The city was named after George Washington, the
first President of the United States.
The district's name,
"Columbia," is an early poetic name for the United States and a
reference to Christopher Columbus, an early explorer of the
Americas. The city is commonly referred to as Washington, The
District, or simply D.C. In the 19th century, it was called the
Federal City or Washington City.
The centers of all three branches of the U.S. government are in
the District. Also situated in the city are the headquarters for
the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the
Organization of American States, the Inter-American Development
Bank, and other national and international institutions,
including labor unions and professional associations. Washington
is a frequent location for political demonstrations and
protests, large and small, particularly on the National Mall.
A
center of American history and culture, Washington is a popular
destination for tourists, the site of numerous national
landmarks and monuments, the world's largest museum complex (the
Smithsonian Institution), galleries, universities, cathedrals,
performing arts centers and institutions, and native music
scenes.
The District of Columbia and the city of Washington are governed
by a single municipal government and for most practical
purposes, are considered to be the same entity.
This has not
always been the case: until 1871, when Georgetown ceased to be a
separate city, there were multiple jurisdictions within the
District.
Although there is a municipal government and a Mayor,
Congress has the supreme authority over the city and district,
which results in citizens having less self-governance than
residents of the states.
The District has a non-voting at-large
Congressional representative. In the financial year 2004,
federal tax collections were $16.9 billion while federal
spending in the District was $37.6 billion.
The population of the District of Columbia is about 588,292. The
Washington Metropolitan Area is the eighth-largest in the United
States with more than five million residents, and the
Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area has a population
exceeding eight million. If Washington, D.C., were a state, it
would rank last in area (behind Rhode Island), second to last in
population (ahead of Wyoming), first in population density, and
35th in gross state product.
History
The District of Columbia, founded on July 16, 1790, is a federal
district as specified by the United States Constitution. The
land forming the original District came from the state of
Maryland and Commonwealth of Virginia. However, the area south
of the Potomac River (39 square miles or about 100 km²) was
returned, or "retroceded", to Virginia in 1847 and now is
incorporated into Arlington County and the City of Alexandria.
The remaining land that constitutes the District of Columbia is
the territory originally ceded by Maryland.
Planning
A Southern site for the new country's capital was agreed upon at
a dinner between James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, hosted by
Thomas Jefferson.
The site was part of the deal that led to the
new national government's assumption of debts from the
Revolutionary War. (The southern states had largely paid off
their war debts; collectivizing debt was to northern advantage,
so a southern capital was a compromise.)
The city's plan was
largely the work of Pierre Charles L’Enfant, a French-born
architect, engineer and city planner who first arrived in the
American colonies as a military engineer with Major General
Lafayette. L'Enfant drew up a basic plan for Washington, D.C. in
1791; the city layout owed much to the Baroque style, which was
the dominant style in many North American and European planned
cities of the day.
The plan incorporated broad avenues and major
streets which radiate out from traffic circles, providing vistas
towards important landmarks and monuments. While all of the
original colonies had avenues named for them, the most prominent
states received more prestigious locations under Andrew
Ellicott's later plan for the city.
Massachusetts Avenue was the
northernmost of three principal east-west arteries, Virginia
Avenue the southernmost, and Pennsylvania Avenue was given the
honor of connecting the White House to the planned Capitol
building. In the original plan, all three roads reached
neighboring Georgetown.
The initial plan for the "Federal District" was a diamond,
measuring 10 miles (16 km) on each side, totaling 100 square
miles (259 km²). The actual site on the Potomac River was chosen
by President Washington. Washington may have chosen the site for
its natural scenery, believing that the Patowmack Canal would
transform the Potomac into a great navigable waterway leading to
the Ohio and the American interior. The city was officially
named "Washington" on September 9, 1791.
Out of modesty, George
Washington never referred to it as such, preferring to call it
"the Federal City".Despite choosing the site and living nearby
at Mount Vernon, he rarely visited the city.
