Results: A city on the Potomac River

Washington D.C. is not in any state. The name was given to the federal district by commissioners in 1791, who then called it the "territory" instead of the "district". During the American Revolution, the patriots used the name Columbia to represent the United States. George Washington chose the area where the White House would eventually be built, and Virginia and Maryland gave up 100 square miles of land, a third of which was given back to Virginia in 1846. The first time Congress met in Washington, D.C. was November 1800, only a year after George Washington passed away. Were you aware of this tidbit about Washington, D. C.?

The Washington Monument - The world's tallest building when completed in1884 and held that title for 5 years until the Eiffel Tower was completed in 1889. Funding for the Monument ran out 7 years after construction began and was put on hold for nearly 20 years. It was finally completed after the end of the Civil War. When construction began again in 1876, the limestone appeared to match the 20 year-old foundation. The colors, however, changed over time. Have you visited Washington, D.C.?

Underground Tunnels - Like many large U.S. cities, Washington, D.C. has many tunnels. In addition to the bunker under the White House, there are also secret passages under the Congressional office buildings, throughout Dupont Circle and even under apartment buildings. Most of these underground nooks were used for the streetcar system (out of use since 1962) and also as a fallout shelter. In 2017, the city re-incorporated a couple of stops in underserved areas, but most are still unused. Are there underground tunnels in your city/province?

Streets - "I" Street is sometimes referred to as "Eye" Street to avoid confusing it with a "1" or "L". Most major streets are named after states, letters, or are numbers. However, there is no "J" Street. There are many theories as to why J was omitted, including a feud between city designer Pierre L'Enfant and Chief Justice John Jay. The most commonly accepted is, as cities began to build around the time of the Industrial Revolution, the letters I and J were used interchangeably and L'Enfant decided that it was redundant to have both. Are letters and numbers used to denote some of the street names where you live?

Lady on the Capitol Dome - The Statue of Freedom was added to the dome in 1863 by architect Thomas Walter and sculptor Thomas Crawford, and was the winning design of three options. "The lady is a juxtaposition of Roman and American symbolism, wearing a helmet of eagle feathers and a toga, holding a sheathed sword and a shield with 13 stripes representing the 13 original colonies." The bronze statue is 19.5 feet tall and weighs 15,000 pounds. Were you aware of the Lady on the Dome?