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125-642: The Chevy Chase Lake & Kensington Railway was chartered in September 1894 by Kensington founder Brainard Warner and others to connect the newly incorporated town to downtown Washington, D.C. , some eight miles south, via the Rock Creek Railway streetcar line. Its northern terminus sat just south of the Kensington railroad station , built in 1891 by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad . It

250-495: A cascading waterfall with Italian Renaissance -style architecture. Modern , Postmodern , contemporary , and other non-classical architectural styles are also seen in the city. The National Museum of African American History and Culture deeply contrasts the stone-based neoclassical buildings on the National Mall with a design that combines modern engineering with heavy inspiration from African art . The interior of

375-617: A 1920 ticket-price hike (one-way from the southern terminus rose to 7 cents to North Chevy Chase and 8 cents to the junction with the Sandy Spring Railroad in Kensington), the Kensington and Sandy Spring lines reported three straight years of losses around $ 3,500 on revenues of roughly $ 13,000 ($ 237,000 today). In May 1922, Maryland's Public Service Commission , which regulates the state's streetcars, helped shepherd

500-545: A 710-acre (290-hectare) area in 1694 which became the first land grant in Bethesda. Tobacco farming was the primary way of life in Bethesda throughout the 1700s. The city avoided seeing action during the Revolutionary War , although it became a supply region for the fledgling Continental Navy . The establishment of Washington, D.C. , in 1790 deprived Montgomery County of its economic center at Georgetown, although

625-478: A blacksmith shop, a church and school, and a few houses and stores. In 1871, postmaster Robert Franck renamed the settlement for the church. A streetcar line was established in 1890 and suburbanization increased in the early 1900s, and Bethesda grew in population. Communities near railroad lines had grown the fastest during the 19th century. In 1910, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad completed its Georgetown Branch line from Silver Spring to Georgetown , including

750-487: A center of the nation's internal slave trade . After its survey, the new federal city was constructed on the north bank of the Potomac River, to the east of Georgetown centered on Capitol Hill . On September 9, 1791, three commissioners overseeing the capital's construction named the city in honor of President Washington. The same day, the federal district was named Columbia, a feminine form of Columbus , which

875-469: A federal town". In Federalist No. 43 , published January 23, 1788, James Madison argued that the new federal government would need authority over a national capital to provide for its own maintenance and safety. The Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783 emphasized the need for the national government not to rely on any state for its own security. Article One, Section Eight of the Constitution permits

1000-408: A garden-lined grand avenue about 1 mile (1.6 km) long and 400 feet (120 m) wide in an area that is now the National Mall inspired by the grounds at Versailles and Tuileries Gardens. In March 1792, President Washington dismissed L'Enfant due to conflicts with the three commissioners appointed to supervise the capital's construction. Andrew Ellicott , who worked with L'Enfant in surveying

1125-738: A mixed-use district including residential apartments and condos (100,000 ft ), retail (300,000 ft ), dining, office space (100,000 ft ), hotels, entertainment, public art and fountains, forming the new core of revitalized downtown Bethesda. Retail stores include an Apple Store , Anthropologie , and Bethesda Bagels. Bethesda is located in the Montgomery County Public School District . Public primary schools located in Bethesda include: Public middle schools located in Bethesda include: Public high schools located in Bethesda include: Private schools located in Bethesda include: Bethesda

1250-502: A modern glass exterior and heavy curvature. CityCenterDC is home to Palmer Alley, a pedestrian-only walkway, and houses several apartment buildings, restaurants, and luxury-brand storefronts with streamlined glass and metal facades. Outside Downtown D.C., architectural styles are more varied. Historic buildings are designed primarily in the Queen Anne , Châteauesque , Richardsonian Romanesque , Georgian Revival , Beaux-Arts , and

1375-659: A number of other military medical and research institutions. Other federal institutions include the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division . The headquarters of defense conglomerate Lockheed Martin , managed health care company Coventry Health Care and hotel and resort chains Marriott International and Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. are located in Bethesda. Software company Bethesda Softworks

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1500-600: A nursing school. National Intelligence University is also in Bethesda. The Washington Japanese Language School, a supplementary weekend Japanese school , holds its classes at the Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda. The WJLS maintains its school office in North Bethesda , adjacent to Garrett Park . The institution, giving supplemental education to Japanese-speaking children in

1625-431: A relatively high homelessness rate, despite its high living standard compared to many American cities. Washington, D.C., is divided into four quadrants of unequal area: Northwest (NW) , Northeast (NE) , Southeast (SE) , and Southwest (SW) . The axes bounding the quadrants radiate from the U.S. Capitol. All road names include the quadrant abbreviation to indicate their location. House numbers generally correspond with

1750-534: A road. On November 9, 1937, the trustees of the Kensington Railway Company sold the railroad's assets, including the 25-foot-wide right-of-way from Kensington to Chevy Chase Lake, at a public auction outside the town post office. In July 1938, the Kensington town council began negotiations to acquire the right-of-way and adjacent land. The road, Kensington Parkway, opened on December 7, 1940. Montgomery County would later convert some 14 acres of

1875-434: A shotgun on the front platform and would stop to take a shot at a hawk. On a summer night, when the oil headlight showed a possum on the track, all hands piled out for a chase, and the captured possum was placed in the sand box. Other local historians wrote in 1953: Many of the residents of North Chevy Chase remember the two accommodating motormen; Bob Sheppard and Ed Kelly, who ran the cars. They rendered invaluable service to

2000-595: A snowstorm in January 1772. Hurricanes or their remnants occasionally impact the area in late summer and early fall. However, they usually are weak by the time they reach Washington, partly due to the city's inland location. Flooding of the Potomac River , however, caused by a combination of high tide, storm surge, and runoff, has been known to cause extensive property damage in the Georgetown neighborhood of