The federal
district was named the District of Columbia because Columbia was
a poetic name for the United States used at the time, which was
close to the 300th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' first
voyage to the Americas in 1492.
As originally platted, the District of Columbia was carved out
of two adjacent counties - one in Virginia, one in Maryland -
and the portion from each state was organized as a separate
county.
Alexandria County was on the south bank of the Potomac
and was retroceded to Virginia in the nineteenth century (where
it later became the independent city of Alexandria and the
County of Arlington). The County of Washington was on the north
bank.
In addition to the new City of Washington being
constructed in the geographic and geometric center of the
District, there were a number of other communities - including
Georgetown (founded in 1751 and named for its co-founders and/or
King George II), Tenley, and the village commonly known today as
"Anacostia".
In time, all of these communities were amalgamated
to the City of Washington, which thus became coextensive with
the District of Columbia so that a separate County of Washington
was no longer needed, so it was abolished.
As constructed, Washington City was centered on its current area
but ended at present-day Rock Creek Park on the west and Florida
Avenue and Benning Road on the north. Florida Avenue was then
called "Boundary Street".
In 1791–92, Andrew Ellicott and Benjamin Banneker surveyed the
border of the District with both Maryland and Virginia, placing
boundary stones at every mile point; many of these still stand.
The cornerstone of the White House, the first newly constructed
building of the new capital, was laid on October 13, 1792. That
was the day after the first celebrations of Columbus Day in the
United States.
19th century
On August 24, 1814, British forces burned the capital during the
most notable raid of the War of 1812 in retaliation for the
sacking and burning of York (modern-day Toronto) during the
winter months, which had left many Canadians homeless.
President
James Madison and U.S. forces fled before the British forces
arrived and burned public buildings, including the Capitol and
the Treasury building.
The White House was burned and gutted.
The Washington Navy Yard was also burned — by American sailors —
to keep ships and stores from falling into the hands of the
British.
The home of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, located
at the Marine Barracks, was one of the few government buildings
not burned by the raiding British soldiers out of a sign of
respect and is now the oldest public building in continuous use
in the nation's capital.
The Patent Office was also spared, as a
result of the Superintendent of Patents pleading with British
soldiers and contending that destroying the store of knowledge
therein would be a disservice to mankind. Civilians were not
directly targeted and, initially, the British had approached the
city hoping to secure a truce.
However, they were fired upon,
triggering frustration and anger among the British, which
ultimately led to the sacking of government buildings.
During the 1830s, the District was home to one of the largest
slave trading operations in the country (see Alexandria,
Virginia).
In 1846, the population of Alexandria County, who resented the
loss of business with the competing port of Georgetown and
feared greater impact if slavery were outlawed in the capital,
voted in a referendum to ask Congress to retrocede Alexandria
back to the Commonwealth of Virginia. Congress agreed to do so
on July 9 of that year.
The slave trade, though not slavery, in
the capital was outlawed as part of the Compromise of 1850.
Washington remained a small city — the 1860 Census put the
population at just over 75,000 people — until the outbreak of
the American Civil War in 1861. The significant expansion of the
federal government to administer the war and its legacies such
as veterans' pensions led to notable growth in the city's
population, as did a large influx of freed slaves. By 1870, the
District population had grown to nearly 132,000.
In July 1864, Confederate forces under General Jubal Anderson
Early made a brief raid into Washington, culminating in the
Battle of Fort Stevens. The Confederates were repelled, and
Early eventually returned to the Shenandoah Valley. The fort is
located near present day Walter Reed Army Medical Center in
northwest Washington. This was the only battle where a U.S.
president, Abraham Lincoln, was present and under fire while in
office.
In the early 1870s, Washington was given a territorial
government, but Governor Alexander Robey Shepherd's reputation
for extravagance resulted in Congress abolishing his office in
favor of direct rule. Congressional governance of the District
would continue for a century.
