Greetings from Washington, D.C.! I have been enjoying the sites, monuments and buildings that mark the events of our nation's past and allow the conduct of its present. Let me tell you about my new home...

Washington, D.C. is a city, district, and the capital of the United States of America. It was established in 1790 as the site of the new nation's permanent capital. Named after the first U.S. president, George Washington, the city has served since 1800 as the home of our federal government.

The city is located on the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers. It is bordered on the north, east, and southeast by Maryland and on the southwest by Virginia. Washington's climate is hot and humid in the summer and cold and damp in the winter. It has a lovely spring, ushered in by glorious blooming of world famous cherry blossoms, and a spectacular fall marked by crisp temperatures and brilliant, paint box colors!

Washington is home to many famous and interesting public buildings and monuments. The Capitol of the United States is located on a hill 88 feet above the Potomac. It consists of two wings that branch from a central rotunda.

From the Capitol, Pennsylvania Avenue runs slightly northwest and Constitution Avenue runs directly west. Between 6th and 15th streets NW the two avenues form an area known as the Federal Triangle. Within this triangle are concentrated a number of government buildings, including those of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the departments of Justice and Commerce. Also in the triangle is the National Archives Building, which contains the original drafts of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights.

Just north of the triangle, on Tenth Street NW, is the J. Edgar Hoover Building, the headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). On the block north of the Hoover building, also on Tenth Street, is Ford's Theatre, where President Abraham Lincoln was shot in 1865, and across the street is the Petersen House, where he died. Together they make up Ford's Theatre National Historic Site.

Northwest of the triangle, at 16th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, is the oldest federal building in Washington, the White House, official residence of the U.S. president. The mansion's foundations were laid in 1792, and every president except George Washington has occupied it. Tours are conducted daily through the most-famous ground-floor and first-floor rooms, such as the East Room, the Blue Room, and the State Dining Room.

Flanking the White House are the Treasury Department Building to the east and the Executive Office Building to the west. Across the street is Blair House, the official guest house for visiting heads of state and other dignitaries.

North of the White House is Lafayette Square, with a statue of General Andrew Jackson made from a melted-down cannon captured by Jackson during the War of 1812. West of the White House, at New York Avenue and 18th Street NW, is one of Washington's oldest landmarks, the Octagon. Completed in 1801, the Octagon houses a museum dedicated to architecture and the early history of Washington, and is also home to the American Architectural Foundation. It was one of the first residential structures built according to L'Enfant's plan. During the War of 1812, British troops set fire to the White House, destroying its interior. President James Madison and his family lived in the Octagon while the White House was being rebuilt.

South of the Federal Triangle is the Mall, a narrow park stretching roughly 1 mile from the Capitol to the Washington Monument. The Washington Monument, near the center of this parkland, is 555 feet high and dominates the city's skyline. A height restriction law enacted by Congress in 1899 ensures that no private structure in Washington, D.C., will extend higher than the monument or the Capitol.

Beyond the monument in a straight line from the Capitol, is the massive Lincoln Memorial. This monument's 36 columns represent the 36 states in the Union at the time of Lincoln's death in 1865. Its interior contains a great stone seated figure of Lincoln carved by sculptor Daniel Chester French. Nearby, the Arlington Memorial Bridge spans the Potomac and connects the Lincoln Memorial with Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Located at the cemetery are the Tomb of the Unknowns; the Arlington House, home of Confederate general Robert E. Lee; and, on the slope directly below that, the grave of President John F. Kennedy.

Close to the Lincoln Memorial is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial which commemorates the American men and women who died during the Vietnam War (1959-1975). Southeast of the Lincoln Memorial is the Tidal Basin, framed by the famous Japanese cherry trees. Reflected in the water of the Tidal Basin is the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.

Sincerely,