Even though DC is the capital of the United States, it's actually a very small city both in area and population. DC's population is only around 600,000 people, but if you include the metropolitan area which is DC's suburbs of Maryland and Virginia, the area has a populationof several million people. As a local, I never really had any interest in DC, but finally one day I took the time to explore the capital andrediscovered what a great city this is. Some parts have a bad reputation, but for the most part it is a safe and clean city with lots to do.

On the upper left photo is a view of the downtown area of Washington DC. You can see that the capital looks like a small city in the middle of nowhere and that it lacks a significant skyline. Because of the Heights of Buildings Act of 1910, by federal law no building in Washington DC can exceed United States Capitol's height. This law has been revised since, but it still prevents high rise buildings in Washington DC and explains why you'll see higher buildings immediately outside the capital in Virginia. The Washington Monument is one of the many icons that represent the capital and I have a photo of it farther below on this page. On the upper right is the US Capitol building.

Although Washington DC isn't packed with skyscrapers or even high rises for that matter, the city easily makes up for this with its architecture. The American Institute of Architects created a list of the top 10 favorite buildings in America, with 6 out of the 10 being located in Washington DC. The upper left photo shows the Eisenhower Executive Office building that was built in 1888. This building was once called "the ugliest building in America" by Mark Twain and "the greatest monstrosity in America" by Harry Truman. On the left is probably America's most famous building, the White House which serves as the home of the President of the United States. The White House is actually rated the number two favorite building by the American Institute of Architects, second only to the Empire State building in New York. The random photo above is simply a large vent sending clouds of steam along the streets of DC. Not really attractive but most people walking by find it interesting.

 

One of the best areas in Washington DC is called Georgetown and even has a nice waterfront where many people pull right up in their yachts. You're allowed to drink here in roped off areas along the boardwalk or drink in your boat if you bring your own alcohol. The upper left photo is the waterfront area, on the right are pictures of people's yachts parked along the Potomac river. When I used to go out at night, I almost always went to Adam's Morgan which is a large strip of bars & clubs and is more casual. Lately I've been enjoying Clarendon Virginia or Georgetown DC, both are much nicer areas and I think have a better crowd. Below are two photos of me and some friends during my 27th birthday in June 2008 in Georgetown.

At one point Washington DC had the highest crime rates in the country. Violent crime has seen a significant decline but DC still tops the statistics as one of the more crime ridden cities in America. Almost all of these problems take place in Southeast DC, with the remaining parts being very safe and popular among both travelers and locals. Above are some more photos of Georgetown, showing the areas where many people come to go shopping in the daytime or to the more upscale bars and restaurants at night.

Farther east of Georgetown along the waterfront is DC's small by busy seafood market. This place is right by one of the main bridges going from Virginia into DC, and sometimes you can smell the seafood on the highway. I've never been a fan of seafood, but for those who are I imagine this is a good place to get some. The surrounding photos show some of the stores and seafood for sale, with most of the food coming from the nearby Potomac River.

These three photos were taken immediately after the blizzard of 2010 which happened on Friday February 5th and lasted 36 hours until Saturday evening. The record snow storm dumped up to 3 feet in some parts of the DC area, which most places reaching over 24 inches. The top two photos are of the frozen Potomac river with Georgetown in the background. The photo on the left is also of Georgetown but right off the M street in what is usually the busier sections. Normally the DC area gets a few snow storms each year that produce a couple inches which melts in a day or two. The blizzard which produced over two feet is unheard of, and was the largest snow storm since 1922, and third largest after one recorded by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson in 1772 dumped nearly three feet. With modern technology, the snow still paralyzed DC for several days straight, canceling many services, shutting down the airports and leaving most businesses closed. Unlike the snow storm in 1772, George Washington claimed postal mail and most public services were completely shut off for two weeks straight.

These photos are of DC's other popular nightlife spot called Adam's Morgan. It's known as being more laid back than Georgetown and a bit more on the wild side. I used to come here almost every weekend back in 2005 when I had no job or direction in life! Above is a photo of the main strip in Adam's Morgan. On the right is a guy on the street holding his Colombian Boa, also cool enough to let me take his photo.