In 1878, Congress passed an Organic Act that made the boundaries
of the city of Washington coterminous with those of the District
of Columbia. This effectively eliminated Washington County;
Georgetown, technically made a part of the city, was allowed to
remain nominally separate until 1895 when it was formally
combined with Washington.
The Washington Monument, with construction stalled by other
priorities, finally opened in 1888. Plans were laid to further
develop the monumental aspects of the city, with work
contributed by such noted figures as Frederick Law Olmsted and
Daniel Burnham. However, development of the Lincoln Memorial,
Jefferson Memorial and other structures on the National Mall,
and construction of Potomac Park did not begin until the early
20th century.
20th century
The many Depression relief agencies created by Franklin
Roosevelt's New Deal, followed by World War II, brought a great
increase to the city's population. Roommates doubled up in
scarce apartments and competed for space on buses and trolleys,
as reported in David Brinkley's book. The District's population
peaked in 1950, when the census for that year recorded a record
population of 802,178 people.
At the time, the city was the
ninth-largest in the country, just ahead of Boston and close
behind St. Louis. The population declined in the following
decades, mirroring the suburban emigration from many of the
nation's older urban centers following World War II and the
racial integration of public schools.
The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution was
ratified on March 29, 1961, allowing residents of Washington,
D.C. to vote for president and have their votes count in the
Electoral College as long as Washington, D.C. does not have more
electoral votes than the least populous state.
After the assassination of civil rights activist Martin Luther
King, Jr., in Memphis, on April 4, 1968, riots broke out in some
sections of the city. The violence raged for four days, and
buildings were burned. At one point, the rioters came within two
blocks of the White House.
President Lyndon Johnson ordered over
13,000 federal troops to occupy the city — the largest
occupation of an American city since the Civil War. It took
years for the city to recover. One of the most important
developments in bringing people back downtown was the building
of the subway system.
The first 4.6 miles (7.4 km) of the
Washington Metro subway system opened on March 27, 1976. Today
the system knits together Washington and its suburbs with a
network of 86 stations and 106.3 miles (171.1 km) of track.
In 1973, Congress enacted the District of Columbia Self-Rule and
Governmental Reorganization Act, providing for an elected mayor
and council for the District. As a result, Walter Washington
became the first elected mayor of the District in 1975.
Marion
Barry became mayor in 1979 and served three successive terms;
however, after his arrest for drug use in an FBI sting operation
on January 18, 1990, and his sentence to a six-month jail term,
he did not seek re-election. His successor, Sharon Pratt Kelly,
became the first black woman to lead a U.S. city of Washington's
size and importance.
Barry, however, ran again in 1994,
defeating her in the Democratic primary and once again becoming
mayor. During his fourth term, the city nearly became insolvent
and was forced to give up some home rule to a congressionally-appointed
financial control board.
In 1998, Anthony A. Williams was
elected the city's mayor and led the city into a fiscal recovery.
In 2006, Adrian Fenty was elected mayor. Among Mayor Fenty's
many promises are increased attention to every citizen of the
city and a world class atmosphere in business and residence.
During the 1970s, many in the District referred to it as "Chocolate
City" in reference to the city's Black majority and African-American
culture. Popularized by two local disc jockeys, the nickname was
also a reference to the 1975 album Chocolate City by Parliament-Funkadelic.
While the nickname never caught on permanently, it was a
reminder of the contributions to the city over the years by such
icons as Duke Ellington, Chuck Brown, and other African-American
performers.
During his Correspondent's Dinner speech in 2006,
Stephen Colbert referred to the city as "the Chocolate City with
the marshmallow center".
Climate
Washington has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate
classification: Cfa). Its climate is typical of Mid-Atlantic
U.S. areas removed from bodies of water, with four distinct
seasons.
Summer tends to be hot and humid with daily high temperatures in
July and August averaging in the high 80s to low 90s (in °F;
about 30° to 33 °C).
