134 



CITIES, AMERICAN. (WASHINGTON.) 



gating Garden and Nursery. The Capitol is on 

 the west brow of a plateau that forms the east 

 portion of the city, and fronts the east. Its en- 

 tire length is 751 feet 4 inches, and the great- 

 est depth, including porticoes and steps, is 348 

 feet. Exclusive of court-yards, it covers a little 

 over 3 acres. The walls of the central build- 

 ing are of sandstone painted white ; the exten- 

 sions are of white marble slightly variegated 

 with blue. Outwardly the Capitol has various 

 architectural adornments, with several groups 

 of sculptures ; within it is profusely decorated 

 with frescoes, sculptures, and paintings. From 

 the center rises a cast-iron dome, 135J feet in 

 diameter, to a height of 287| feet above the 

 basement-floor of the building. The dome is 

 surmounted by a bronze statue of Liberty by 

 Crawford, 19 feet high. The Capitol contains 

 the Senate Chamber, the Hall of the House of 

 Representatives, the Supreme Court, and Li- 

 brary of Congress. The Capitol Grounds com- 

 prise 51 acres, handsomely laid out, and con- 

 taining a great variety of trees. East of the 

 Capitol is a colossal statue in marble of Wash- 

 ington, by Greenough. East of the Capitol 

 Grounds is the site of the new Library of Con- 

 gress, work on which was commenced in the 

 summer of 1887. When completed it will be 

 the largest building in the city except the Capi- 

 tol, and will form a noble addition to the al- 

 ready numerous public buildings. The struct- 

 ure will cover 111,000 feet of space, 14,000 

 feet more than the British Museum Library. 

 Its general architectural features will be in 

 keeping with the Capitol, which it will face. 

 The President's house, or Executive Mansion, 

 is in the west part of the city, 1J miles from 

 the Capitol. It is 170 feet long and 86 feet 

 deep, built of freestone, and painted white, 

 from which circumstance it is popularly known 

 as the " White House." The grounds comprise 

 about 75 acres, of which about 20 are inclosed 

 as the President's private grounds, are hand- 

 somely laid out, and contain a fountain. Other 

 Government buildings are the Treasury De- 

 partment, the recently completed edifice for 

 the State, War, and Navy Departments, the 

 Department of the Interior (containing the 

 Patent-Office), the General Post-Office, and 

 the Department of Justice and Court of Claims, 

 all magnificent or imposing structures. In Ju- 

 diciary Square is the Pension-Office, a big 

 brick structure, completed in 1887 after de- 

 signs by Gen. Meigs, U. S. Army, at a cost of 

 $900,000. The U. S. Naval Observatory (lati- 

 tude 38 53' 88-8", longitude 77 3' 1-8") occu- 

 pies a commanding site on the bank of the Po- 

 tomac in the west part of the city. By act of 

 Congress the meridian of the Observatory is 

 adopted as the American meridian for all as- 

 tronomical purposes, and the meridian of 

 Greenwich is adopted for all nautical purposes. 

 The Army Medical Museum, the Ordnance 

 Museum, and the Government Printing-Office 

 are noteworthy. The Navy Yard is on the 

 Anacostia. The Corcoran Art Gallery occu- 



pies a fine building near the White House. 

 The principal theatres are Albaugh's Opera- 

 House and the National Theatre. The hotels 

 of Washington are a prominent feature of the 

 city. The principal are the Arlington, Ebbitt, 

 WiJlard's, Riggs, Metropolitan, National, St. 

 James, and St. Marc. There is a bridge across 

 the Potomac known as the " Long " Bridge, 

 for railroad and ordinary travel, and a free 

 bridge at Georgetown built by the Govern- 

 ment. Communication with the North is fur- 

 nished by the Baltimore and Potomac Rail- 

 road ; with the West by the Baltimore and 

 Ohio and Pennsylvania ; and with the South 

 by the Alexandria and Washington, which 

 crosses the Long Bridge, and the Richmond 

 and Danville system. Washington and George- 

 town are supplied with water from the great 

 falls of the Potomac above by an aqueduct 12 

 miles long, which discharges into a distributing 

 reservoir 2 miles from Rock creek and 4% 

 miles from the Capitol. Among the charitable 

 institutions, many of which receive aid from 

 the Government, are the Naval Hospital and 

 the Washington Asylum, serving as an alms- 

 house and work-house for the District. The 

 Soldier's Home, 3 miles north of the Capitol 

 and beyond the city limits, was established in 

 1851 for aged or disabled soldiers of the Regu- 

 lar Army. It occupies a beautiful site, and the 

 grounds, comprising 500 acres, are handsomely 

 laid out. The District Reform School for 

 boys, with a farm of 150 acres, is northeast of 

 the city. The Government Hospital for the 

 Insane, with accommodations for 550 patients, 

 is on the southeast bank of the Anacostia. It 

 was opened in 1855, and is designed for tbe 

 insane of the Army and Navy and the indigent 

 insane of the District of Columbia. The Co- 

 lumbia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, on 

 the northeast border of the city, was chartered 

 by Congress in 1857, and is designed for deaf- 

 mute children of the District of Columbia, and 

 those whose parents are in the Army or Navy. 

 A collegiate department, the National Deaf- 

 Mute College, was organized in 1864; it is 

 open to students from all parts of the country. 

 The public schools of Washington form part 

 of the free-school system of the District. Sepa- 

 rate accommodations are provided for colored 

 children. Howard University is near the north 

 border of the city, beyond the limits. Colum- 

 bian University (Baptist), just northwest, of 

 the city, was incorporated as a college in 

 1821, and as a university in 1873. Its law 

 and medical departments, the latter known 

 as the National Medical College, are in the 

 city. In 1875-'76 there were 12 instructors 

 and 103 preparatory and 48 collegiate students. 

 Near the Columbian University is Wayland 

 Seminary, also under Baptist control, estab- 

 lished in 1865 for the education of colored 

 preachers and teachers. Gonzaga College, 

 north of the Capitol, is under the control of 

 the Jesuits. In the city are also the Law and 

 Medical Departments of Georgetown College 



