{"product_id":"2940000805381","title":"A Walking Tour of Washington's Capitol Hill District","description":"\u003cp\u003eThere is no better way to see America than on foot. And there is no better way to appreciate what you are looking at than with a walking tour. Whether you are preparing for a road trip or just out to look at your own town in a new way.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEach walking tour describes historical and architectural landmarks and provides pictures to help out when those pesky street addresses are missing. Every tour also includes a quick primer on identifying architectural styles seen on American streets.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Capitol Hill Historic District takes its name from the hill, which rises in the center of the Federal\u003cbr\u003eCity and extends eastward. This hill, which in 1790 was called Jenkins Hill or Jenkins Heights, was\u003cbr\u003ethe site chosen by Pierre L’Enfant for the placement of the “Congress House,” a site which L’Enfant\u003cbr\u003echaracterized as a “pedestal waiting for a superstructure.” In accordance with this plan, the US Capitol\u003cbr\u003eBuilding was situated upon the crest of the hill facing the city. Stretching easterly behind the Capitol\u003cbr\u003eBuilding along wide avenues lies the residential area known as Capitol Hill. Capitol Hill, one of the\u003cbr\u003eoldest residential communities in Washington, has grown from a small boarding house community\u003cbr\u003efor members of Congress to an area of more than 150 squares embracing a number of separate\u003cbr\u003eneighborhoods.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCapitol Hill is the largest residential historic district in the District of Columbia. Almost every street\u003cbr\u003eis composed of rowhouses of different stylistic varieties and periods forming a continuous wall broken\u003cbr\u003eonly by street intersections. Side by side exist early 19th century manor houses, Federal townhouses,\u003cbr\u003esmall frame dwellings, ornate Italianate bracketed houses and the late 19th century press brick\u003cbr\u003erowhouses with their often whimsical decorative elements combining Richardsonian Romanesque,\u003cbr\u003eQueen Anne, and Eastlakian motifs.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the early years of the Republic few Congressmen wished to establish permanent residence in the\u003cbr\u003ecity. Instead, most preferred to live in boarding houses within walking distance of the Capitol. Nothing\u003cbr\u003eremains of this community today, having been razed to house the Capitol support buildings.Those\u003cbr\u003esupport buildings are indicative how the government has ballooned in recent times. For more than\u003cbr\u003e100 years the business of Washington was conducted almost exclusively inside the Capitol Building\u003cbr\u003eitself. The Supreme Court? Go to the Capitol. The Congressional library? Inside the Capitol. Your\u003cbr\u003erepresentative’s office? Inside the Capitol. Today there are a half-dozen major office buildings and a few\u003cbr\u003esatellites for the Congress alone. The Supreme Cout and library have their own buildings on the site of\u003cbr\u003emany of those early boarding houses.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe street pattern in Capitol Hill has remained faithful to the original 1791 L’Enfant Plan for the\u003cbr\u003eFederal City, a plan that called for grand diagonals superimposed over a standard grid pattern. East\u003cbr\u003eCapitol Street, a monumental avenue running east from the Capitol to the banks of the Anacostia\u003cbr\u003eRiver, still provides a major focus for the area and serves as the division between the northeast and\u003cbr\u003esoutheast sectors of the city. This walking tour will begin at the top of old Jenkins Hill...\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Doug Gelbert","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47067016200432,"sku":"2940000805381","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940000805381_p0.jpg?v=1763545840","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940000805381","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}