DK Travel : Washington, D.C. : History & Culture

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Eastern Market

Completed in 1873, Eastern Market has been an important element in the history of Capitol Hill. Designed by a prominent local architect, Adolph Cluss, in an Italianate style, the market symbolized the urbanization of the city at the end of the Civil War. Since then, it has served as a meeting place for residents, and recently as a focal point in the revitalization of the area. The market has been repeatedly threatened with closure.
Eisenhower Executive Office Building

The extravagant decoration is a favorite with architecture buffs.
Eisenhower Executive Office Building

This is another Second Empire building, but on a mammoth scale. Many people consider its highly embellished style and daunting proportions – 300,000 sq ft (27,871 sq m) of office space on five stories – to be magnificent, but Mark Twain called it “the ugliest building in America.” The Departments of State, Navy, and War were housed here on its completion in 1888. Today it is home to offices for executive branch employees and the vice president.
Eleanor Holmes Norton

Norton has been effective as the District’s non-voting House member, lobbying to promote Washington issues.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor’s interests were equal rights and social justice. She greatly increased the diplomatic role of the First Lady.
Embassy Row

Since the 19th century, Embassy Row, the string of great mansions heading west from Dupont Circle up Massachusetts Avenue, has been a hotbed of gathering and suppressing information. Today, 46 embassies and chanceries here help shape foreign policy by allowing issues to be discussed without the glare of public announcement.
Expansion

Thomas Jefferson began western expansion by organizing the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1803. The C&O Canal and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad provided commerce through the mountains and a period of prosperity. New states were added to the Union, and bitter divisions arose connected to the issue of slavery.
Federal Bureau of Investigation Building

The FBI tour has been a favorite with visitors since it was launched in 1937. Visitors on the one-hour tour learn about the history and goals of the bureau, pass through working laboratories analyzing forensic evidence, then watch a demonstration of officers training in the use of firearms. Although tours by members of the public are no longer allowed at the time of writing, this situation is expected to change in 2006. If you would like to visit, call ahead to make inquiries.
Federal Reserve Building

Another gleaming white design by Paul P. Cret, architect of the Folger Shakespeare Library (see Folger Shakespeare Library and Theater). The Federal Reserve System is the central banking authority in the United States, regulating and facilitating both banking and the flow of currency and financial transactions.
FedEx Field

The Washington Redskins are something of a local religion. At home games, the cigar bar, club seating levels, and luxurious suite- and box-seating are filled with lobbyists, campaign donors, and activists schmoozing with each other.