David Buley's holidays and business trips: Washington DC

It's mid autumn here but still quite warm, about 23C. I walked from the hotel to The Mall which included the White House, the George Washington monument, the WW2 memorial, the reflecting pool, the Abraham Lincoln memorial, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Congress, and the Museum of Natural History.

The White House as seen from Lafayette Square

The White House, located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was built between 1782 and 1800, after which Thomas Jefferson moved in.

The mansion was damaged by fire in 1814, refurbished and in 1817 President James Monroe moved in.

A west wing was constructed in 1901 by Theodore Roosevelt to cope with the expanded office activity. The Oval Office was added in 1909.

In 1948, the wooden load bearing structures were close to failure so Harry S. Truman had the interior demolished and replaced with steel beams.

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the U.S. and this monument was built in 1920 to honour him.

Thomas Jefferson is credited as a founding father and the main drafter of the Declaration of Independence. He was the 3rd president of the U.S. The monument was built in 1943 and the statue added in 1947.

Smithsonian Castle

General Ulysses S. Grant

The Capitol is where the United States Congress convenes, consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The design was the subject of a competition in 1792 and the building completed in 1800. The done was added in 1855.

George Washington Monument is made of marble, granite and bluestone, stands 170m tall, and was completed in 1884. It held the title of worlds tallest structure for 5 years until the Eiffel Tower was built in Paris.