2125-676: A special committee charged with beautifying Washington's ceremonial core. What became known as the McMillan Plan was finalized in 1901 and included relandscaping the Capitol grounds and the National Mall, clearing slums, and establishing a new citywide park system. The plan is thought to have largely preserved L'Enfant's intended design for the city. By law, the city's skyline is low and sprawling. The federal Height of Buildings Act of 1910 prohibits buildings with height exceeding

2250-519: A storage yard there and multiple sidings serving industries in Bethesda. B&O successor CSX ceased train service on the line in 1985, so the county transformed it into a trail in the rails-to-trails movement. The tracks were removed in 1994, and the first part of the trail was opened in 1998; it has become the most used rail-trail in the United States, averaging over one million users per year. Subdivisions began to appear on old farmland in

2375-549: A tentative deal between local residents, Capital Traction executives, and the owners of the Kensington and Sandy Spring railroads. Under the agreement, Capital Traction—by then, the second-largest streetcar operator in the Washington, D.C., region—would connect the Kensington lines to its own network at Chevy Chase Lake, then run its own streetcars from Kensington all the way down Connecticut Avenue to downtown Washington. In return, local residents would raise enough money to replace

2500-473: A variety of Victorian styles. Rowhouses are prominent in areas developed after the Civil War and typically follow Federal and late Victorian designs. Georgetown 's Old Stone House , built in 1765, is the oldest-standing building in the city. Founded in 1789, Georgetown University features a mix of Romanesque and Gothic Revival architecture . The Ronald Reagan Building is the largest building in

2625-552: Is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region and a national center for medical research. According to the 2020 census , the community had a total population of 68,056. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in turn took its name from Jerusalem 's Pool of Bethesda . Bethesda is located in the traditional territory of

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2750-558: Is about two and one-half miles from Washington, D.C.'s western boundary, making Bethesda a close-in suburb of the nation's capital. Other focal points of downtown Bethesda include the Woodmont Triangle, bordered by Old Georgetown Road (Maryland Route 187), Woodmont and Rugby Avenues, and the Bethesda Row, centered at the intersection of Woodmont Avenue and Bethesda Avenue. Much of the dense construction in that area followed

2875-911: Is generally popular among tourists and locals. In 2007, six of the top ten buildings in the American Institute of Architects ' ranking of America's Favorite Architecture were in the city: the White House , Washington National Cathedral , the Jefferson Memorial , the United States Capitol , the Lincoln Memorial , and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial . The neoclassical , Georgian , Gothic , and Modern styles are reflected among these six structures and many other prominent edifices in

3000-768: Is home to a federally funded and operated health science university, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU). The primary mission of USU is to prepare graduates for service in the Medical Corps of the U.S. Army , Navy , and Air Force , and the Public Health Service . The university consists of the F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, a medical school, and the Graduate School of Nursing,

3125-401: Is on the Potomac River , across from Virginia , and shares land borders with Maryland to its north and east. It was named after George Washington , the first president of the United States . The district is named after Columbia , the female personification of the nation . The U.S. Constitution in 1789 called for the creation of a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of

3250-866: Is one of the Madonna of the Trail monuments, erected by the National Old Trails Association with the Daughters of the American Revolution ; U.S. President Harry S. Truman presided over the dedication of the Bethesda monument, on April 19, 1929. Nearby is the Bethesda Post Office. Also starting in the heart of downtown Bethesda is the Capital Crescent Trail , which follows the old tracks of

3375-470: Is the country's seventh-largest metropolitan area , with a 2023 population of 6.3 million residents. A locally elected mayor and 13-member council have governed the district since 1973, though Congress retains the power to overturn local laws. Washington, D.C., residents are, on the federal level, politically disenfranchised since the city's residents do not have voting representation in Congress;

3500-501: Is water. The district is bordered by Montgomery County, Maryland , to the northwest; Prince George's County, Maryland , to the east; Arlington County, Virginia , to the west; and Alexandria, Virginia , to the south. The south bank of the Potomac River forms the district's border with Virginia and has two major tributaries, the Anacostia River and Rock Creek . Tiber Creek , a natural watercourse that once passed through

3625-613: The 2011 U.S. Open , won by Rory McIlroy . The National , a golf tournament hosted by Tiger Woods , was played at Congressional seven times between 2007 and 2016. Bethesda is also home of the exclusive Burning Tree Club , Bethesda Country Club, and the Bethesda Big Train , a summer collegiate baseball team. A number of ambassador residences are in Bethesda, including those of Bangladesh , Haiti , Cape Verde , Guyana , Honduras , Lesotho , Morocco , Nicaragua , Uruguay , and Zimbabwe . Also located in downtown Bethesda

3750-633: The American Civil War in 1861 led to the expansion of the federal government and notable growth in the city's population, including a large influx of freed slaves. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act in 1862, which ended slavery in the district, freeing about 3,100 slaves in the district nine months before the Emancipation Proclamation . In 1868, Congress granted

3875-435: The Anacostia River to the east. Washington, D.C.'s street grid was extended, where possible, throughout the district starting in 1888. Georgetown's streets were renamed in 1895. Some streets are particularly noteworthy, including Pennsylvania Avenue , which connects the White House to the Capitol; and K Street, which houses the offices of many lobbying groups. Constitution Avenue and Independence Avenue , located on

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4000-472: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from Georgetown in Washington, D.C. , to Silver Spring. Walter Reed Medical Center and the Bethesda Theater are two important Art Deco architectural structures in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. Federal Realty Investment Trust has developed much of the west side of downtown Bethesda into an area called Bethesda Row , incorporating principles of new urbanism and

