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Top 10 Remarquable Facts about Washington D.C

Washington D.C is the capital city and only federal district of the United States. It is located on the east bank of the Potomac River. The City of Washington was founded in 1791 to serve as the national capital, and Congress held its first session there in 1800. In 1801, the territory officially became recognized as the federal district.

The three branches of the U.S. federal government are centered in the district: Congress (legislative), the president (executive), and the Supreme Court (judicial). Since 1974 Washington has been governed by a locally elected mayor and city council over which Congress maintains supreme authority over.

Today, Washington is known as a working federal city, an international metropolis, a picturesque tourist destination, a supreme treasury of the country鈥檚 history and artifacts, and a cosmopolitan centre that retains a neighbourly small-town ambience. Below are top 10 remarquable facts about Washington D.C;

1. Two American Presidents kept alligators at the White House

Alligator – Unsplash

Both Herbert Hoover and John Quincy Adams had pet alligators in the White House. An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. They are considered to be apex predators, an apex predator, also known as an alpha predator or top predator, is a predator at the top of a food chain, without natural predators.

John Quincy Adams served as the sixth President of the United States from 1825 to 1829. He was gifted the alligator by Marquis de Lafayette. It is believed that he stored the alligator in the east room bathtub of the White House. He used it to terrify guests for about two months before finally giving it away.

Herbert Clark Hoover served as the 31st President of the United States from 1929 to 1933. Allan Hoover, the son of Herbert Hoover, was gifted two alligators by Clarence Woolley. The alligators were normally kept in a bathtub, but often escaped. In the end, the alligators were donated to the Smithsonian Zoo.

2. There are underground tunnels beneath the Capitol

Capitol Building – Flickr

The tunnels are part of a labyrinth of at least 19 underground passages on Capitol Hill that people and vehicles can move through. They connect the Cannon and James Madison Buildings to the Capitol and other nearby buildings.

The first tunnels originating from the Capitol building date back to the latter half of the 19^th Century. The first of these, dug out during the Civil War, were for ventilation, followed by a link to the then-new Library of Congress building nearby in 1898, through which books passed on an electrically-powered conveyor. That latter system is no longer in operation.

Today the tunnels are for senators and members of the House only and are rarely seen by the public.

3. The Library of Congress is one of the largest libraries in the world

The Library of Congress – Unsplash

The Library of Congress is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the de facto national library of the United States. It was moved to Washington, D.C., in 1800 and is housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.; it also maintains a conservation center in Culpeper, Virginia.

It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country and one of the largest libraries in the world. Its “collections are universal, not limited by subject, format, or national boundary, and include research materials from all parts of the world and in more than 450 languages.”

4. The oldest fish market in the United States is in DC

Maine Avenue Fish Market – Wikimedia Commons

The Maine Avenue Fish Market also known as the Fish Wharf, or simply, the Wharf, is an open-air seafood market in Southwest Washington, D.C. It is the oldest continuously operating fish market in the United States since opening its doors in 1805.

The Washington wharf has hosted a fish market since the 1790s, when fisherman sold their catch directly off their boats. The Maine Avenue Fish Market is open throughout the week, with the largest selection of fish on display Friday evening through Sunday.

5. There鈥檚 a crypt under the Capitol Building that was made for George Washington

Capital Crypt – Flickr

The United States Capitol crypt is the large circular room filled with forty neoclassical Doric columns directly beneath the United States Capitol rotunda. It was included in the original design of the building by William Thornton and intended to support the rotunda as well as offer an entrance to Washington’s Tomb, which was intended to entomb the body of George Washington.

Today the Tomb is empty, as George Washington was buried in the old Washington family vault at Mount Vernon. It serves as a museum and a repository for thirteen statues of the National Statuary Hall Collection.

6. The Washington Monument is actually two different colors

The Washington Monument – Flickr

The Washington Monument is an obelisk within the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington. It is both the world’s tallest predominantly stone structure and the world’s tallest obelisk, standing 554 feet 7+11鈦�32 inches (169.046 m) tall, according to the U.S. National Geodetic Survey.

Construction of the presidential memorial began in 1848. The Washington National Monument Society ran out of funding during construction, so the project was put on hold for a period of 23 years, from 1854 to 1877. The U.S. government took over the project later, but it used marble from a different quarry. Over time, the stones have reacted differently to rain and erosion, which is why approximately 150 feet (46 m) or 27% up there is a slightly visible different from the bottom.

7. Its statehood was prohibited by the Constitution

Constitution of the United States, page 1 – Wikipedia

When the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution, they didn鈥檛 want a single state to have the disproportionate power that they believed the capital would have. As a result, they specifically wrote in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution that the seat of government would be a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of Congress. This means the district is therefore not a part of any U.S. state, nor is it one itself.

However, there have been efforts to make the city into a state since the 1880s, a movement that has gained momentum in recent years. 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 the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, thereby sending it to the Senate.

8. George Washington is the only president not to live inside the White House

Portrait of George Washington – Wikipedia

The White House is the official residence and workplace of the President of the United States. It has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. President George Washington occupied two private houses in New York City as the executive mansion.

The history of the White House began when President George Washington signed an Act of Congress in December 1790 declaring that the federal government would reside in a district “not exceeding ten miles square鈥�on the river Potomac.”

Construction of the building took place between 1792 and 1800, using Aquia Creek sandstone painted white. The residence was designed by Irish-born architect James Hoban in the neoclassical style.

9. Only one president is buried in D.C.

President Woodrow Wilson, 1912 – Wikimedia Commons

Despite being the official residence of the president and even having an empty crypt designed for a president, only one president has been buried in Washington. Woodrow Wilson died on February 3, 1924, at the age of 67 and was interred in Washington National Cathedral.

Thomas Woodrow Wilson served as the 28th President of the United States from 1913 to 1921. During his presidency, Wilson led the United States into World War I in 1917.

10. It could be getting a long-overdue name change

Frederick Douglass – Wikipedia

The current bill passed by the House in Congress proposing statehood for D.C. includes a name change. It will still be called Washington, D.C., but the D.C. will stand for 鈥淒ouglass Commonwealth,鈥� paying tribute to the abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who spent much of his life in the district.

The name change would continue the trend of controversial monuments and places being renamed or removed.