initially, the city was a separate settlement within the larger district. In 1846, Congress returned

6862-666: The first to use electrical wiring in its design. Notable contemporary residential buildings, restaurants, shops, and office buildings in the city include the Wharf on the Southwest Waterfront , Navy Yard along the Anacostia River , and CityCenterDC in Downtown . The Wharf has seen the construction of several high-rise office and residential buildings overlooking the Potomac River . Additionally, restaurants, bars, and shops have been opened at street level. Many of these buildings have

6956-404: The freezing mark (32 °F or 0 °C). On average, the first day with a minimum at or below freezing is November 18 and the last day is March 27. Washington, D.C., was a planned city , and many of the city's street grids were developed in that initial plan. In 1791, President George Washington commissioned Pierre Charles L'Enfant , a French-born military engineer and artist, to design

7050-653: The highest percentage across the entire country, which is a key reason why many Democrats have favored D.C. admission to the Union. On April 13, 2021, a group of 22 Republican state attorneys general led by Alan Wilson sent a letter to President Biden to oppose D.C. statehood. They threatened to challenge the Act in the US Supreme Court if the Washington D.C. Admissions Act were to pass. Alternatively, Republicans instead proposed that D.C. be retroceded into Maryland. On January 25, 2021, Representative Dusty Johnson introduced

7144-409: The land originally ceded by Virginia , including the city of Alexandria. In 1871, it created a single municipality for the remaining portion of the district. There have been several unsuccessful efforts to make the district into a state since the 1880s; a statehood bill passed the House of Representatives in 2021 but was not adopted by the U.S. Senate . To become law it would have to be passed by

7238-565: The legislation. Opponents of DC statehood also stated the bill violates the District Clause and the 23rd Amendment . It is also noted that both Republicans and Democrats have partisan concerns over DC statehood because the district leans heavily Democratic, to the point that no Republican has been elected to the Council of the District of Columbia since 2009. In the 2020 presidential election, 92% of votes in Washington, D.C., went to Joe Biden ,

7332-413: The more than 714,000 Americans who live in Washington, D.C., so they can elect voting Senators and Representatives, just like Americans in every other state?", and suggested that it may have primed people in the poll to be more likely to give support for the measure. The reverse effect of this was seen when Rasmussen Reports asked the statehood question but stressed the constitutional objections to making

7426-526: The municipalities within Washington County to the City of Washington; which was simultaneously consolidated with the County of Washington and the District itself. Many reforms enacted concerning the District have focused on extending the franchise and popular control of the local government. The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified in 1961, under which the District of Columbia

7520-409: The nation . The U.S. Constitution in 1789 called for the creation of a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress . As such, Washington, D.C., is not part of any state , and is not one itself. The Residence Act , adopted on July 16, 1790, approved the creation of the capital district along the Potomac River. The city was founded in 1791, and the 6th Congress held

7614-542: The nation's largest industry associations, non-profit organizations, and think tanks , D.C. is known as a lobbying hub, with K Street as the industry center. The city had 20.7 million domestic visitors and 1.2 million international visitors, ranking seventh among U.S. cities as of 2022. The Algonquian -speaking Piscataway people , also known as the Conoy, inhabited the lands around the Potomac River and present-day Washington, D.C., when Europeans first arrived and colonized

7708-463: The need for the national government not to rely on any state for its own security. Article One, Section Eight of the Constitution permits the establishment of a "District (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States". However, the constitution does not specify a location for

7802-496: The new capital. He enlisted the help of Isaac Roberdeau, Étienne Sulpice Hallet and Scottish surveyor Alexander Ralston to help lay out the city plan. The L'Enfant Plan featured broad streets and avenues radiating out from rectangles, providing room for open space and landscaping. L'Enfant was also provided a roll of maps by Thomas Jefferson depicting Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Strasbourg, Paris, Orleans, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Turin, and Milan. L'Enfant's design also envisioned