The combination of heat and humidity in the
summer brings very frequent thunderstorms, some of which
occasionally produce tornadoes in the area. The combination of
heat and humidity can also be reminiscent of a true tropical
climate.
Spring and fall are mild with high temperatures in April and
October averaging in the high 60s to low 70s (about 20 °C).
Winter brings sustained cool temperatures and occasional
snowfall. Average highs tend to be in the low 40s (6 to 8 °C)
and lows in the mid 20s (-5 to -2 °C) from mid-December to mid-February.
Additionally, Arctic air can lower nighttime lows into the teens,
even in the city.
While tropical cyclones (or their remnants) occasionally track
through the area in late summer and early fall, they have often
weakened by the time they reach Washington partly because of the
city's inland location. Flooding of the Potomac River,
however—caused by a combination of high tide, storm surge, and
storm runoff—has been known to cause extensive property damage
in Georgetown and Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.
Spring is generally the most favorable time of year, with low
humidity, mild temperatures and blooming foliage. This period
generally lasts from late March until mid May. Because the heat
island effect is not as pronounced, temperatures of the Dulles
Airport area and suburbs to the west and north are on average 6
to 7 °F (3 °C) cooler than Washington year-round, so a weather
forecast for the city may not be accurate for outlying suburbs.
The average annual snowfall is 16.6 inches (422 mm), and some
outlying suburbs (north and west) receive upwards of six more
inches of snowfall each year.and the average high temperature in
January is 41 °F (5 °C); the average low for January is 27 °F
(-3 °C). The average annual temperature is 57.5 °F (14.1 °C).
The highest recorded temperature was 106 °F (41 °C) on July 20,
1930 and August 6, 1918 and the lowest recorded temperature was
-15 °F (-26 °C) on February 11, 1899, during the Blizzard of
1899.
Culture
Tourism
Washington is home to numerous national landmarks and is one of
the most popular tourist destinations in the United States. The
National Mall is a large, open park area in the center of the
city featuring many monuments to American leaders; it also
serves to connect the White House and the United States Capitol
buildings.
Located prominently in the center of the Mall is the
Washington Monument. Other notable points of interest near the
Mall include the Jefferson Memorial (see right), Lincoln
Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, National World War
II Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Vietnam Veterans
Memorial, District of Columbia War Memorial, Albert Einstein
Memorial, and United States Navy Memorial.
The world famous Smithsonian Institution is located in the
District. The Smithsonian today is a collection of free museums
that includes the Anacostia Museum, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery,
Hirshhorn Museum, National Air and Space Museum, National Museum
of American History, National Museum of the American Indian,
National Museum of Natural History, National Portrait Gallery,
National Postal Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick
Gallery and National Zoo.
There are many art museums in D.C., in addition to those that
are part of the Smithsonian, including the free National Gallery
of Art, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Corcoran Gallery
of Art and Phillips Collection.
The Library of Congress and the National Archives house
thousands of documents covering every period in American history.
Some of the more notable documents in the National Archives
include the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill
of Rights.
The District of Columbia operates its own public library system
with 27 branches throughout the city. The main branch — which
occupies a multi-story glass and steel-framed building at the
intersection of 9th and G Streets, N.W., designed by modernist
architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe — is known as the Martin
Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. It has a large mural in its
main hall depicting the civil rights leader.
Other points of interest in the District include Arena Stage,
Chinatown, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate
Conception, the Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine of the Holy
Family (across the street from the Basilica Shrine), Blair
House, Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, Folger Shakespeare
Library, Ford's Theatre, Frederick Douglass National Historic
Site, International Spy Museum, National Building Museum,
National Geographic Society, the Awakening at Hains Point, Old
Post Office Building, Theodore Roosevelt Island, Franciscan
Monastery, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Victims of
Communism Memorial, and the Washington National Cathedral.
