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92-686: In the spring of 1937, a three-mast, tern schooner , Donald II , was purchased in Nova Scotia and brought to Port Newark , New Jersey , where new motors were installed and the ship reinforced and reconditioned for the expedition. It was rechristened the Gen. A. W. Greely on May 2, 1937, in honor of Adolphus Greely , leader of the ill-fated Lady Franklin Bay Expedition of 1881 and 1882. All expedition members paid their own way either by supplying necessary equipment or cash. There were originally eleven members of

184-488: 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

276-499: 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

368-401: A sloop rig is simpler and cheaper, the schooner rig may be chosen on a larger boat so as to reduce the overall mast height and to keep each sail to a more manageable size, giving a mainsail that is easier to handle and to reef. An issue when planning a two-masted schooner's rig is how best to fill the space between the masts: for instance, one may adopt (i) a gaff sail on the foremast (even with

460-498: A 1933 model Waco biplane for surveying and exploration. The aircraft had a single, 210 horsepower (hp), Continental air-cooled rotary engine . Schlossbach flew the Waco four times from Etah marking several memorable aviation accomplishments; the first solo flight over Ellesmere Island; the first landing on Ellesmere Island; and the refuting of Perry's claim that there was another island northwest of Ellesmere Island. While exploring

552-432: A Bermuda mainsail), or (ii) a main staysail, often with a fisherman topsail to fill the gap at the top in light airs. Various types of schooners are defined by their rig configuration. Most have a bowsprit although some were built without one for crew safety, such as Adventure . The following varieties were built: Schooners were built primarily for cargo, passengers, and fishing. The Norwegian polar schooner Fram

644-513: A base camp in Greenland). Shortly after New Years the expedition was visited by the territorial governor, who had traveled overland from Thule, now ( Qaanaaq ). He had learned of the expedition's presence in Greenland by monitoring their radio broadcasts and instructed them to leave at the earliest opportunity. Hourly weather observations started September 8, 1937, and reports were transmitted daily to

736-548: A combined venture, Schlossbach and Wright made a 300-mile (480 km) ice cap survey northeast of Etah. It was probably the longest continuous traverse over that region to that time. Paul Furlong and Roy Fitzsimmons trekked across Smith Sound to Cape Sabline, Ellesmere Island to deposit supplies at a Royal Canadian Mounted Police cache site (a request from Charles Camsell the Northwest Territories Commissioner ). The MacGregor expedition took with them

828-415: A common rig, especially in the 19th century. Some schooners worked on deep sea routes. In British home waters, schooners usually had cargo-carrying hulls that were designed to take the ground in drying harbours (or, even, to unload dried out on an open beach). The last of these once-common craft had ceased trading by the middle of the 20th century. Some very large schooners with five or more masts were built in

920-408: 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

1012-605: A long-range weather forecast for 1938, based on the observations from his expedition. Two and a half months later, it proved to be amazingly accurate. In February, Eskimos began arriving from the south. Among them was Ootah, who had accompanied Peary in 1909 on the historic first trip to the North Pole. In March, the Haig-Thomas, Wright, Hamilton expedition visited. They shared the hut while charting portions of Ellesmere Island and conducting biological and glaciological studies. In

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1104-496: 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

1196-431: 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

1288-508: A smaller crew for their size compared to then traditional ocean crossing square rig ships, and being fast and versatile. Three-masted schooners were introduced around 1800. Schooners were popular on both sides of the Atlantic in the late 1800s and early 1900s. By 1910, 45 five-masted and 10 six-masted schooners had been built in Bath, Maine and in towns on Penobscot Bay , including Wyoming which

1380-577: 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

1472-657: 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

1564-627: 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

1656-468: 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

1748-403: A vessel a brigantine . Many schooners are gaff-rigged , but other examples include Bermuda rig and the staysail schooner. The name "schooner" first appeared in eastern North America in the early 1700s. The name may be related to a Scots word meaning to skip over water, or to skip stones. The origins of schooner rigged vessels is obscure, but there is good evidence of them from

1840-414: Is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schooner also has a square topsail on the foremast, to which may be added a topgallant . Differing definitions leave uncertain whether the addition of a fore course would make such

1932-702: Is considered the largest wooden ship ever built. The Thomas W. Lawson was the only seven-masted schooner built. The rig is rarely found on a hull of less than 50 feet LOA , and small schooners are generally two-masted. In the two decades around 1900, larger multi-masted schooners were built in New England and on the Great Lakes with four, five, six, or even, seven masts. Schooners were traditionally gaff-rigged, and some schooners sailing today are reproductions of famous schooners of old, but modern vessels tend to be Bermuda rigged (or occasionally junk-rigged) . While

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2024-861: 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

