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Washington, D.C. | |||||||||||
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The Capital Building houses the legislative branches of government - The Washington Monument, is located on the opposite end of the Mall from the Capitol Building. Construction began in 1848, following the plans of The Lincoln Memorial sits at the west end of the Mall, across from the The Smithsonian Institute occupies the main portion of the Mall. In 1836, British scientist James Smithson made a bequest for "an establishment for the | ||||||||||||
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the land where the District of Columbia would be erected, he hired Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a French architect. For the most part, L'Enfant's original plan for the national mall was ignored, creating a disrupted flow between the Capital Building and Washington Monument. In 1902, Senator James McMillian headed a commission that looked into revitalizing the Mall. He returned to L'Enfant's original plan and implemented it. The Mall as it is today, is the outcome of these efforts. Over 140 acres are surrounded bye the Smithsonian Institute buildings and proud, elegant elm trees. Under direction of the National Park Service since the 1930's it has hosted festivals, demonstrations, celebrations and protests.
Senate and the House of Representatives. Construction of the building proceeded slowly through a host of different architects, from 1793, until it's completion in 1811. British troops stormed the Capital Building in 1814, destroying it with fire. The building was redesigned and by 1830 was completed. Since then, The Capital Building has gone through numerous renovations - adding new Senate and House wings, a cast-iron dome and refacing the exterior in white marble.
Robert Mills. Financial considerations forced a redesign of the monument, to eliminate the columnade that had been proposed to house statues of Revolutionary War heroes, George Washington, and founding fathers of the United States. Lacking of funding forced construction to halt around 1854. It wasn't until almost twenty-five years later that Congress would appropriate funds for completion of the monument, to be undertaken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The 555 foot structure was finally completed in 1884...almost fifty years from when it had begun. The period of idle construction time is marked on it, as a color variation part of the way up the structure is clearly visible.
Washington Monument and overlooking the Reflection Pool. It was constructed between 1914 and 1922, using plans designed by Henry Bacon. Bacon employed representation within the structure to signify symbols of the United States, such as including 36 columns around the memorial - one for each of the states in the Union at the time of Lincoln's death. Each
of the states in the union at the time of the construction of the structure, are listed above the columns. Hawaii and Alaska are noted separately on plaques. The Gettysburg Address is inscribed on the south wall of the memorial, and Lincoln's secondary inaugural address is on the north wall.
increase and diffusion of knowledge among men" which was then created by an act of the U.S. Congress. The Smithsonian's main building has been dubbed "The Castle", in reference to it's Gothic design. The Institution group is comprised of a collection of museums exploring scientific and cultural
history. Most of these museums are located at the Nation Mall, with additional locations in New York and Panama. A new museum is planned that will study the American Indian.