4125-544: The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park , the National Mall and Memorial Parks , Theodore Roosevelt Island , Columbia Island , Fort Dupont Park , Meridian Hill Park , Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens , and Anacostia Park . The District of Columbia Department of Parks and Recreation maintains the city's 900 acres (3.6 km ) of athletic fields and playgrounds, 40 swimming pools, and 68 recreation centers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture operates

4250-536: The National Mall , was fully enclosed underground during the 1870s. The creek also formed a portion of the now-filled Washington City Canal , which allowed passage through the city to the Anacostia River from 1815 until the 1850s. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal starts in Georgetown and was used during the 19th century to bypass the Little Falls of the Potomac River, located at the northwest edge of

4375-531: The U.S. Census Bureau , the CDP has a total area of 13.2 square miles (34 km ), of which 13.1 square miles (34 km ) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km ) (0.38%) is water. The main commercial corridor that passes through Bethesda is Maryland Route 355 (known as Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda and as Rockville Pike and Hungerford Drive in more northern communities), which, to the north, connects Bethesda with

4500-528: The U.S. Congress . As such, Washington, D.C., is not part of any state , and is not one itself. The Residence Act , adopted on July 16, 1790, approved the creation of the capital district along the Potomac River. The city was founded in 1791, and the 6th Congress held the first session in the unfinished Capitol Building in 1800 after the capital moved from Philadelphia . In 1801, the District of Columbia, formerly part of Maryland and Virginia and including

4625-623: The Washington Metro stations and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden are designed with strong influence from the 20th-century Brutalism movement. The Smithsonian Institution Building is built of Seneca red sandstone in the Norman Revival style. The Old Post Office building, located on Pennsylvania Avenue and completed in 1899, was the first building in the city to have a steel frame structure and

4750-664: The Washington, D.C., area , was founded in 1958, making it the oldest Japanese government-sponsored supplementary school in the U.S. The Writer's Center in Bethesda publishes Poet Lore , the longest continuously running poetry journal in the United States. Notable companies based in Bethesda include: Downtown Bethesda is managed by the Bethesda Urban Partnership, a non-profit organization established in 1994 by Montgomery County. Washington Metro 's Red Line services two primary locations in Bethesda:

4875-545: The 1830s, the district's southern territory of Alexandria declined economically, due in part to its neglect by Congress. Alexandria was a major market in the domestic slave trade and pro-slavery residents feared that abolitionists in Congress would end slavery in the district . Alexandria's citizens petitioned Virginia to retake the land it had donated to form the district, a process known as retrocession . The Virginia General Assembly voted in February 1846, to accept

5000-534: The 1984 expansion of Metrorail with a station in Bethesda. The Bethesda Metro Center was built over the Red line metro rail, which opened up further commercial and residential development in the immediate vicinity. In the 2000s, the strict height limits on construction in the District of Columbia led to the development of mid-and high-rise office and residential towers around the Bethesda Metro stop. According to

5125-455: The 2000 census, Bethesda was the best-educated city in the United States of America, with a population of 50,000 or more. 79% of residents 25 or older have bachelor's degrees, and 49% have graduate or professional degrees. According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the CDP was $ 117,723, and the median income for a family was $ 168,385. Males had a median income of $ 84,797 versus $ 57,569 for females. The per capita income for

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5250-472: The 446-acre (1.80 km ) United States National Arboretum in Northeast Washington, D.C. Washington's climate is humid subtropical ( Köppen : Cfa ), or oceanic ( Trewartha : Do bordering Cf downtown). Winters are cool to cold with some snow of varying intensity, while summers are hot and humid. The district is in plant hardiness zone 8a near downtown, and zone 7b elsewhere in

5375-535: The 9,122 acres (36.92 km ) of city land owned by the U.S. government. Rock Creek Park is a 1,754-acre (7.10 km ) urban forest in Northwest Washington, which extends 9.3 miles (15.0 km) through a stream valley that bisects the city. Established in 1890, it is the country's fourth-oldest national park and is home to a variety of plant and animal species, including raccoon, deer, owls, and coyotes. Other National Park Service properties include

5500-593: The Bradley Woods subdivision of Bethesda said, "No part of the land hereby conveyed, shall ever be used, or occupied by or sold, demised, transferred, conveyed, unto, or in trust for, leased, or rented, or given to negroes, or any person or persons of negro blood or extraction or to any person of the Semitic Race, blood, or origin, which racial description shall be deemed to include Armenians, Jews, Hebrews, Persians, Syrians, Greeks and Turks, or to any person of

5625-631: The CDP was $ 58,479. About 1.7% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line , including 1.8% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over. Many commute to Washington, D.C. , for work. The average price of a four-bedroom, two-bath home in Bethesda in 2010 was $ 806,817 (which ranks it as the twentieth most expensive community in America). Bethesda is often associated with its neighboring communities, Potomac , Chevy Chase , Great Falls , Virginia , and McLean , Virginia, for their similar demographics. The ethnic makeup in 2020

5750-641: The Canadas , the British set fire to government buildings in the city, gutting the United States Capitol , the Treasury Building , and the White House in what became known as the burning of Washington . However, a storm forced the British to evacuate the city after just 24 hours. Most government buildings were repaired quickly, but the Capitol, which was largely under construction at the time, would not be completed in its current form until 1868. In

5875-513: The City of Washington in 1895. However, the city had poor housing and strained public works, leading it to become the first city in the nation to undergo urban renewal projects as part of the City Beautiful movement in the early 20th century. The City Beautiful movement built heavily upon the already-implemented L'Enfant Plan , with the new McMillan Plan leading urban development in