2116-650: 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

2208-480: 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

2300-470: 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

2392-492: 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

2484-623: 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

2576-685: 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

2668-580: 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

2760-739: 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

2852-519: The Eskimo inhabitants. After departing Idgorsuit the ship encountered ice in Baffin Bay . At the lower end of Robertson Channel they were stopped completely by a wall of ice 15 feet (5 m) thick. Failing to reach Ft. Conger was a disappointment to MacGregor. Unable to proceed further they tried to seek shelter on Ellesmere Island only to find the entire coast blocked with ice. They then drifted south along

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2944-477: 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

3036-602: 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

3128-428: 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

3220-588: The US Weather Bureau in Washington, D.C. Pilot-balloon observations were made twice daily except during December and January. All observations were continued until the hour of sailing July 7, 1938. MacGregor believed that accurately observing and plotting the development and movement of air masses as they moved across the Arctic would make possible more precise, longer-range Northern Hemispheric weather forecasting . In late 1937 MacGregor, from Etah, Greenland, gave

3312-1816: The United States Antarctic Service Expedition , 1939–41; Murray Wiener would be with Byrd on several expeditions and serve on Byrd's personal staff. "The MacGregor Arctic Expedition had some notable achievements. Probably the most notable is its obscurity. Unlike most of its contemporaries, the MacGregor Arctic Expedition is virtually unrecorded in polar history." - Hal Vogel Clifford J. MacGregor - Commander - Meteorologist Commander, US Navy Reserve US Weather Bureau Newark, NJ Isaac Schlossbach - Second in Command - Navigator , Airplane Pilot US Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD Lieutenant Commander – US Navy (retired) Nautelis Arctic Expedition Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition Neptune, NJ Roy G. Fitzsimmons – Geophysicist and Magnetologist Seaton Hall College, Class of 1937, Physics Carnige Institution, Magnetology Captain - US Army Air Force Newark, NJ Robert Sterling Danskin – Aircraft Supplier - Geologist Burdett College class of 1929 Arlington, MA Albert Gerald Sayre – Radio Engineer Commander US Navy Reserve Cornwall On Hudson, New York Murray A. Wiener —Photographer Bradley Beach, NJ John Johnson – Cook - Mechanic Farmingdale, NJ Robert Inglis Jr. – Assistant Surveyor Boy Scout Trenton, NJ Paul B. "Fuzzy" Furlong – Mechanic - Dog Handler Upper Montclair, NJ Francis D. Lawrence – Aerologist Junior Naval Guard East Orange, NJ Norman Hortman - Pilot (Left en route north at Sydney, Nova Scotia) Schooner A schooner ( / ˈ s k uː n ər / SKOO -nər )

3404-616: 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

3496-600: 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

3588-515: 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

3680-473: 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

3772-504: 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

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3864-510: 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

3956-480: 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

4048-444: 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

4140-455: 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,

4232-588: 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

4324-464: 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

4416-881: 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

4508-570: The United States from circa 1880–1920. They mostly carried bulk cargoes such as coal and timber. In yachting, schooners predominated in the early years of the America's Cup . In more recent times, schooners have been used as sail training ships. The type was further developed in British North America starting around 1713. In the 1700s and 1800s in what is now New England and Atlantic Canada schooners became popular for coastal trade, requiring

4600-508: 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

4692-498: 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

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4784-556: 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

4876-585: 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

4968-556: 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

5060-402: 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

5152-696: 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

5244-421: 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

5336-530: 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

5428-462: 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

5520-411: The coast of Ellesmere Island in 1909, Commodore Robert Peary had sighted a gray shadow on the horizon. Convinced that he had discovered an uncharted island, he christened it Crocker Land. Isaac Schlossbach armed with a sun compass and extra gas, attempted to locate Crocker Land from the air. He crisscrossed the area where Perry had placed Crocker Land. All he saw was ocean; there was no Crocker Land. When

5612-527: The coast of Greenland urgently looking for winter quarters as new ice was already forming and there was a danger of being frozen in. They arrived at Foulke Fiord, near Etah on August 31, 1937. Before the expedition could get settled on land, they experienced a series of near disasters which almost settled the expedition at the bottom of the sound. The charts of the area showed 40 feet (12 m) of water—the ship drew 12 feet (3.7 m)—but much to their surprise they found themselves aground. By unloading some of

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5704-683: The crew); and Norman Hortman, pilot (who left en route north at Sydney , Nova Scotia). The expedition set sail from Port Newark , New Jersey, on July 1, 1937. They made two stops in Nova Scotia: Lunenburg to drop off passengers and take on fresh food and supplies; and Sydney to drop off Norm Hortman and a radio technician who had been tuning the radio equipment and to take on coal. They made two scheduled stops in Greenland , one to take on fresh water and food at Fairhaven and another at Idglorssuit, Umank Fjord to pick up dogs and deliver presents to

