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Potomac Bluestone
Aquia Creek sandstone is a brown to light-gray freestone used extensively in building construction in Washington, D.C. in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Quarried at Aquia Creek in Stafford County, Virginia, the stone was valuable for its ease of shaping and the quarry's proximity to the tidewater portion of the Potomac River, south of Washington. The sandstone was the principal material used in such significant buildings as the White House and the early stages of the U.S. Capitol. The easy availability of the stone and its ability to be carved were offset in time by its susceptibility to weather-induced deterioration. Its best, most enduring uses were as interior decorative elements. Geology Of Cretaceous age, Aquia Creek sandstone is composed of rounded, coarse- to fine-grains of quartz, cemented with silica and containing scattered pellets of clay as large as an inch in diameter. This sandstone is typically gray or tan, sometimes with streaks or shades of red, yell ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richmond County, Virginia
Richmond County is a county located on the Northern Neck in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 8,923. Its county seat is Warsaw. The rural county should not be confused with the large city and state capital Richmond, Virginia. It was formed in 1692 when the first Rappahannock County was divided to form Richmond County and Essex County. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (11.5%) is water. Adjacent counties * Westmoreland County, Virginia – north * Northumberland County, Virginia – east * Lancaster County, Virginia – southeast * Essex County, Virginia – southwest National protected area * Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge (part) Franklin, Island Farm, Laurel Grove, Peter, Tayloe, Wellford, Wilna, Wright units; Menokin, Wellford easements Major highways * * * * * * Demographics 2020 census ''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino ... [...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 bran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Register Of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic value". A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred in preserving the property. The passage of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) in 1966 established the National Register and the process for adding properties to it. Of the more than one and a half million properties on the National Register, 95,000 are listed individually. The remainder are contributing resources within historic districts. For most of its history, the National Register has been administered by the National Park Service (NPS), an agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior. Its goals are to help property owners an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Public Quarry At Government Island
The Public Quarry at Government Island in Stafford County, Virginia is the principal source of Aquia Creek sandstone, a building stone used in many of the early government buildings in Washington, D.C., including the U.S. Capitol and the White House. A quarry was established just off the Potomac River at Wigginton's Island on Aquia Creek by George Brent after 1694, providing stone for tombstones and to houses and churches in northern Virginia, including Gunston Hall, Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia, Mount Airy in Richmond County, Virginia, and Aquia Church, as well as steps and walkways at George Washington's Mount Vernon. Washington selected Aquia sandstone as the primary material for use in Washington's government buildings. Acting on the government's behalf, the Wigginton's Island quarry was purchased by Pierre Charles L'Enfant in 1791, becoming known afterward as Government Island. Use of the stone declined as its susceptibility to weathering was observed, and the qua ... [...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 architecture, 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 Neoclassical architecture#France, 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 Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 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" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constitution Avenue
Constitution Avenue is a major east–west street in the northwest and northeast quadrants of the city of Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was originally known as B Street, and its western section was greatly lengthened and widened between 1925 and 1933. It received its current name on February 26, 1931, though it was almost named Jefferson Avenue in honor of Thomas Jefferson. Constitution Avenue's western half defines the northern border of the National Mall and extends from the United States Capitol to the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge. Its eastern half runs through the neighborhoods of Capitol Hill and Kingman Park before it terminates at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. Many federal departmental headquarters, memorials, and museums line Constitution Avenue's western segment. Creating B Street When the District of Columbia was founded in 1790, the Potomac River was much wider than it currently is, and a major tidal estuary known as Tiber Creek flowed roughly fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Bulfinch
Charles Bulfinch (August 8, 1763 – April 15, 1844) was an early American architect, and has been regarded by many as the first American-born professional architect to practice.Baltzell, Edward Digby. ''Puritan Boston & Quaker Philadelphia''. Transaction Publishers (1996), p. 322-24. . Life Bulfinch split his career between his native Boston, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C., where he served as Commissioner of Public Building and built the intermediate United States Capitol rotunda and dome. His works are notable for their simplicity, balance, and good taste, and as the origin of a distinctive Federal style of classical domes, columns, and ornament that dominated early 19th-century American architecture. Early life Bulfinch was born in Boston to Thomas Bulfinch, a prominent physician, and his wife, Susan Apthorp, daughter of Charles Apthorp. At the age of 12, he watched the Battle of Bunker Hill from this home on the Boston side of the Charles River. He was educated at Bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
War Of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spanish Empire, Spain in Spanish Florida, Florida. It began when the United States United States declaration of war upon the United Kingdom, declared war on 18 June 1812 and, although peace terms were agreed upon in the December 1814 Treaty of Ghent, did not officially end until the peace treaty was ratified by 13th United States Congress, Congress on 17 February 1815. Tensions originated in long-standing differences over territorial expansion in North America and British support for Tecumseh's confederacy, Native American tribes who opposed US colonial settlement in the Northwest Territory. These escalated in 1807 after the Royal Navy began enforcing Orders in Council ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Portrait Gallery (United States)
The National Portrait Gallery is a historic art museum between 7th, 9th, F, and G Streets NW in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Founded in 1962 and opened to the public in 1968, it is part of the Smithsonian Institution. Its collections focus on images of famous Americans. The museum is housed in the historic Old Patent Office Building, as is the Smithsonian American Art Museum. History Founding of the museum The first portrait gallery in the United States was Charles Willson Peale's "American Pantheon" (also known as "Peale's Collection of Portraits of American Patriots"), established in 1796. It closed after two years. In 1859, the National Portrait Gallery in London opened, but few Americans took notice.Thompson, Bob. "Who Gets Into the National Portrait Gallery, and Why?" ''Washington Post.'' June 13, 1999. The idea of a federally owned national portrait gallery can be traced back to 1886, when Robert C. Winthrope, president of the Massachusetts Historical Society ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Treasury Building (Washington, D
A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or in private ownership. The head of a treasury is typically known as a treasurer. This position may not necessarily have the final control over the actions of the treasury, particularly if they are not an elected representative. The adjective for a treasury is normally treasurial. The adjective "tresorial" can also be used, but this normally means pertaining to a ''treasurer''. History The earliest found artefacts made of silver and gold are from Lake Varna in Bulgaria dated 4250–4000 BC, the earliest of copper are dated 9000–7000 BC. The term ''treasury'' was first used in Classical times to describe the votive buildings erected to house gifts to the gods, such as the Siphnian Treasury in Delphi or many similar buildings erected i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Collen Williamson
Collen Williamson (b. 1727) was a master mason from Dyke in Moray, Scotland. Background He is known for his work on Moy House, a Category A listed building near Forres in Scotland, and for his later work on the White House, acting as chief stonemason on its construction between 1792 and 1795. He remained in America after working on the White House, and died in Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ... in 1802. References 1727 births 1802 deaths 1790s in the United States {{Scotland-hist-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
