WASHINGTON Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia, or simply DC, is the capital of the United States of America. It is located along the Potomac River on the country’s East Coast. According to the U.S. Constitution, Washington, D.C.  is a federal district outside the jurisdiction of any U.S. state and subject only to the control of the Federal Congress. The city is named after the first President of the United States General George Washington.  The city has an area of just under 70 squre miles, but for such a small area, it packs a lot in.  The National Mall, a national park in Washington, is home to the country’s most famous monuments and memorials as well as most popular museums, which are worth visiting when one is in Washington.  The highest structures in Washington are the Capitol that houses theCongress and the Washington Monument that is 555 feet (over 180 meters)high. The oldest building in the city is the White House, the officialresidence of the President. Washington has many monuments — Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial,Grant Memorial and many others. The most beautiful of them is theLincoln Memorial. The major attractions for the visitors are in the heart of  Washington. Among them is the Smithsonian Institution that includes the National Museum of History, the National Collection of  Fine Arts housing exhibits that show the development of American art, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden that houses a rich collection of 19th and 20th century painting and sculpture. The National Gallery of Art houses many of the world finest works of art.  The library of Congress contains millions of books, manuscripts, prints and photoes. Washington avenues are wide and long, most of them are called after states; Pennsylvania Avenue, Massachusetts Avenue, etc. Numbered streets run north and south, lettered streets east and west.                               The leading universities are Georgetown University and George Washington University. Washington, D.C. used to be a majority-black city. Now the black population makes up less than 50 percent. Most of the well-to-do people live outside the city.

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