7896-541: The north and south sides of the National Mall, respectively, are home to many of Washington's iconic museums, including many Smithsonian Institution buildings and the National Archives Building . Washington hosts 177 foreign embassies ; these maintain nearly 300 buildings and more than 1,600 residential properties, many of which are on a section of Massachusetts Avenue informally known as Embassy Row . The architecture of Washington, D.C., varies greatly and

7990-404: The number of blocks away from the Capitol. Most streets are set out in a grid pattern with east–west streets named with letters (e.g., C Street SW), north–south streets with numbers (e.g., 4th Street NW), and diagonal avenues, many of which are named after states . The City of Washington was bordered on the north by Boundary Street (renamed Florida Avenue in 1890); Rock Creek to the west, and

8084-563: The port of Georgetown , founded in 1751, and the port city of Alexandria, Virginia , founded in 1749. In 1791 and 1792, a team led by Andrew Ellicott , including Ellicott's brothers Joseph and Benjamin and African American astronomer Benjamin Banneker , whose parents had been enslaved, surveyed the borders of the federal district and placed boundary stones at every mile point; many of these stones are still standing. Both Maryland and Virginia were slave states , and slavery existed in

8178-472: The portion originally donated by Maryland. Confirming the fears of pro-slavery Alexandrians, the Compromise of 1850 outlawed the slave trade in the district, although not slavery itself. The outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 led to the expansion of the federal government and notable growth in the city's population, including a large influx of freed slaves. President Abraham Lincoln signed

8272-460: The pre-existing town of Georgetown, Maryland . The District was named "Columbia" after a poetic name for the United States . In 1801, Congress passed the District of Columbia Organic Act , which formally placed the Government of the District of Columbia under the control of the Congress. The Act meant that citizens living in the District were no longer residents of Maryland or Virginia and, as

8366-526: The region in the early 17th century. The Nacotchtank , also called the Nacostines by Catholic missionaries , maintained settlements around the Anacostia River in present-day Washington, D.C. Conflicts with European colonists and neighboring tribes ultimately displaced the Piscataway people, some of whom established a new settlement in 1699 near Point of Rocks, Maryland . Nine cities served as capitals to

8460-433: The surrounding area are part of the Washington, D. C. television market. Cumberland is home to TBN translator, W43BP, broadcast from nearby Cresaptown, Maryland . Channel 43 covers Cumberland and Frostburg with a city-grade signal simulcasting TBN 's main signal. W43BP has requested a "construction permit" to broadcast as a digital (or HD) low-power translator. This will be done "flash-cut" when it does happen. W43BP

8554-565: The use of Congress be erected on the banks of the Delaware near Trenton , or of the Potomac , near Georgetown , provided a suitable district can be procured on one of the rivers as aforesaid, for a federal town". In Federalist No. 43 , published January 23, 1788, James Madison argued that the new federal government would need authority over a national capital to provide for its own maintenance and safety. The Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783 emphasized

8648-442: The violence. Many stores and other buildings were burned, and rebuilding from the riots was not completed until the late 1990s. In 1973, Congress enacted the District of Columbia Home Rule Act providing for an elected mayor and 13-member council for the district. In 1975, Walter Washington became the district's first elected and first black mayor. Since the 1980s, the D.C. statehood movement has grown in prominence. In 2016,

8742-468: The width of the adjacent street plus 20 feet (6.1 m). Despite popular belief, no law has ever limited buildings to the height of the United States Capitol or the 555-foot (169 m) Washington Monument , which remains the district's tallest structure. City leaders have cited the height restriction as a primary reason that the district has limited affordable housing and its metro area has suburban sprawl and traffic problems. Washington, D.C., still has

8836-554: Was along party lines, with Democrats in favor of admitting the District of Columbia as a state and Republicans opposed. In response to the passing of the bill in the House, several Republican members of the Senate labeled the legislation as a "power grab" as, in their view, it would give the Democrats an almost guaranteed two seats in the United States Senate, given that the District has voted overwhelmingly Democratic for decades. The Trump administration also made clear that, were

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