6000-521: The Conoy, inhabited the lands around the Potomac River and present-day Washington, D.C., when Europeans first arrived and colonized the region in the early 17th century. The Nacotchtank , also called the Nacostines by Catholic missionaries , maintained settlements around the Anacostia River in present-day Washington, D.C. Conflicts with European colonists and neighboring tribes ultimately displaced

6125-531: The Health Sciences . As of the census of 2000, there were 55,277 people, 23,659 households, and 14,455 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 4,205.8 inhabitants per square mile (1,623.9/km ). There were 24,368 housing units at an average density of 1,854.1 per square mile (715.9/km ). The racial makeup of the CDP was 85.86% White , 2.67% Black or African American , 0.17% Native American , 7.92% Asian , 0.05% Pacific Islander , 1.23% from other races , and 2.11% from two or more races. 5.43% of

6250-464: The Kensington line's light rails with heavier ones suitable for Capital Transit's larger streetcars. This the residents did, raising $ 13,500 by June. But in July, Phillips balked at signing the agreement, insisting it be amended to allow him to close the railroad and keep the money if the company could not make his bank payments after six months. In response, Kensington residents delivered a petition asking

6375-511: The Mongolian Race, blood, or origin, which racial description shall be deemed to include Chinese, Japanese, and Mongolians, except that this paragraph shall not be held to exclude partial occupancy of the premises by domestic servants of the purchaser or purchasers." In practice, covenants excluding "Semitic races" were generally used to exclude Jews as Montgomery County did not have notable Armenian, Greek, Syrian, or Turkish populations at

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6500-590: The Montgomery Farm Woman's Cooperative Market and the Bethesda Central Farmer's Market. In summer 2021, Fox Television Stations moved the broadcast facilities of its Washington-area television stations, WTTG and WDCA , to Bethesda. Bethesda is the home of Congressional Country Club , which is recognized as one of the world's most prestigious private country clubs. Congressional has hosted four major golf championships, including

6625-645: The Piscataway people, some of whom established a new settlement in 1699 near Point of Rocks, Maryland . Nine cities served as capitals to the Continental Congress and under the Articles of Confederation . New York City was the first capital upon the adoption of the Constitution , succeeded by Philadelphia , which was capital from 1790 to 1800. On October 6, 1783, after the capital

6750-582: The Public Service Commission for permission to abandon its streetcar operations up Connecticut Avenue to Kensington. On September 15, 1935, the company began running buses in place of trolleys . "It was the most significant District streetcar abandonment up to that time", the Washington Post would write. Within three years of the line's abandonment, plans were made to pave the railroad's winding right-of-way and turn it into

6875-405: The Public Service Commission to summon Phillips to explain service that had become a "miserable travesty" and streetcars so old, they said, as to be unsafe and unsanitary. They also asked the commission to force Phillips to sign the agreement as is. Negotiations continued. In April 1923, the Public Service Commission rejected Phillips' proposal to sell the railroads to Capital Traction outright. But

7000-657: The Sandy Spring to its total and final length to 1.25 miles of track. The line operated from 6:30 a.m. until midnight, with cars leaving the Chevy Chase Lake station on the hour and half-hour, and the Kensington station at 15 and 45 minutes past the hour. A one-way ticket in 1911 cost 5 cents, or 50 for $ 1.50. Wrote the Montgomery County Historical Society: During the early years of its operation, this trolly line

7125-662: The Sandy Spring's tracks, which began on July 1, 1908. Over the next eight years, Phillips slowly extended the Sandy Spring line. The first extension ran from Kensington's B&O station through town westward along the B&;O tracks almost to the road bridge that carried the Bethesda - Bladensburg road over the tracks. There the Sandy Spring built a steel bridge north across the tracks, which opened on February 22, 1915. Another extension, to Kensington's Norris Station (near today's 3535 University Boulevard), opened on April 8, 1916, bringing

7250-504: The area. Blizzards affect Washington once every four to six years on average. The most violent storms, known as nor'easters , often impact large regions of the East Coast . From January 27 to 28, 1922 , the city officially received 28 inches (71 cm) of snowfall, the largest snowstorm since official measurements began in 1885. According to notes kept at the time, the city received between 30 and 36 inches (76 and 91 cm) from

7375-476: The borders of the federal district and placed boundary stones at every mile point; many of these stones are still standing. Both Maryland and Virginia were slave states , and slavery existed in the District from its founding. The building of Washington likely relied in significant part on slave labor, and slave receipts have been found for the White House, Capitol Building, and establishment of Georgetown University. The city became an important slave market and

7500-434: The buildings that house federal government headquarters, including the White House , the Capitol, the Supreme Court Building , and multiple federal departments and agencies . The city is home to many national monuments and museums , located most prominently on or around the National Mall , including the Jefferson Memorial , the Lincoln Memorial , and the Washington Monument . It hosts 177 foreign embassies and serves as

7625-432: The car... The car took fifteen minutes for the trip, over a winding, unballasted track. Most of the time there was a one-man crew, and fares were collected between the town limit and the Rock Creek trestle, with the power cut to half speed, and the car moving at not over five miles per hour. This practice, while considered normal by regular passengers, frequently alarmed strangers... The owner-operator frequently carried

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7750-409: The city , primarily in the U Street, 14th Street, 7th Street, and H Street corridors, which were predominantly black residential and commercial areas. The riots raged for three days until more than 13,600 federal troops and Washington, D.C., Army National Guardsmen stopped the violence. Many stores and other buildings were burned, and rebuilding from the riots was not completed until

