A History Lovers Guide To Washington Dc Designed For Democracy

Experience the history of America’s capitol with this uniquely engaging and informative guidebook. Alternating between site visits and brief historical narratives, this guide tells the story of Washington, DC, from its origins to current times. From George Washington’s Mount Vernon to the Kennedy Center, trek through each era of the federal district, on a tour of America’s most beloved sites. Go inside the White House, the only executive home in the world regularly open to the public. Travel to President Lincoln’s Cottage and see where he wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. And visit lesser-known sites, such as the grave of Pierre L’Enfant, the city’s Botanical Gardens, the Old Post Office, and a host of historical homes throughout the capital. This is the only guide you’ll need to curate an unforgettable expedition to our shining city on a hill.

Join author Alison Fortier for a walk through our United States Capital and it's iconic locations. This tour of the nation's capital goes beyond the traditional guidebook to offer a historical journey through the federal district. Visit the White House, the only executive home in the world regularly open to the public. Travel to President Lincoln's Cottage and see where he wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. Look around lesser-known sites, such as the grave of Pierre L'Enfant, the city's Botanical Gardens, the Old Post Office and a host of historical homes throughout the capital. From George Washington's Mount Vernon to the Kennedy Center, trek through each era of Washington, D.C., for a tour of America's most beloved sites. Join author and Washington insider Alison Fortier as she carefully curates an expedition to our shining city on a hill.

This tour of the nation's capital goes beyond the traditional guidebook to offer a historical journey through the federal district. Visit the White House, the only executive home in the world regularly open to the public. Travel to President Lincoln's Cottage and see where he wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. Look around lesser-known sites, such as the grave of Pierre L'Enfant, the city's Botanical Gardens, the Old Post Office and a host of historical homes throughout the capital. From George Washington's Mount Vernon to the Kennedy Center, trek through each era of Washington, D.C., for a tour of America's most beloved sites. Join author and Washington insider Alison Fortier as she carefully curates an expedition to our shining city on a hill.

This guidebook to the Big Apple goes beyond the traditional tour, offering visitors a fascinating exploration of the city’s rich history. New York is a city of superlatives. It has the largest population, greatest wealth, broadest diversity, and most elegant museums in the nation. With that comes an amazing history that you can experience firsthand with this unique guide. George Washington took his first oath of office on the steps of Federal Hall. Visitors can still dine at the famed Fraunces Tavern and worship at historic St. Paul’s Chapel. From the Brooklyn Bridge to stunning skyscrapers, the city celebrates its own history and that of the nation. Join author Alison Fortier as she traces the history and heritage of America’s largest metropolis.

Landmarks are the Touchstones of the Meandering Traveler From the sites where American democracy was born, to unique archive collections, art galleries, and architectural must-sees in the middle of this bustling city, Washington, DC is home to 75 National Historic Landmarks. Tour the Capital City and travel back in time to discover the unique stories of its history. Carefully curated by a local historian, Historic Washington, DC: A Tour of the District’s Top 50 National Landmarks is the essential guide to the most memorable historic sites in our nation’s capital. Whether you are a history enthusiast, a local visitor, or a tourist, there is something for everyone in this guide to Washington, DC’s past.

When it was passed in 1789, the Constitution set out the boundaries not only for a new government but for a new capital city as well. At the time, the new District of Columbia covered 5,000 acres, dominated by marshland on the south, pastureland on the area that is now the Mall, farms near the White House and Capitol Hill, and undeveloped woods throughout. Covering Capitol Hill, the Mall, the Old Downtown area, the Ellipse, Lafayette Square, and Foggy Bottom, this engaging photographic history and walking tour documents how the Federal City grew from farmland to world capital. Striking images and detailed captions tell the fascinating stories behind many of the famous and the not so famous buildings and monuments that cover the D.C. landscape, from Union Station and the Capitol to the White House and the Watergate Hotel and many important sites in between.

Washington, DC, gleams with stately columns and neoclassical temples, a pulsing hub of political power and prowess. But for decades it was one of the worst excuses for a capital city the world had ever seen. Before America became a world power in the twentieth century, Washington City was an eyesore at best and a disgrace at worst. Unfilled swamps, filthy canals, and rutted horse trails littered its landscape. Political bosses hired hooligans and thugs to conduct the nation's affairs. Legendary madams entertained clients from all stations of society and politicians of every party. The police served and protected with the aid of bribes and protection money. Beneath pestilential air, the city’s muddy roads led to a stumpy, half-finished obelisk to Washington here, a domeless Capitol Building there. Lining the streets stood boarding houses, tanneries, and slums. Deadly horse races gouged dusty streets, and opposing factions of volunteer firefighters battled one another like violent gangs rather than life-saving heroes. The city’s turbulent history set a precedent for the dishonesty, corruption, and mismanagement that have led generations to look suspiciously on the various sin--both real and imagined--of Washington politicians. Empire of Mud unearths and untangles the roots of our capital’s story and explores how the city was tainted from the outset, nearly stifled from becoming the proud citadel of the republic that George Washington and Pierre L'Enfant envisioned more than two centuries ago.

For architecture aficinados and historians, this comprehensive view of the statues, monuments and architectural plans of Washington DC provides an exciting insight into our federal city. Author Michael Curtis guides this tour of the heart of the District of Columbia's buildings, statues, and monuments. Classical design formed our nation's capital. The soaring Washington Monument, the columns of the Lincoln Memorial and the spectacular dome of the Capitol Building speak to the founders' expansive vision of our federal city. Learn about the L'Enfant and McMillan plans for Washington, D.C., and how those designs are reflected in two hundred years of monuments, museums and representative government. View the statues of our Founding Fathers with the eye of a sculptor and gain insight into the criticism and controversies of modern additions to Washington's monumental structure.

Washington, D.C., conjures images of marble monuments, national memorials, and world-class museums. To many, the world beyond the National Mall is invisible. Yet within an area of only 68 square miles lies a residential city of diversity, beauty, and charm. In the long-awaited update of her 1988 classic Washington at Home, Kathryn Schneider Smith and a team of historians, journalists, folklorists, museum professionals, and others who know the city intimately offer a fresh look at the social history of this intriguing city through the prism of 26 diverse neighborhoods. Lavishly illustrated with engaging historical photographs and maps, Washington at Home introduces readers to the famous residents, colorful characters, distinct flavors, and important events that helped shape the city beyond the federal façade. This second edition adds six new neighborhoods from all parts of the city. Extensive notes make the book invaluable for those doing their own research as well as the more casual reader. Journalists, historians, politicians, residents, real estate agents, and students regularly consult Washington at Home as the standard resource on the social history of Washington, D.C. This expanded and updated edition will appeal to residents, both new and old, as well as to visitors eager to deepen their experience in the nation’s capital.

Breathing life into the men and women who struggled to help the city realize its full potential, he introduces us to the mercurial French artist who created an ornate plan for the city 'en grande'; members of the nearly forgotten anti-Catholic political party who halted construction of the Washington monument for a quarter century; and the cadre of congressmen who maintained segregation and blocked the city's progress for decades. In the twentieth century Washington's Mall and streets would witness a Ku Klux Klan march, the violent end to the encampment of World War I 'Bonus Army' veterans, the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and the painful rebuilding of the city in the wake of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination.