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Holt House (Washington, D.C.)
Holt House is an historic house, located on the grounds of the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Thought to have been built before 1814, it is one of the most important examples of early Neoclassical architecture in the city, and was one of the major houses in the new national capital when it was built. Since 1889, its caretaker has been the Smithsonian Institution. It is the oldest building under the Smithsonian's management, but has been left vacant since the 1980s. In 1964, Holt House was listed in the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites and on the National Register of Historic Places on April 24, 1973 with the following National Register of Historic Places comment on it: History Holt House is intimately linked to the early history of both Washington and the nation through its association with such prominent figures as Thomas Johnson (first governor of Maryland), Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Stoddert (first Secretary of the Navy), Benjamin Mackall (Georget ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Zoological Park (United States)
The National Zoological Park, commonly known as the National Zoo, is one of the oldest zoos in the United States. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution and does not charge admission. Founded in 1889, its mission is to "provide engaging experiences with animals and create and share knowledge to save wildlife and habitats". The National Zoo has two campuses. The first is a urban park located at Rock Creek Park in Northwest Washington, D.C., 20 minutes from the National Mall by MetroRail. The other campus is the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI; formerly known as the Conservation and Research Center) in Front Royal, Virginia. On this land, there are 180 species of trees, 850 species of woody shrubs and herbaceous plants, 40 species of grasses, and 36 different species of bamboo. The SCBI is a non-public facility devoted to training wildlife professionals in conservation biology and to propagating rare species through natural means and assisted reproduction. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of the United States, fighting began on April 19, 1775, followed by the Lee Resolution on July 2, 1776, and the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The American Patriots were supported by the Kingdom of France and, to a lesser extent, the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Empire, in a conflict taking place in North America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean. Established by royal charter in the 17th and 18th centuries, the American colonies were largely autonomous in domestic affairs and commercially prosperous, trading with Britain and its Caribbean colonies, as well as other European powers via their Caribbean entrepôts. After British victory over the French in the Seven Years' War in 1763, tensions between the motherland and he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benjamin Latrobe
Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe (May 1, 1764 – September 3, 1820) was an Anglo-American neoclassical architect who emigrated to the United States. He was one of the first formally trained, professional architects in the new United States, drawing on influences from his travels in Italy, as well as British and French Neoclassical architects such as Claude Nicolas Ledoux. In his thirties, he emigrated to the new United States and designed the United States Capitol, on "Capitol Hill" in Washington, D.C., as well as the Old Baltimore Cathedral or The Baltimore Basilica, (later renamed the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary). It is the first Cathedral constructed in the United States for any Christian denomination. Latrobe also designed the largest structure in America at the time, the "Merchants' Exchange" in Baltimore. With extensive balconied atriums through the wings and a large central rotunda under a low dome which dominated the city, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kalorama Heights
Kalorama is a neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C., United States. It includes the Kalorama Triangle Historic District and Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District. It is named after the Kalorama mansion. Kalorama Triangle is bordered by Connecticut Avenue, Columbia Road, Calvert Street, and Rock Creek Park. Sheridan-Kalorama is adjacent, to the southwest, between Connecticut Avenue, Rock Creek Park, Massachusetts Avenue, and Florida Avenue. The Sheridan-Kalorama neighborhood includes several diplomatic residences, such as the French ambassador's residence at 2221 Kalorama Road, and the Residence of the Ambassador of the Netherlands at 2347 S Street, as well as 28 embassies. It includes much of Embassy Row on Massachusetts Avenue. The Taft Bridge, carrying Connecticut Avenue over Rock Creek Park, with its concrete lions, is a notable feature. The Spanish Steps are another neighborhood landmark. Notable historic buildings include William E. Borah Apartment, Windsor Lodge, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Though no longer at the geographic center of the federal district, the Capitol forms the origin point for the street-numbering system of the district as well as its four quadrants. Central sections of the present building were completed in 1800. These were partly destroyed in the 1814 Burning of Washington, then were fully restored within five years. The building was later enlarged by extending the wings for the chambers for the bicameral legislature, the House of Representatives in the south wing and the Senate in the north wing. The massive dome was completed around 1866 just after the American Civil War. Like the principal buildings of the executive and judicial branches ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tudor Place
