Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
215,670
edits
Washington DC: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
Line 5:
Unlike other U.S. cities, Washington is notable for its complete lack of skyscrapers. This is because of a law on the matter (the DC Building Act 1910) that prohibits the construction of any building taller that the US Capitol (which, contrary to popular belief, does not mention the Washington Monument). Thus, most skyscrapers are usually located on the Virginia side of the Potomac (which separates Washington from Arlington and Alexandria). More on that later.
Not to be confused with the novel ''[[Washington, D.C.]]'' by [[Gore Vidal]], or the state of Washington (which we cover in [[The Other Rainforest]]).▼
{{Sidebar
Line 42 ⟶ 40:
The museums on the Mall are all free. Good luck finding a place to eat, though; the American Indian Museum is popular. The best time to visit D.C. is in March, when the [[Cherry Blossoms]] bloom. This is the only festival the locals take seriously, and much like Mardi Gras, you have to know when and where to actually go—the blossoms never coincide with the actual festival. When they do bloom, millions of people descend on the Mall at once in a blossom-fueled rage.<ref>Note - [[Serious Business|This actually happens.]]</ref>
▲Not to be confused with the novel ''[[Washington, D.C.]]'' by [[Gore Vidal]], or the state of Washington (which we cover in [[The Other Rainforest]]).
=== Tourist Attractions of Washington ===
[https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Washington,_D.C. Wikivoyage does a much better job of listing attractions for their own sake than we could ever hope to do.] This list is for the tropeworthy attractions.
* [[Bio-Dome|The Capitol Building]]: not to be confused with The White House (it has a dome for a start). This is where the U.S. Congress meets. The Congress now can't all fit in the offices there, so there are other office buildings, linked to it via a private tunnel network. It is entirely possible to get between the Capitol, its associated office buildings and the three buildings that house the Library of Congress without ever once setting foot outside, which is quite useful in the middle of winter, avoiding repeated security screening, and keeping the business of government largely out of view of tourists.
* [[The White House]]: The President's pad. The West Wing contains the Oval Office and other offices for presidential staff; other executive offices are at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (formerly the Old Executive Office Building, or OEOB), a [[Big Labyrinthine Building|giant gingerbread structure]] across the street. Thanks to [[The War on Terror]], it now takes six months and a phone call to your Member of Congress/Senator to schedule a tour. If the president announces a change in policy, reporters will sometimes declare that "The White House announced..."
| |||