Performing arts
Washington is a major national center for the arts, with many
venues for the performing arts in the city. Arena Stage, one of
the first non-profit regional theaters in the nation, is rich
with history and produces an eight-show season ranging from
classics to world premieres, dedicated to the American canon of
theater. The Shakespeare Theatre Company is regarded as one of
the world's great Shakespeare troupes. Numerous other
professional theaters, such as The Studio Theatre and Woolly
Mammoth, and venues such as the National Theatre, make the city
a major theater center. The John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts hosts the National Symphony Orchestra, the
Washington National Opera, the Washington Ballet, and a variety
of other musical and stage performances.
The Lincoln Theatre hosted the likes of Duke Ellington and Ella
Fitzgerald on U Street (known as "Washington's Black Broadway")
prior to the 1968 riots.
Notable local music clubs include
Madam's Organ Blues Bar in Adams Morgan; Blues Alley in
Georgetown; the Eighteenth Street Lounge in the Dupont Circle
district; and the Black Cat, the 9:30 Club, the Bohemian Caverns
jazz club, the Twins jazz clubs, all in the U Street NW area.
The U Street area actually contains more than two dozen bars,
clubs, and restaurants that feature jazz either nightly or
several times a week.
Notable Washingtonians in the entertainment industry include
singer-songwriter Marvin Gaye, musician Ian MacKaye, film
actress Merle Oberon, comedian David Chappelle, musician Duke
Ellington, filmmaker Ted Salins and two members of the rock
group Jefferson Airplane: guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bass
player Jack Cassidy.
Other professional and semi-professional teams based in D.C.
include the USAFL Baltimore Washington Eagles, the NWFA D.C.
Divas, the Minor League Football D.C. Explosion, the Washington
RFC rugby union team of the Rugby Super League, as well as a
host of others playing in the Potomac Rugby Union and the
Washington Cricket League. It was also home to the WUSA
Washington Freedom, from 1987 to 1989 home of the Major Indoor
Lacrosse League's Washington Wave, and during the 2000–2002 NLL
seasons, the Washington Power was based in the city. In rugby
league, the Washington D.C. Slayers play in the American
National Rugby League.
There were two Major League Baseball teams named the Washington
Senators in the early and mid-20th century, which left to become
respectively the Minnesota Twins and the Texas Rangers. In the
19th century, the town was home to teams called the Washington
Nationals, Washington Statesmen, and Washington Senators on and
off from the 1870s to the turn of the century.
Washington was home to several Negro League baseball teams,
including the Homestead Grays, Washington Black Senators,
Washington Elite Giants, Washington Pilots, and Washington
Potomacs.
The Verizon Center in Chinatown, home to the Capitals, Mystics,
Wizards and the Georgetown Hoyas, is also a major venue for
concerts, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) professional
wrestling, and other events, having replaced the old Capital
Centre.
Since its opening in 1997, the arena has served as a
catalyst of prosperity in Chinatown. Office buildings, high-end
condominiums, restaurant chains, movie theatres, and other
luxuries have sprung up around Chinatown.
The city's soccer team, DC United, is the most successful
franchise in MLS history, with 4 league championships and 10
total tournament victories, both league highs. Washington will
host the 2007 edition of MLS Cup at RFK Stadium.
Washington
hosts the annual Legg Mason Tennis Classic tennis tournament
that takes place at the Carter Barron Tennis Center on 17th
Street. The Marine Corps Marathon and the National Marathon are
both held annually in Washington.
Demographics
The 2005 Census Bureau estimate of the city's population was
582,049. After the city government questioned the original
results – an estimate of 550,521 – the Census Bureau revised the
estimate.The revised figure marked the first increase in the
city's population since 1950.
As of the 2000 Census, there were 572,059 people, 248,338
households, and 114,235 families residing in the city.
The
population density was 9,316.4 per square mile (3,597.3/km²).
There were 274,845 housing units at an average density of
1,728.3/km² (4,476.1/mi²).
