Washington DC Architecture

Qua? That title is totally bizarre for a doll clothing blog! Qua?

Yes, today we are going to do a bit of a history lesson here. Not really doll-related. Though DC is our favorite city and we'd love to see an AG doll who grows up there in the 1800s... just a little dream we have....

No AG Store open there yet while we were there (should be open in the VA 'burbs in 2 weeks, if it isn't open already....), so we had to satisfy ourselves with taking pictures of other things on our recent trip.

We have a "Part 1" video of architecture and some memorials below. And we wanted to introduce it by talking about the District a little bit. This is all stuff you can find online, but a couple points are "share-worthy" in our opinion. :-)

Washington, District of Columbia, was founded on July 16, 1790 as the capitol of the United States of America. It is essentially a city for the government, by the government -- an idea put in place to protect the government. Which of course the government likes that idea. ;-)

The location was chosen by our first President, George Washington -- essentially in a semi-swampy area between Maryland and Virginia. In our video, you'll see a sign that says "Downtown Washington in 1801." It wasn't really a "happening" place. Still some farmland, very few streets and buildings, still a lot of open space.

In 1814, during the War of 1812 (the one here in the States, there was one in Europe as well between France and Russia-- 1812 was a popular year for wars)... the city of Washington was burned by British forces. Most of the public government buildings were destroyed, while the private buildings were generally untouched. So we still have some rather "old" houses in the District.

Today there are about 600,000 people in the immediate city, and a little over 5.5 million in the metro area. Quite the bustling place. No more farmland. Just parks and The Mall for green space.

Though busy, it is a "walking city" -- very pleasant when it isn't hot or raining. A woman we met said they call the locals' transportation system the BMW - Bus, Metro and Walking. Haha.

Anyway, another point we wanted to make is that the basic design of the city was carefully planned by Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a French engineer who worked with General Lafayette (that French dude who helped us win the American Revolutionary War).

L'Enfant wanted Washington to be the next Paris, i.e. the equivalent of a great European city -- low structures, radiating avenues, plenty of room for parks and landscaping. So we can credit him for the "light and airy" classical city we have today, which lacks those enormous NYC skyscrapers that loom over you and darken the streets (you know, the kind of atmosphere Batman likes).

There is actually a building-height regulation in DC that says a building can only be higher than the width of the street it's on by 20 ft. And in general, buildings are all supposed to be shorter than the George Washington monument (that huge obelisk thing in the middle of The Mall.)

Okay, that's enough history for today. In summation: visit DC if you can. Preferably in May or earlier in the year before the heat sets in and roasts you. ;-)

But if you visit the city after you shop at the new AG store this summer-- that is good, too. Just be prepared for the heat and be sure to drink lots of water. Need food or beverages? We recommend the Corner Bakery on 14th Street when you are hungry after touring historic sites or museums. :-)

Enjoy our video, and look forward to "Part 2" when we share pics of flowers and other "nature-ish" things in DC.... oh and there are more Melody Valerie photos coming as well...




p.s. Please enter Activity Two of our Doll Photo Contest today! We can't wait to see your photos!