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Columbus Circle (Washington, D.C.)
Columbus Circle, also known as Union Station Plaza or Columbus Plaza, is a traffic circle at the intersection of Delaware, Louisiana and Massachusetts Avenues and E and First Streets, Northeast in Washington, D.C. It is located in front of Union Station right next to the grounds of the United States Capitol. Union Station and its access roads interrupt this circle on one side, forming an arc. The Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building is located on the eastern side and the National Postal Museum is on the western side of the plaza next to Union Station. Both buildings are on the northern side of Massachusetts Avenue NE. History In 1907, Union Station opened on the site of what was once a poor Irish neighborhood called Swampoodle. Most of the land around it had been leveled and all the houses razed. The area in front of the Station originally was called ''Union Station Plaza'' or the ''Plaza of Union Station''.''Street Railway Connections to Plaza of Union Station'' - Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Columbus Fountain
''Columbus Fountain'' also known as the Columbus Memorial is a public artwork by American sculptor Lorado Taft, located at Union Station in Washington, D.C., United States. A centerpiece of Columbus Circle, ''Columbus Fountain'' serves as a tribute to the explorer Christopher Columbus. The unveiling in 1912 was celebrated all over Washington, DC over the course of three days with parades, concerts and fireworks gathering tens of thousands of people from all over the world. Description File:3b37942u.jpg, Columbus Circle with Union Station in the early 20th century File:Columbus Fountain (Smithsonian).jpg, The Columbus Fountain in 1919 ''Columbus Fountain'' is a semicircular double-basin fountain with a shaft (h. 45 ft.) in the center. The front of the shaft bears a full-length portrait of Christopher Columbus (approx. h. 15 ft.) wearing a mantle, staring forward with his hands folded in front of him. Beneath him is a ship prow that features a winged figurehead that re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Capital Bikeshare
Capital Bikeshare (also abbreviated CaBi) is a bicycle-sharing system which serves Washington, D.C.; Arlington County, Virginia; the cities of Alexandria, Virginia and Falls Church, Virginia; Montgomery County, Maryland and Fairfax County, Virginia. As of May 2021, it had 627 stations and 5,400+ bicycles, all owned by these local governments and operated by contractor Motivate International. Opened in September 2010, the system was the largest bike sharing service in the United States until New York City's Citi Bike began operations in May 2013. History Genesis The SmartBike DC bike sharing service, a predecessor to Capital Bikeshare, debuted in 2008 with 10 stations and 120 bicycles. It was the first of its kind in the United States. D.C. Department of Transportation Director Gabe Klein came into office four months later and was eager to expand it, but found the private partner had a "lackluster commitment." Because the agreement specifically prohibited DDOT from paying f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DC Streetcar
The DC Streetcar is a surface streetcar network in Washington, D.C. , it consists of only one line: a segment running in mixed traffic along H Street and Benning Road in the city's Northeast quadrant. The streetcars are the first to run in the District of Columbia since the dismantling of the previous streetcar system in 1962. The District of Columbia began laying track in 2009, for two lines whose locations in Anacostia and Benning were chosen to revitalize blighted commercial corridors. The system is owned by the District of Columbia Department of Transportation (DDOT); the RATP Dev USA, the US arm of the French transportation company, RATP Dev, has been operating and managing the streetcar since its inception. The system's H Street/Benning Road Line began public service on February 27, 2016. In , the line had a ridership of . Development First iteration of streetcars Between 1862 and 1962, streetcars in Washington, D.C., were a common mode of transportation, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Streetcars In Washington, D
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are called tramways or simply trams/streetcars. Many recently built tramways use the contemporary term light rail. The vehicles are called streetcars or trolleys (not to be confused with trolleybus) in North America and trams or tramcars elsewhere. The first two terms are often used interchangeably in the United States, with ''trolley'' being the preferred term in the eastern US and ''streetcar'' in the western US. ''Streetcar'' or ''tramway'' are preferred in Canada. In parts of the United States, internally powered buses made to resemble a streetcar are often referred to as "trolleys". To avoid further confusion with trolley buses, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) refers to them as " trolley-replica buses". In the Un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flags Of The U