The largest Hispanic group is
Salvadoran, accounting for an estimated 18,505 of Washington's
45,901 Hispanic population. D.C. has a steadily declining
African American population, due to many middle-class and
professional African Americans moving to the suburbs, mostly in
Maryland (for example, the African American majority in Prince
George's County) and Northern Virginia, Baltimore, Richmond, and
the Hampton Roads area of Virginia aggravated by the rising cost
of living in the area.
There were 248,338 households, out of which 19.8% had children
under the age of 18 living with them, 22.8% were married couples
living together, 18.9% had a female householder with no husband
present, and 54.0% were non-families. 43.8% of all households
were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone
who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was
2.16 and the average family size was 3.07.
In the city, the population was spread out by age, with 20.1%
under the age of 18, 12.7% from 18 to 24, 33.1% from 25 to 44,
21.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or
older. The median age was 34.6 years. For every 100 females
there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over,
there were 86.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $40,127, and
the median income for a family was $46,283. Males had a median
income of $40,513 versus $36,361 for females. The per capita
income for the city was $28,659.
About 16.7% of families and
20.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including
31.1% of those under age 18 and 16.4% of those over age 65.
According to Forbes magazine it is also the 9th-wealthiest U.S.
city by median household income. More than half of its residents
having an income of $46,500 a year; the average home costs
$429,900. Nevertheless, there is a sharp divide between the
affluent and poor residents of the city.
A 2007 report found that about one-third of Washington residents
are functionally illiterate, compared to a national rate of
about one in five.[47] This is attributed in part to the 170,000
Hispanic, Ethiopian, and Eritrean immigrants, many of whom are
not proficient in English. This shows huge disparities in the
city because over 45% of residents have a college degree or
higher and it ranks 4th in the nation with that educational
attainment.
A 2000 study shows that 83.42% of Washington, D.C.
residents age 5 and older speak only English at home and 9.18%
speak Spanish. French is the third-most-spoken language at
1.67%.
According to the 2001 American Religious Identification Survey,
nearly three out of four District residents identified
themselves as Christian.This breaks down to 72% Christian (27%
Catholic, 19% Baptist, and 26% other Protestant churches), 13%
stating no religion, 4% Buddhist, 2% Muslim and 1% Jewish.
According to the Census Bureau, the District's daytime
population is estimated at 982,853.The influx of more than
410,000 workers into Washington on a normal business day boosts
the population by 72%, the largest percentage increase of any
city studied and the second-largest net increase behind New York
City.
The Greater Washington metropolitan area, including contiguous
areas of Maryland and Virginia, had an estimated population of
5.8 million in 2003, according to the estimates of the Greater
Washington Initiative.
As host to over 180 embassies and hundreds of international
organizations, Washington, D.C. has a substantial population of
foreign residents. There are also many students from abroad
studying at the local universities and colleges. This adds a
cosmopolitan flavor to the city.
Transportation
Roads & highways
Pierre L'Enfant's original plan for the city provided for a grid
of streets and a diagonal array of avenues, all centered on the
Capitol building. The north-south streets are primarily named
with numbers and the east-west streets with letters.
From the
Capitol as the center, one set of numbered streets sweeps
eastward (1st Street, 2nd Street, etc.) and another set sweeps
westward (1st Street, 2nd Street, etc.) Similarly, sets of
lettered streets sweep northward from the Capitol (A Street, C
Street, etc.) and southward. The diagonal avenues in L'Enfant's
plan are chiefly named after states (e.g. Pennsylvania Avenue).
Street addresses are identified by their location in one of the
four quadrants of the city, centered on the Capitol building:
Northeast (NE), Northwest (NW), Southeast (SE) and Southwest
(SW).
Addresses end with a quadrant suffix to indicate whether
the location is, for example, on 4th Street NE, 4th Street NW,
4th Street SE or 4th Street SW. Outside the original city
boundaries, street layout and naming practices are less regular.