7875-413: The city at the Atlantic Seaboard fall line . The highest natural elevation in the district is 409 feet (125 m) above sea level at Fort Reno Park in upper northwest Washington, D.C. The lowest point is sea level at the Potomac River. The geographic center of Washington is near the intersection of 4th and L streets NW. The district has 7,464 acres (30.21 km ) of parkland, about 19% of

8000-490: The city but bankrupted its government. In 1874, Congress replaced the territorial government with an appointed three-member board of commissioners. In 1888, the city's first motorized streetcars began service. Their introduction generated growth in areas of the district beyond the City of Washington's original boundaries, leading to an expansion of the district over the next few decades. Georgetown's street grid and other administrative details were formally merged with those of

8125-426: The city is divided into quadrants , which are centered around the Capitol Building and include 131 neighborhoods . As of the 2020 census , the city had a population of 689,545. Commuters from the city's Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the city's daytime population to more than one million during the workweek. The Washington metropolitan area , which includes parts of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia ,

8250-695: The city throughout the movement. Much of the old Victorian Mall was replaced with modern Neoclassical and Beaux-Arts architecture ; these designs are still prevalent in the city's governmental buildings today. Increased federal spending under the New Deal in the 1930s led to the construction of new government buildings, memorials, and museums in the district, though the chairman of the House Subcommittee on District Appropriations, Ross A. Collins of Mississippi , justified cuts to funds for welfare and education for local residents by saying that "my constituents wouldn't stand for spending money on niggers." World War II led to an expansion of federal employees in

8375-455: The city's classical-style architecture include buildings constructed in the French Second Empire style, including the Eisenhower Executive Office Building , and the modernist Watergate complex . The Thomas Jefferson Building , the main Library of Congress building, and the historic Willard Hotel are built in Beaux-Arts style , popular throughout the world in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Meridian Hill Park contains

8500-419: The city's residents elect a single non-voting congressional delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. The city's voters choose three presidential electors in accordance with the Twenty-third Amendment , passed in 1961. Washington, D.C. anchors the southern end of the Northeast megalopolis . As the seat of the U.S. federal government , the city is an important world political capital . The city hosts

8625-416: The city's total area, the second-highest among high-density U.S. cities after Philadelphia . The city's sizable parkland was a factor in the city being ranked as third in the nation for park access and quality in the 2018 ParkScore ranking of the park systems of the nation's 100 most populous cities, according to Trust for Public Land , a non-profit organization. The National Park Service manages most of

8750-421: The city, was then tasked with completing its design. Though Ellicott revised the original L'Enfant plans, including changing some street patterns, L'Enfant is still credited with the city's overall design. By the early 20th century, however, L'Enfant's vision of a grand national capital was marred by slums and randomly placed buildings in the city, including a railroad station on the National Mall. Congress formed

8875-408: The city. Summers are hot and humid with a July daily average of 79.8 °F (26.6 °C) and average daily relative humidity around 66%, which can cause moderate personal discomfort. Heat indices regularly approach 100 °F (38 °C) at the height of summer. The combination of heat and humidity in the summer brings very frequent thunderstorms, some of which occasionally produce tornadoes in

9000-590: The city. Many of the government buildings, monuments, and museums along the National Mall and surrounding areas are heavily inspired by classical Roman and Greek architecture. The designs of the White House, the U.S. Capitol, Supreme Court Building , Washington Monument , National Gallery of Art , Lincoln Memorial, and Jefferson Memorial are all heavily drawn from these classical architectural movements and feature large pediments, domes, columns in classical order, and heavy stone walls. Notable exceptions to

9125-469: The city. Precipitation occurs throughout the year. The highest recorded temperature was 106 °F (41 °C) on August 6, 1918, and on July 20, 1930. The lowest recorded temperature was −15 °F (−26 °C) on February 11, 1899 , right before the Great Blizzard of 1899 . During a typical year, the city averages about 37 days at or above 90 °F (32 °C) and 64 nights at or below

9250-680: The city; by 1950, the district's population reached its peak of 802,178 residents. The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified in 1961, granting the district three votes in the Electoral College for the election of president and vice president, but still not affording the city's residents representation in Congress. After the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, riots broke out in

9375-860: The clubhouse of the Woodmont Country Club on land that is now part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus. Merle Thorpe 's mansion "Pook's Hill" (1927, razed 1948) became the home-in-exile of the Norwegian royal family during World War II . Before the passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 , restrictive covenants were used in Bethesda to exclude racial and ethnic minorities—primarily African-Americans, but also Asian-Americans and ethnic groups regarded as "Semitic", including Armenians, Jews, Iranians, Greeks, Turks, and Syrians. One 1938 restrictive covenant in

9500-638: The communities of North Bethesda and Rockville , ending, after several name changes, in Frederick . Toward the South, Rockville Pike becomes Wisconsin Avenue near the NIH Campus and continues beyond Bethesda through Chevy Chase , Friendship Heights and into Washington, D.C. , ending in Georgetown . The area commonly known as Downtown Bethesda is centered at the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue, Old Georgetown Road and East-West Highway. This intersection

9625-466: The community, by stopping anywhere along the lines to take on or discharge passengers. They would obligingly hold over the last car at the Lake for a half hour or more to accommodate a late theater goer. Also, housewives remember them kindly for their free delivery service. At that time, it was only necessary to telephone the groceryman at Kensington for five gallons of kerosene, or other needed supplies and on

9750-590: The district into a state since the 1880s; a statehood bill passed the House of Representatives in 2021 but was not adopted by the U.S. Senate . To become law it would have to be passed by the Senate and signed by president; it would have renamed the city Washington, Douglas Commonwealth and shrunk the Federal District to about the size of the national mall. Designed in 1791 by Pierre Charles L'Enfant ,