Like I said earlier, southeast DC is where all the real crime is going on and other parts are just normal city life. Adam's Morgan occasionally has a fight break out or two but I rarely saw any violence there in the dozens of times that I went. The one day I did bring a camera out I saw some guy getting beat down and took a picture. Adam's Morgan has lots of police in the area so usually any fight only lasts only a minute or two before a police officer is on the scene.

A nicer area to visit is Washington DC's Chinatown. This small neighborhood only occupies a few blocks, and while of course there are dozens of Chinese restaurants, a lot of it has gotten very international recently. Zoning laws require that all businesses have their signs in both English and Chinese characters, so even though there is a starbucks on one of the corners it has Chinese characters all over its front window. The upper left photo shows 7th street, which is the busiest street that passes through Chinatown and is also the location of Verizon center; the sports arena that is home to the Washington Capitals and the Washington Wizards. Above is a photo of a popular Chinese restaurant that is off of 7th street. The most famous icon of this neighborhood is the Friendship Arch which was built in 1986. Reaching several stories in height, Friendship Arch is decorated with over 7,000 tiles and 272 painted dragons in the style of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Supposedly, this is the largest single span Chinese Arch in the world.

And speaking of nicer places to visit, neighborhoods in northwest Washington DC are some of the nicest places to live in the city. I never realized how many single family homes there were in this part of the city, I'm sure they are all at least a million dollars each. A lot of these neighborhoods look no different than suburban Virginia, but busy streets and metro stops are always just a few blocks away.

Throughout parts of DC are plenty of city parks with statues and memorials dedicated to just about anyone you can think of. These two photos above come from an area off 16th street, a place where we would always park before going out to DC at night. I walked by down this street intoxicated too many times to remember, and never realized that on the otherside of the huge wall along the side walk was one of the nicest parks in DC. Above is a photo of a statue of Joan of Arc on the left, and a huge water fountain in northwest DC. These photos were taken in the spring months, when lots of people were laying outside and enjoying the early spring weather.

So two other things that DC is known for are tourists and protesters, sometimes crazy ones. Of course DC is a very international city, so you'll always find people from other states and countries coming here to work, going to college or just for tourism. And since the US government is based here, you'll also see many protests throughout the year. This guy above was one of the crazy ones, holding signs claiming Obama practiced witchcraft and had summoned a one eyed necromancer from Africa for guidance from the dead.

Above is the National Cathedral in northwest DC, voted one of the top three most beautiful buildings in the United States. The architecture of the cathedral was very impressive with its huge arches, gargoyles and stained glass windows. The church started construction decades ago and finally was finished in the 1990s. The national cathedral is the 2nd largest cathedral in the United States, and the 6th largest in the world.

Another large church but less known, probably because it has such a long name, is the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. This Basilica in northeast DC is actually the largest Roman Catholic church on this side of the world, and surprisingly the 8th largest religious structure in the world bringing in about one million pilgrims each year. It is also exempt from DC's law on the height of buildings, and is the capital's tallest structure. One of the most interesting parts of the church to me was its underground crypt which was modeled after ancient European Christian catacombs. On the left is the front side view, the right shows a photo of the crypt. Below is the tomb of the church's founder, bishop Shahan found in the church's crypt. On the right is a black depiction of the virgin Mary and baby Jesus.

Both the late spring and the fall are great times for visiting Washington DC. In the early spring the foliage isn't green yet, but the weather is usually pretty warm and the capital has the annual Cherry Blossom festival. On the left are some blooms in late March during the very beginning of the festival. The photo on the right was also taken during the festival. A couple enjoys the warm weather underneath the flags surrounding the Washington Monument.

These surrounding photos are all from the 2008 Cherry Blossom Festival and were taken in late March. All of these trees were donated to the United States in 1912 by Japan as a gesture of friendship. The traditions continues on today, with USA even returning some trees after some were destroyed by heavy flooding in Japan. Above you can see tourists walking along the tidal basin underneath a canopy of cherry blossoms, with another photo of tourists crowding at the Jefferson Memorial. This festival brings in about 700,000 people annually. Other parts of the festival include food from Japan as well as Japanese beer and liquor, and the festival is ending with a parade.