However, the alphabetic order of east-west streets, ending with
W Street, is in some areas succeeded by an alphabetic
progression of two-syllable names (e.g. Adams, Bryant,
Channing), followed by a three-syllable progression (e.g.
Allison, Buchanan, Crittenden), and then a progression of
botanical names (e.g. Aspen, Butternut, Cedar).
Major interstates running through the area include the Capital
Beltway (I-495), I-66, I-95, I-395 also called the
Southwest-Southeast Freeway, I-295 also called the Anacostia
Freeway or Kenilworth Avenue, and I-270 (which does not reach
D.C., terminating at I-495). Other major highways include the
Whitehurst Freeway and Anacostia Freeway in D.C., the George
Washington Parkway in Virginia, the Suitland Parkway in D.C. and
Maryland, the US Route 50, the Clara Barton Parkway in D.C. and
Maryland, the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway in D.C., the
Baltimore-Washington Parkway in Maryland, and the Dulles Toll
Road in Virginia. I-95 was originally planned to cross through
the city, but due to the Freeway Revolts of the 1960's, this
plan was aborted, and I-95 was re-directed onto the Capital
Beltway.
Rail & bus
The Washington area is served by the Washington Metropolitan
Area Transit Authority, which operates the region's subway
system, Metrorail (the nation's second-busiest after New York's
subway), as well as Metrobus.
The bus and rail systems serve
both Washington and the immediate closest counties.
A
public-private partnership operates several DC Circulator bus
routes downtown. Many of the jurisdictions around the region run
public buses that interconnect with the Metrobus/Metrorail
system; the state of Maryland as well as private bus lines
provide rush-hour commuter busses from more distant counties.
Union Station is the second busiest train station in the United
States after New York's Penn Station.
It is the southern
terminus of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor service, and is served
by MARC and Virginia Railway Express commuter trains.
Intercity bus service is available from the Greyhound Lines
Terminal in Northeast D.C., located near the New York
Ave-Florida Ave-Gallaudet U Metro station, and from dragon buses
leaving from Chinatown.
The American Automobile Association for several years has ranked
the Washington metro area has having the nation's second worst
traffic congestion, surpassed only by Los Angeles. Among other
factors, no new Potomac vehicular bridge spans have been added
since 1965.
Aviation
Washington, D.C. is served by three major airports, one in
Maryland and two in Virginia. Ronald Reagan Washington National
Airport (IATA: DCA, ICAO: KDCA) is the closest — located in
Arlington County, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from
Hains Point, and accessible via Washington Metro.
The airport is
conveniently located to the downtown area; however it has
somewhat restricted flights to airports within the United States
because of noise and security concerns. Most major international
flights arrive and depart from Washington Dulles International
Airport (IATA: IAD, ICAO: KIAD), located 26.3 miles (42.3 km)
west of the city in Fairfax and Loudoun counties in Virginia.
Dulles is the second busiest international gateway on the
Eastern Seaboard.
Dulles is a hub for United Airlines and offers
service from several low-cost carriers, including JetBlue and
Southwest, although the low-cost selection decreased greatly
when Independence Air (which was headquartered at Dulles) folded
in January 2006. Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood
Marshall Airport (IATA: BWI, ICAO: KBWI), is located 31.7 miles
(51.0 km) northeast of the city in Anne Arundel County,
Maryland, near Baltimore. BWI has had the highest passenger
volume of the three major airports in the Baltimore-Washington
Metroplex for several months.
General aviation is additionally available at several smaller
airfields, including Montgomery County Airpark (Gaithersburg,
Maryland), College Park Airport (College Park, Maryland),
Potomac Airfield (Friendly CDP of Prince George's County,
Maryland) and Manassas Regional Airport (Manassas, Virginia).
Since 2003, the general aviation airports closest to Washington,
D.C. have had their access limited by an Air Defense
Identification Zone (ADIZ).