5796-477: 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

5888-434: 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

5980-425: 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

6072-454: 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

6164-459: The early 17th century in paintings by Dutch marine artists. The earliest known illustration of a schooner depicts a yacht owned by the mayors (Dutch: burgemeesters) of Amsterdam, drawn by the Dutch artist Rool and dated 1600. Later examples show schooners (Dutch: schoeners) in Amsterdam in 1638 and New Amsterdam in 1627. Paintings by Van de Velde (1633–1707) and an engraving by Jan Kip of the Thames at Lambeth, dated 1697, suggest that schooner rig

6256-589: The expedition: Clifford J. MacGregor , meteorologist for the US Weather Bureau ; Isaac "Ike" Schlossbach , "second in command", navigator and chief airplane pilot, United States Navy (retired); Roy Fitzsimmons , Polar Geophysicist and magnatologist; Robert Danskin, aircraft supplier and geologist ; Gerry Sayre , radio engineer and operator; Murray A. Wiener , photographer; John Johnson , cook and mechanic; Paul "Fuzzy" Furlong, mechanic and dog handler; Francis Lawrence, aerologist and Junior Naval Guard; Robert Inglis, Surveyor and Boy Scout (the youngest member of

6348-480: The fast conveyance of passengers and goods) were often schooners. Fruit schooners were noted for their quick passages, taking their perishable cargoes on routes such as the Azores to Britain. Some pilot boats adopted the rig. The fishing vessels that worked the Grand Banks of Newfoundland were schooners, and held in high regard as an outstanding development of the type. In merchant use, the ease of handling in confined waters and smaller crew requirements made schooners

6440-407: 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

6532-506: 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

6624-404: 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

6716-639: The ice broke in July 1938, the explorers left Greenland after making a brief stop in Thule to pick up John Johnson, who had been dog sledded there earlier for medical care. The severe winter had damaged the schooner more than had been expected, and an ice jam in Baffin Bay held the ship for weeks, drifting with the ice. Several seams opened up, and constant pumping was required for days before reaching St. John's , Newfoundland and Labrador , where repairs were made. During

6808-456: 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

6900-409: 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

6992-542: 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

7084-463: 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

7176-496: 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

7268-541: 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

7360-404: 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

7452-563: 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

7544-472: 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

7636-526: 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

7728-500: The supplies that they had unloaded earlier to re-float the ship were under water, as a 10-foot (3 m) tide ebbed and flowed there. Finally the ship was unloaded, and work started on enlarging a cabin left by the Humphrey Expedition of 1934–35. So confident was MacGregor that his ice-reinforced, wooden-hulled schooner could reach Ft. Conger that he hadn't bothered to obtain an entry permit from Danish authorities (required for

7820-485: The supplies they were able to re-float the ship at the next tide. On September 1, 1937, a severe gale blew the ship out to sea, the anchor being unable to hold on the rocky bottom. On the return to Etah, one of the engines backfired, starting a fire aboard ship. There were some anxious moments until the fire was extinguished as there was still gasoline, ammunition and dynamite aboard. After two days they were able to get back to Reindeer Point near Etah, only to find that most of

7912-565: 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

8004-442: 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,

8096-549: The voyage from St. Johns to Newark, off the Grand Banks , on September 21, 1938, they encountered one of the worst hurricanes that had ever moved up the Atlantic Coast. The expedition finally returned to Port Newark on October 4, 1938, having been out fifteen months and four days. With only ten members and a scant budget, the MacGregor Arctic Expedition could not rival the major undertakings of Byrd or Scott . But it certainly

8188-532: 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

8280-456: Was common in England and Holland by the end of the 17th century. The Royal Transport was an example of a large British-built schooner, launched in 1695 at Chatham. The schooner rig was used in vessels with a wide range of purposes. On a fast hull, good ability to windward was useful for privateers, blockade runners, slave ships, smaller naval craft and opium clippers. Packet boats (built for

8372-421: Was comparable in size and purpose to many other polar expeditions of its era. Besides its scientific and aviation accomplishments, the 15-month-long MacGregor Arctic Expedition was a valuable experience for several members who would serve again on polar expeditions. Ike Schlossbach would continue to be on expeditions until he was 70 years old; Paul Furlong would be with Grenfell in 1939; Roy Fitzsimmons would go on

8464-526: Was used by both Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen in their explorations of the poles. Bluenose was both a successful fishing boat and a racer. America , eponym of America's Cup , was one of the few schooners ever designed for racing. This race was long dominated by schooners. Three-masted schooner Atlantic set the transatlantic sailing record for a monohull in the 1905 Kaiser's Cup race. The record remained unbroken for nearly 100 years. Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. , formally

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