The Cherry Blossom festival is the only type of nature photos I have of Washington DC so far, but there is actually a large forested area called Rock Creek Park that I have yet to explore. It's popular among hikers, runners and cyclists, and even though I haven't been there yet I hear it's pretty impressive for such a small area in a small city. For now, I can only share photos of this squirrel I saw near the White House.

These two photos were also taken immediately after the Blizzard of 2010. On the left are dozens of Canadian geese taking a break on a piece of ice in the Potomac river with the Lincoln memorial in the background. On the upper right is a robin eating berries by the national cathedral. There were actually hundreds or robins in the tree, I suppose they were desperately hungry with everything buried in snow.

Although Washington DC isn't located on the ocean or lake, it does have the Potomac river which was where all the yachts were parked out in Georgetown. The photo on the upper left is a small building located in the World War II memorial not too far from the river. On the right is the Jefferson Memorial again but at night. These photos were taken in the springtime when the weather was finally warming up. There were hundreds of people out enjoying the nice weather and many school field trips visiting the monuments at the time.

On the upper left is a statue of President Abraham Lincoln; one of Washington DC's most famous memorials. On the right is a picture of the Washington Monument, standing at 555 feet and 5/8th of an inch tall; another famous landmark of the capital.

These next four photos are all about President Lincoln's assassination and located a few miles away from the memorials. The Ford theater on the left is where Lincoln was assassinated in 1865 by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln had been watching a show, sitting in the presidential box to the right. This event was one that changed history for the United States and one of the last major events of the Civil War. At the time, actor John Wilkes Booth was famous and considered a Brad Pitt of the era, and was able to use his celebrity status to gain access to the president. Ford Theater is still active but is also a museum as well. Below is John Wilkes Booth and the actual gun he used to kill President Lincoln.

Another president who was assassinated is John F Kennedy. Considered to be one of America's greatest presidents, Kennedy was killed while in his motorcade in Dallas Texas. The Kennedy Center in Washington DC serves as both a memorial to President John F. Kennedy as well as a center of performing arts. Many plays, operas, concerts and other events take place at the Kennedy Center. On the left is a statue of President Kennedy in the Grand Foyer Room. On the right are actors during a Russian Opera.

The two photos above are both from the National Mall. The National Mall is where the Washington Monument and US Capitol building are located. Between these buildings are many museums. The first photo is the Smithsonian Castle and this serves as the information center for all the other Smithsonian museums nearby. On the right is a picture of a botanical garden also found in the National Mall.

The center of the National Mall is filled with a large grassy field that is about a mile in length. Often you will see special events taking place here or even political rallies at times. In the spring when the weather begins to warm up you'll always see the sky filled with kites and families strolling around the mall visiting the museums and attractions. Above is a boy learning to fly a kite, on the right is someone else's kite after it getting it in the air, one of hundreds.

The smithsonian museum above has always been my favorite since I was a little kid. You can see exhibits from all types of animals both living and extinct. The upper right and bottom left are both fossils reconstructed in the museum. The bottom right photo is from the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum, and it's a Soviet made spacecraft.

Despite DC being a small city, they still have enough room for their own city park. This is found in Northwest DC close to the National Zoo and has almost three square miles of woodlands. The park is a great place for those who want to enjoy some outdoor activities without having to travel far, and it provides a small refuge for wildlife who wish to be citizens of the capital. I didn't catch of a photo of them, but while I was in Rock Creek Park I spotted a few large deer, and to my understanding foxes, racoons, snakes and more live here. Above is a photo of the forest and Rock Creek itself, while some strange type of plant I've never seen before on the lower left, and a black squirrel on the lower right.

While in Rock Creek park you feel like you are miles away from any city, but since you're actually in the center of one there are lots of people who come here to take advantage of nice weather on warm days. Above is a photo of a jogger in the late spring, with a biker below and two equestrians on the lower right.

Ashgar from Pakistan:   I find it a good site to visit Washington DC