9875-543: The district with a total area of about 3.1 million square feet (288,000 m ). Washington Union Station is designed in a combination of architectural styles. Its Great Hall has elaborate gold leaf designs along the ceilings and the hall includes several decorative classical-style statues. Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda ( / b ə ˈ θ ɛ z d ə / ) is an unincorporated , census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland , United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C. , it

10000-486: The district's African American male residents the right to vote in municipal elections. By 1870, the district's population had grown 75% in a decade to nearly 132,000 people, yet the city still lacked paved roads and basic sanitation. Some members of Congress suggested moving the capital farther west, but President Ulysses S. Grant refused to consider the proposal. In the Organic Act of 1871 , Congress repealed

10125-671: The downtown area at the Bethesda station , and the area near the National Institutes of Health and the Walter Reed Medical Center at the Medical Center station . The Maryland Transit Administration 's Purple Line , a light rail line currently under construction, will provide a direct connection from Bethesda to Silver Spring , the University of Maryland , College Park , and New Carrollton . The Purple Line will allow riders from Bethesda to move between

10250-658: The east and north of the Potomac and the County of Alexandria to the west and south. After the Act's passage, citizens in the district were no longer considered residents of Maryland or Virginia, which ended their representation in Congress. On August 24, 1814, during the War of 1812 , British forces invaded and occupied the city after defeating an American force at Bladensburg . In retaliation for acts of destruction by American troops in

10375-541: The establishment of a "District (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States". However, the constitution does not specify a location for the capital. In the Compromise of 1790 , Madison, Alexander Hamilton , and Thomas Jefferson agreed that the federal government would pay each state's remaining Revolutionary War debts in exchange for establishing

10500-402: The event had little effect on the small farmers throughout Bethesda. Between 1805 and 1821, Bethesda became a rural way station after the development of the Washington and Rockville Turnpike , which carried tobacco and other products between Georgetown and Rockville , and north to Frederick . The Bethesda Meeting House, a Presbyterian church, was built in 1820. The church burned in 1849 and

10625-426: The existing settlements of Georgetown and Alexandria , was officially recognized as the federal district; initially, the city was a separate settlement within the larger district. In 1846, Congress returned the land originally ceded by Virginia , including the city of Alexandria. In 1871, it created a single municipality for the remaining portion of the district. There have been several unsuccessful efforts to make

10750-556: The federal district was a square measuring 10 miles (16 km) on each side and totaling 100 square miles (259 km ). Two pre-existing settlements were included in the territory, the port of Georgetown , founded in 1751, and the port city of Alexandria, Virginia , founded in 1749. In 1791 and 1792, a team led by Andrew Ellicott , including Ellicott's brothers Joseph and Benjamin and African American astronomer Benjamin Banneker , whose parents had been enslaved, surveyed

10875-684: The first to use electrical wiring in its design. Notable contemporary residential buildings, restaurants, shops, and office buildings in the city include the Wharf on the Southwest Waterfront , Navy Yard along the Anacostia River , and CityCenterDC in Downtown . The Wharf has seen the construction of several high-rise office and residential buildings overlooking the Potomac River . Additionally, restaurants, bars, and shops have been opened at street level. Many of these buildings have

11000-430: The following month, the commission approved a plan to lease the lines to Capital Traction for 10 years, with profits on the lines split between the larger company and the smaller ones. That lease took effect on August 1, 1923, and soon Kensington residents could travel from their neighborhood to downtown D.C. without switching rides or paying two fares. The old CCL&K streetcar made its last run on November 10, 1923, and

11125-404: The freezing mark (32 °F or 0 °C). On average, the first day with a minimum at or below freezing is November 18 and the last day is March 27. Washington, D.C., was a planned city , and many of the city's street grids were developed in that initial plan. In 1791, President George Washington commissioned Pierre Charles L'Enfant , a French-born military engineer and artist, to design

11250-725: The headquarters for the World Bank , the International Monetary Fund , the Organization of American States , and other international organizations. Home to many of the nation's largest industry associations, non-profit organizations, and think tanks , D.C. is known as a lobbying hub, with K Street as the industry center. The city had 20.7 million domestic visitors and 1.2 million international visitors, ranking seventh among U.S. cities as of 2022. The Algonquian -speaking Piscataway people , also known as

11375-459: The indigenous Native Piscataway and Nacotchtank at the time of European colonization . Fur trader Henry Fleet became the first European to visit the area, reaching it by sailing up the Potomac River . He stayed with the Piscataway tribe from 1623 to 1627, either as a guest or prisoner (historical accounts differ). Fleet eventually secured funding for another expedition to the region and was later granted proprietary rights to 2,000 acres of land in

11500-436: The individual charters of the cities of Washington and Georgetown , abolished Washington County , and created a new territorial government for the whole District of Columbia. These steps made "the city of Washington...legally indistinguishable from the District of Columbia." In 1873, President Grant appointed Alexander Robey Shepherd as Governor of the District of Columbia. Shepherd authorized large projects that modernized

11625-523: The land along Silver Creek, the stream that largely dictated the streetcar right-of-way, into Kensington Parkway Stream Valley Park. Two stone abutments of the bridge over Rock Creek survive. Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C. , is the capital city and federal district of the United States . The city

11750-437: The late 1990s. In 1973, Congress enacted the District of Columbia Home Rule Act providing for an elected mayor and 13-member council for the district. In 1975, Walter Washington became the district's first elected and first black mayor. Since the 1980s, the D.C. statehood movement has grown in prominence. In 2016, a referendum on D.C. statehood resulted in an 85% support among Washington, D.C., voters for it to become

