EXPLORE
POPULAR
TOURIST GEMS
IN DC
By Emily Munyao
W
ashington District of
Columbia, usually
called Washington
D.C is drawing millions of tourists
from everyplace in the world every
year. It is the capital city of the
United States, located between
Virginia and Maryland on the north
bank of Potomac River. There are
a considerable measure of histor-
ical monuments and memorials
for the District.
One of the places we visited
during our stay that stood out for
me was the Washington Monu-
ment. Its construction was done
in two phases, one private (1848-
1854) and one public (1876-
1884). It carried a lot of signifi-
cance because embodies the awe,
respect, and gratitude the nation
felt for its most essential Found-
ing Father, George Washington.
At the time of completion, the
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Washington Monument was
the tallest building in the world
measuring 169.046 meters. The
50 American flags encircling the
base of the monument represent
the 50 States. A unique feature
of the Washington Monument is
the 193 memorial stones installed
on its east and west interior walls.
The scenery around it was quite
wonderful and the nicely cut green
grass had such a calming effect
for anyone who visited the histor-
ical site.
A visit to US Capitol truly pays
off for the visit. The Capitol is
home to the House, Senate Office
Building, U.S. Botanic Garden, the
Library of Congress buildings, the
Supreme Court Building and the
Capitol Grounds. The splendid
building epitomizes the neoclassi-
cal architecture of the 19th centu-
ry and is renowned as a prominent
landmark of the country.
There are a number intriguing
private museums in the city,
including the Newseum which we
visited. It promotes, explains and
defends free expression and the
five freedoms of the First Amend-
ment to the Constitution of the
United States:
“Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of
religion or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof; or abridging
the freedom of speech, or of the
press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the Government for a
redress of grievances.”
_The First Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States
After bits of the Berlin Wall and
the Unabomber's cabin, the Hank
Green spun Terrace at D.C.'s jour-
nalism museum offers a breath of
fresh air and some breath-taking
wide-angle views of the Capitol,
the Washington Monument and
Pennsylvania Avenue.
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