A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and flags have evolved into a general tool for rudimentary signalling and identification, especially in environments where communication is challenging (such as the Maritime flag, maritime environment, where Flag semaphore, semaphore is used). Many flags fall into groups of similar designs called flag families. The study of flags is known as "vexillology" from the Latin , meaning "flag" or "banner". National flags are patriotic symbols with widely varied interpretations that often include strong military associations because of their original and ongoing use for that purpose. Flags are also used in messaging, advertising, or for decorative purposes. Some military units are called "flags" after their use of flags. A ''flag'' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected president in 1908, the chosen successor of Theodore Roosevelt, but was defeated for reelection in 1912 by Woodrow Wilson after Roosevelt split the Republican vote by running as a third-party candidate. In 1921, President Warren G. Harding appointed Taft to be chief justice, a position he held until a month before his death. Taft was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1857. His father, Alphonso Taft, was a U.S. attorney general and secretary of war. Taft attended Yale and joined the Skull and Bones, of which his father was a founding member. After becoming a lawyer, Taft was appointed a judge while still in his twenties. He continued a rapid rise, being named solicitor general and a judge of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. In 1901, President ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lorado Taft
Lorado Zadok Taft (April 29, 1860, in Elmwood, Illinois – October 30, 1936, in Chicago) was an American sculptor, writer and educator. His 1903 book, ''The History of American Sculpture,'' was the first survey of the subject and stood for decades as the standard reference. He has been credited with helping to advance the status of women as sculptors. Taft was the father of U.S. Representative Emily Taft Douglas, father-in-law to her husband, U.S. Senator Paul Douglas, and a distant relative of U.S. President William Howard Taft. Early years and education Taft was born in Elmwood, Illinois. His parents were Don Carlos Taft and Mary Lucy Foster. His father was a professor of geology at the Illinois Industrial University (later renamed the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign). He lived much of his childhood at 601 E. John Street, Champaign, Illinois, near the center of the UIUC campus. The house, now known as the Taft House was built by his father in 1873. It was purcha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daniel Burnham
Daniel Hudson Burnham (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the '' Beaux-Arts'' movement, he may have been, "the most successful power broker the American architectural profession has ever produced." A successful Chicago architect, he was selected as Director of Works for the 1892–93 World's Columbian Exposition, colloquially referred to as "The White City". He had prominent roles in the creation of master plans for the development of a number of cities, including the Plan of Chicago, and plans for Manila, Baguio and downtown Washington, D.C. He also designed several famous buildings, including a number of notable skyscrapers in Chicago, the Flatiron Building of triangular shape in New York City, Union Station in Washington D.C., London's Selfridges department store, and San Francisco's Merchants Exchange. Although best known for his skyscrapers, city planning, and for the White City, almost one third of Burnham's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Postal Museum
The National Postal Museum, located opposite Union Station in Washington, D.C., United States, covers large portions of the Postal history of the United States and other countries. It was established through joint agreement between the United States Postal Service and the Smithsonian Institution and opened in 1993. Premises The museum is located across the street from Union Station, in the building that served as the main post office of Washington, D.C. for decades, from its construction in 1914 until 1986. The building was designed by the Graham and Burnham architectural firm, which was led by Ernest Graham following the death of Daniel Burnham in 1912. The headquarters of the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics is based in this building, and there is also space for a data center for the United States Senate. Displays The museum holds the National Philatelic Collection. It has hosted many interactive displays about the history of the United Stat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was an Italian explorer and navigator who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean sponsored by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, opening the way for the widespread European Age of Discovery, exploration and colonization of the Americas. His expeditions were the first known European contact with the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. The name ''Christopher Columbus'' is the anglicisation of the Latin . Scholars generally agree that Columbus was born in the Republic of Genoa and spoke a dialect of Ligurian (Romance language), Ligurian as his first language. He went to sea at a young age and travelled widely, as far north as the British Isles and as far south as what is now Ghana. He married Port ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