11875-637: The late 19th century, becoming the neighborhoods of Drummond, Woodmont, Edgemoor, and Battery Park. Farther north, several wealthy men made Rockville Pike famous for its mansions. These included Brainard W. Parker ("Cedarcroft", 1892), James Oyster ( "Strathmore", 1899 ), George E. Hamilton ("Hamilton House", 1904; now the Stone Ridge School ), Luke I. Wilson ("Tree Tops", 1926), Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor ("Wild Acres", 1928–29), and George Freeland Peter ("Stone House", 1930). In 1930, Armistead Peter 's pioneering manor house "Winona" (1873) became

12000-407: The line to Garrett Park and to Wheaton . A year later, the Kensington line was operating 2.53 miles of track, according to a Baltimore Sun survey of the state's electric railways, In 1906, controlling interest in the Kensington streetcar line was purchased by R. Henry Phillips of Washington for $ 8,000. He ran the line himself, with the help of one employee, offering half-hourly service between

12125-475: The line was carrying 400 to 800 passengers a day, generating annual revenues of about $ 5,000 ($ 183,000 today). But it was paying $ 1,400 for power to Capital Traction, and losing ridership to the B&O railroad, which carried increasing numbers of commuters on its Metropolitan Branch between Kensington and downtown Washington, D.C. The company found itself unable to repay its bank loans and unable to persuade its shareholders to supply more capital. In November 1901,

12250-564: The line was foreclosed upon and put up for auction. The Chevy Chase Lake & Kensington Railway attracted no bidders for months, but was purchased at last in July 1902 by George E. Emmons of Washington, D.C. Emmons turned out to be acting on behalf of several of the officers of the CCL&;K, and on August 14, 1902, they incorporated the Kensington Railway Company to try their hands again, announcing new plans to extend

12375-497: The name Washington, Douglas Commonwealth (thus keeping the same abbreviation Washington, D.C.). The legalities, reasons, and impact of statehood have been heavily debated in the 2020s. Washington, D.C., is located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. East Coast . The city has a total area of 68.34 square miles (177 km ), of which 61.05 square miles (158.1 km ) is land and 7.29 square miles (18.9 km ) (10.67%)

12500-527: The nascent colony and became a member of Maryland's colonial legislature. Raids from the Senecas and Susquehannock resulted in the creation of the Maryland division of Rangers in 1694 to patrol the frontier . Most settlers in colonial Maryland were tenant farmers who paid their rent in tobacco, and colonists continued to expand farther north in search of fertile land. Henry Darnall (1645–1711) surveyed

12625-503: The nation's 51st state . In March 2017, the city's congressional delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton introduced a bill for statehood. Reintroduced in 2019 and 2021 as the Washington, D.C., Admission Act , the U.S. House of Representatives passed it in April 2021. After not progressing in the Senate, the statehood bill was introduced again in January 2023. The bill would have made D.C. into a state with one representative and two senators, with

12750-496: The new capital. He enlisted the help of Isaac Roberdeau, Étienne Sulpice Hallet and Scottish surveyor Alexander Ralston to help lay out the city plan. The L'Enfant Plan featured broad streets and avenues radiating out from rectangles, providing room for open space and landscaping. L'Enfant was also provided a roll of maps by Thomas Jefferson depicting Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Strasbourg, Paris, Orleans, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Turin, and Milan. L'Enfant's design also envisioned

12875-604: The new national capital in the Southern United States . On July 9, 1790, Congress passed the Residence Act , which approved the creation of a national capital on the Potomac River . Under the Residence Act, the exact location was to be selected by President George Washington , who signed the bill into law on July 16, 1790. Formed from land donated by Maryland and Virginia, the initial shape of

13000-552: The north and south sides of the National Mall, respectively, are home to many of Washington's iconic museums, including many Smithsonian Institution buildings and the National Archives Building . Washington hosts 177 foreign embassies ; these maintain nearly 300 buildings and more than 1,600 residential properties, many of which are on a section of Massachusetts Avenue informally known as Embassy Row . The architecture of Washington, D.C., varies greatly and

13125-404: The number of blocks away from the Capitol. Most streets are set out in a grid pattern with east–west streets named with letters (e.g., C Street SW), north–south streets with numbers (e.g., 4th Street NW), and diagonal avenues, many of which are named after states . The City of Washington was bordered on the north by Boundary Street (renamed Florida Avenue in 1890); Rock Creek to the west, and

13250-709: The opening of the Bethesda station on the Red Line of the Washington Metro rapid transit system, also located at this intersection and the centerpiece of the Bethesda Metro Center development. The Medical Center Metro stop lies about 0.7 miles north of the Bethesda stop, Medical Center , which serves the NIH Campus, the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center , and the Uniformed Services University of

13375-436: The population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 23,659 households, out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.4% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.9% were non-families. 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size

13500-419: The return of Alexandria. On July 9, 1846, Congress went further, agreeing to return all territory that Virginia had ceded to the district during its formation. This left the district's area consisting only of the portion originally donated by Maryland. Confirming the fears of pro-slavery Alexandrians, the Compromise of 1850 outlawed the slave trade in the district, although not slavery itself. The outbreak of

13625-419: The return trips announced by the clanging of the foot bell, the waiting resident received the orders which had been placed post haste on the front platform of the trolley by the storekeeper. Many an unexpected guest, in the evening, was treated to McKeever's ice cream from the store in Kensington by the same service. But by the early 1920s, passengers were complaining of aged streetcars and spotty service. Despite