Tudor Place is a Federal-style mansion in Washington, D.C. that was originally the home of Thomas Peter and his wife, Martha Parke Custis Peter, a granddaughter of Martha Washington. The property, comprising one city block on the crest of Georgetown Heights, had an excellent view of the Potomac River. History The original tract of land occupied by Tudor Place was part of the “Rock of Dumbarton” (originally, “Dunbarton”) tract in George Beall’s second addition to Georgetown, an area also known as Georgetown Heights. In 1794, Beall’s grandson, Thomas Beall, sold a portion of his land to Francis Lowndes, a merchant and importer from Bladensburg, Maryland. Lowndes owned the property for eleven years during which he constructed the two wings of the present historic house. Lowndes intended to complete the house but never did, instead selling the property to Martha and Thomas Peter. Martha and Thomas Peter contracted with Dr. William Thornton, who also designed the United ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piano Nobile
The ''piano nobile'' (Italian for "noble floor" or "noble level", also sometimes referred to by the corresponding French term, ''bel étage'') is the principal floor of a palazzo. This floor contains the main reception and bedrooms of the house. Characteristics The ''piano nobile'' is usually the first storey (in European terminology; second floor in American terms), or sometimes the second storey, containing major rooms, located above the rusticated ground floor containing the minor rooms and service rooms. The reasons for this were so the rooms above the ground floor would have finer views and to avoid the dampness and odours of the street level. This is especially true in Venice, where the ''piano nobile'' of the many '' palazzi'' is especially obvious from the exterior by virtue of its larger windows and balconies, and open loggias. Examples of this are Ca' Foscari, Ca' d'Oro, Ca' Vendramin Calergi, and Palazzo Barbarigo. Larger windows than those on other floors are usu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of the most influential individuals in the history of architecture. While he designed churches and palaces, he was best known for country houses and villas. His teachings, summarized in the architectural treatise, ''The Four Books of Architecture'', gained him wide recognition. The city of Vicenza, with its 23 buildings designed by Palladio, and 24 Palladian villas of the Veneto are listed by UNESCO as part of a World Heritage Site named City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto. The churches of Palladio are to be found within the "Venice and its Lagoon" UNESCO World Heritage Site. Biography and major works Palladio was born on 30 November 1508 in Padua and was given the name Andrea di Pietro della Gondola. His father, Pietro, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Intelligencer
The ''National Intelligencer and Washington Advertiser'' was a newspaper published in Washington, D.C., from October 30, 1800 until 1870. It was the first newspaper published in the District, which was founded in 1790. It was originally a Tri-weekly publication. It covered early debates of the United States Congress. The paper had a strong bias to Republicans and Thomas Jefferson. History The publication was founded under the named ''National intelligencer and Washington Advertiser'' on October 31, 1800. Its name was changed to the ''National Intelligencer'' starting with the issue of November 27, 1810. The newspaper was published daily from 1813 to 1867 as the ''Daily National Intelligencer'' and was the dominant newspaper of the capital. During the War of 1812, its offices and printing plant were damaged by British troops as part of the Burning of Washington on August 24, 1814. The paper suspended publication on June 24, 1869. It was renewed on September 20, 1869 a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amos Kendall
Amos Kendall (August 16, 1789 – November 12, 1869) was an American lawyer, journalist and politician. He rose to prominence as editor-in-chief of the '' Argus of Western America'', an influential newspaper in Frankfort, the capital of the U.S. state of Kentucky. He used his newspaper, writing skills, and extensive political contacts to build the Democratic Party into a national political power. An ardent supporter of Andrew Jackson, he was appointed and served as United States Postmaster General during the Jackson and Martin Van Buren administrations. He was one of the most influential members of Jackson's "Kitchen Cabinet", an unofficial group of Jackson's top appointees and advisors who set administration policy.O'Brien, McGuire, McPherson, and Gerstle, p. 230. Returning to private life, Kendall wrote one of the first biographies of Jackson, which was published in 1843. He invested significantly in Samuel Morse's new invention, the telegraph. He became one of the most import ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rock Creek Park
Rock Creek Park is a large urban park that bisects the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. The park was created by an Act of Congress in 1890 and today is administered by the National Park Service. In addition to the park proper, the Rock Creek administrative unit of the National Park Service administers various other federally owned properties in the District of Columbia located to the north and west of the National Mall, including Meridian Hill Park on 16th Street, N.W., the Old Stone House in Georgetown, and certain of the Fort Circle Parks, a series of batteries and forts encircling the District of Columbia for its defense during the U.S. Civil War. History Rock Creek Park was established by an act of Congress signed into law by President Benjamin Harrison on September 27, 1890, following active advocacy by Charles C. Glover and other civic leaders and in the wake of the creation of the National Zoo the preceding year. It was only the third national park estab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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