WASHINGTON, D C

WASHINGTON, D. C.

general facts

Washington is not a state and not in a state --> independent federal district

the population is about 630,000 (metropolitan area about 31/2 million)

3/4 of the population is non-white

since 1964 the people living in Washington have the right to vote for the president

was planned as a capital --> the streets are organised in a special pattern; the National Mall is in the centre of the town, other buildings are arranged around it

the layout of the city reflects also the system of government (White House is connected to the Capitol, where Congress meets, and to the Supreme Court)

the names of the streets are given in a special way, too (the horizontal streets are named with letters; the vertical ones with numbers)

few factories, most of the people work in offices

government is the largest employer in the city (345,000 people)

more than 600 parks; Washington has a larger variety of trees than any other city

no skyscrapers because there is a rule, that no building should be higher than 40 metres; this rule ensures that the Capitol and the monuments can be seen from anywhere in Washington

Close Up Foundation

founded in 1970

aims are to learn something about the political system and about Washington

people should be involved in all that happens around them

the people learn what it means to live in a democracy

students and teacher from all parts of the country are participants

in one year there are 27,000 participants

the programme is divided into political and cultural information

sights

the Capitol: it is the building where Congress works

the House of Representatives: the representatives work here

the Lincoln Memorial: memorial of Abraham Lincoln (1732-1799)

the National Mall: it is a promenade between Capitol and Lincoln Memorial

the Oval Office: this is a room of the White House were the President works

the Pentagon: here is the defence office

the Senate: here is the American Senate

the Washington Monument: a 170 metres high obelisk for George Washington

the White House:

* oldest public building in Washington; the title was given later

* home of the most famous government people and the official residence of the president

* every president, except George Washington, lived in the White House

* until 1834 the White House had no running water; gas lamps 1848 installed

* opened for two hours a day from Tuesday to Saturday

* you can't visit the president or the room where he works

Vietnam Veterans Memorial:

* one of the most recent monuments; for many people the most moving one

* it should remember, that this war divided the country; also the many died people and many people, fighting in the war were even still teenagers

* some people thought the war should not be, others wanted this

* average age of the soldiers in this war was 19

* in this war 58,123 men died or are still missing

institutions

the Supreme Court: this is the most powerful court in the USA

the Smithsonian Institution:

* here are several museums

* the money for the Smithsonian Institution was from a wealthy Englishman, who gave all his money to the USA

* today there are 13 Smithsonian museums in the USA (12 in Washington and 1 in New York)

* the most popular ones are the National Air and Space Museum where you can see the Apollo 11 spaceship

* here are also libraries and an observatory

FBI Headquarters:

* FBI means Federal Bureau of Investigation

* FBI was founded in 1908 by J. Edgar Hoover

* he founded the FBI because he wanted to fight against crime throughout the nation, that's why the name is 'Federal'

* in this building there are many laboratories (hair, pieces of cloth, paint); from a piece of paint they can say what make and model the car is

* the agents watch the evidence and the other information here

* often the work of the agents is not dangerous and with guns, because often it is only a paperwork

Bureau of Engraving and Printing:

* the money of the USA is made in this institution since 1863

* 2,300 people work here day and night and six days a week

* most of the money is made to replace old money

* visitors can watch how money is made, and they also can see a $100,000 bill

* every day $22,5 million are printed

* the visitors also can learn that for the printing of money no trees are cut down, because the bills are made of cloth

* the $1 bill is used for only about 18 months, than the bill is destroyed an a new one is made

* there are many security guards watching the people, that no money is stolen

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