13750-434: The termini. But Phillips had bought the line with plans to expand it, at least some 8.5 miles north to Sandy Spring . To do so, he bought the failed Sandy Spring Railway , which had been founded in 1902 but had made almost no progress on its goal to connect Kensington to Ellicott City , some 28 miles northwest and home to the original terminus of the B&O Railroad. It took two years for Phillips to open operations on

13875-601: The time. World War II and the subsequent expansion of government fed the rapid growth of Bethesda. Both the National Naval Medical Center (1940–42) and the NIH complex (1948) were built just to the north of the developing downtown, and this drew government contractors, medical professionals, and other businesses to the area. Bethesda became the major urban core and employment center of southwestern Montgomery County. This recent vigorous growth followed

14000-541: The width of the adjacent street plus 20 feet (6.1 m). Despite popular belief, no law has ever limited buildings to the height of the United States Capitol or the 555-foot (169 m) Washington Monument , which remains the district's tallest structure. City leaders have cited the height restriction as a primary reason that the district has limited affordable housing and its metro area has suburban sprawl and traffic problems. Washington, D.C., still has

14125-419: Was a poetic name for the United States commonly used at that time. Congress held its first session there on November 17, 1800. Congress passed the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801 , which officially organized the district and placed the entire territory under the exclusive control of the federal government. The area within the district was organized into two counties, the County of Washington to

14250-415: Was 2.30, and the average family size was 2.92. In the CDP, 21.8% of the population was under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.0 males. Bethesda is a very wealthy and well-educated area. According to

14375-413: Was 69.5% non-Hispanic white, 8.9% Hispanic or Latino, 4.9% black, 11.7% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, and 8.2% of two or more races. 24.4% of the population was foreign-born. Important medical institutions located in Bethesda include the National Institutes of Health campus , Walter Reed National Military Medical Center , and the adjoining Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences , as well as

14500-448: Was a purely local institution, with the same customers, and a real family spirit between passengers and operator. The 7:45 morning car carried not only commuters going to work, but also most of the high school age youngsters, since there were no high schools near Kensington. The motorman always stopped at Kent Street and at Washington Street whether or not a passenger was waiting, as he knew the street would be lined with customers running for

14625-678: Was ailing, hurt by the Great Depression and competition from automobiles and buses. Phillips announced on August 1 that he intended to resume operating the Kensington Railway the following day, but it appears that Capital Traction retained operating rights. In December, Capital Traction merged with the region's other large streetcar operator, the Washington Railway and Electric Company . But the resulting Capital Transit Company remained weak, and in 1935, it asked

14750-546: Was also near a bank and "opposite Hopkins' store". The line wound southward along the Rock Creek tributary of Silver Creek, then through the neighborhood of Kenilworth (today called North Chevy Chase ). The southern terminus was just southwest of the grade crossing of the B&O's Georgetown Branch over Connecticut Avenue at the Chevy Chase Lake amusement park (near today's 8400 Connecticut Avenue). The line

14875-406: Was envisioned, as Capital Traction had bought an option to open the new service, as was another extension to Garrett Park . Jubilant, the owners announced plans to rename their line Kensington Electric Railway, Light, and Power Company. But none of these plans would bear fruit. When company officers met for its annual meeting in July 1900, they did so under the original name of CCL&KRy. By 1901,

15000-583: Was forced by the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783 to move to Princeton, Congress resolved to consider a new location for it. The following day, Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts moved "that buildings for the use of Congress be erected on the banks of the Delaware near Trenton , or of the Potomac , near Georgetown , provided a suitable district can be procured on one of the rivers as aforesaid, for

15125-750: Was noted for its many curves laid to reduce grades, the company having decided that extra track was better than cuts and fills. A 200-foot through siding was laid north of the Rock Creek bridge, dubbed Ray's Turnout after the former owner of the farm it sat on, to allow streetcars to pass each other on the single-track line. There was also a stub-end siding at the southern terminus. Like most electric streetcars, it drew its power from overhead wires strung on posts. Operations began on May 30, 1895, with two closed motor cars, Nos. 1 & 2, built by Jackson and Sharp Co . (A builder's photo shows No. 2 lettered "Chevy Chase, Kenilworth & Kensington".) Electrical power

15250-466: Was originally located in Bethesda but moved to Rockville in 1990. The Discovery Channel also had its headquarters in Bethesda before it moved to Silver Spring in 2004. On the professional services side, numerous banks (PNC, Capital One Bank) brokerage firms (MorganStanley, Merrill Lynch, Charles Schwab, Fidelity) and law firms (Ballard Spahr, JDKatz, Paley Rothman, Lerch Early & Brewer) maintain offices in Bethesda. Bethesda has two farmers markets :

15375-764: Was purchased from the Rock Creek Railway's coal-fired generating station at Chevy Chase Lake. The RCR, which would within months be merged to create the Capital Traction Company , also handled the line's maintenance. In 1899, the owners received a judge's permission to extend the line from Chevy Chase Lake eastward to Bethesda , where it was to connect with the Capital Traction line to the Tenleytown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Through service from Tenleytown to Kensington

15500-560: Was rebuilt the same year about 100 yards (91 m) south, and its former location became the Cemetery of the Bethesda Meeting House. In 1852, the postmaster general established a post office in the area and appointed Rev. A. R. Smith its first postmaster. By 1862, a small settlement had grown around a store and tollhouse along the turnpike known as "Darcy's Store" for the store's owner, William E. Darcy. It consisted of

15625-414: Was subsequently parked on the stub at Chevy Chase Lake. Service was henceforth offered on the larger, newer Capital Transit trolleys. Lost in the transition was the motorman's practice of stopping wherever a rider hailed along the line, or waiting while a passenger ran a small errand; the new trolleys made only designated stops and kept a strict schedule. By the time the lease ended in 1933, Capital Traction

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