Landmarks

Among other attractive buildings are the embassies and legations of many foreign countries, many of them lining “Embassy Row” on Massachusetts Ave. The larger of the city’s fine parks are West Potomac Park, East Potomac Park, Rock Creek Park.

Besides the Capitol and the White House, other important government buildings and places of historic interest include the Senate and House of Representatives office buildings, the Supreme Court Building, the Pentagon (in Virginia), the Federal Bureau of Investigation building, the Library of Congress, the National Archives Building, Constitution Hall, the Ronald Reagan Building, The Watergate apartment complex, the State Department (“Foggy Bottom”), and the headquarters of the World Bank. Ford’s Theatre, where Lincoln was shot, has been restored. In 1974 the Admiral’s House at the U.S. Naval Observatory became the official residence of the vice president. Of historic interest is Fort Washington (built 1809, destroyed 1814, rebuilt by 1824).

Best known of the city’s many statues and monuments are the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, with its reflecting pool; the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial; the Vietnam Veterans Memorial; the Korean War Veterans Memorial; the World War II Memorial; and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. Among Washington’s famous churches are Washington National Cathedral (Episcopal), and the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the largest Roman Catholic church in the United States. The city also contains Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, the home to major-league baseball and formerly to football.

The Arlington Memorial Bridge across the Potomac connects the capital with Arlington National Cemetery. Also in Arlington is the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial, one of the largest statues ever cast in bronze. In the Potomac itself lies Theodore Roosevelt Island, thickly wooded and with many foot trails.