Map of DC (.pdf 398KB)
Introduction
Seeing Washington
Historical
Timeline
Historical DC
Today's
DC
U.S. Department
of the Interior
National Park Service
HISTORICAL DC
James Hoban designed the White House in the
style of an 18th-century manor house. As shown here, the British in 1814
reduced the building to a burned-out shell during the War of 1812. Under
Hoban's direction it was rebuilt by 1817.
The Capitol as it appeared with its early copper dome, before work
on the extended wings and the current dome began in the 1850s.
President Lincoln insisted that work on the
new Capitol dome continue during the Civil War. It was completed
in 1863. This
view also shows the Washington Canal, the Smithsonian building
on the Mall, and
the unfinished Washington Monument in the distance.
This painting, used in the presentation of the McMillan Commission plan, shows the proposed memorial to Lincoln and the bridge linking the memorial to Arlington National Cemetery.
The plan for Washington in the 21st century by the
National Capital Planning Commission would enhance the Capitol's
role as the visual focus of Washington, linking it to the rest
of the city and to an improved riverfront via the landscaped
and revitalized Capitol Streets. The plan builds on the legacy
of the L'Enfant and McMillan Commission plans that had shaped
the city.