Brush up on your DC trivia with this list of fun facts about the Nation’s capital. Want to know why so much of the city is built in white granite? Look up fact #5. Ever wonder how many windows and doors the White House has? Check fact #59. Curious what was originally planned for the Lincoln Memorial? Scroll down for fact #7. Whether you’re a tourist or live in town, there is something new to learn below.
1. Look up at the ceiling of Union Station. All that glimmers isn’t paint. It’s solid 23-cart gold gilding.
2. During World War II, over 200,000 travelers passed through daily.
3. Today, more than 5 million passengers pass through Union Station every year.
4. As you exit Union Station, see if you can find the replica Liberty Bell in Columbus Circle.
5. The use of white granite set a trend in The District. It became the preferred stone for monuments and many buildings.
6. This train station was originally the intended site for the Lincoln Memorial.
7. Both the site of the Lincoln Memorial and the design were controversial. Other proposals included a Mayan temple and an Egyptian pyramid.
8. Sculptor Daniel Chester French used actual molds of Lincoln's hands when creating the memorial.
9. Rumor has it that Lincoln is signing his initials in American Sign Language. This was the intention of French, but it sure looks like he's loosely flashing an "A" and an "L".
10. The statue of Lincoln was originally supposed to only be 10 feet. As plans for the monument expanded so did the statue, which wound up being 19 feet.
11. There is a typo in the Gettysburg Address on the north wall. Instead of “future” the word was inscribed “euture.” Though the typo has been corrected, the original spelling is still visible.
12. The same team that designed the Lincoln Memorial also designed another DC landmark: Dupont Circle. The fountain in the middle of the circle was state-of-the-art in 1921 when it boasted an electric water pump.
13. The Patterson House at 15 Dupont Circle served as a temporary residence for then-sitting President Calvin Coolidge while The White House was being restored.
14. The United States Supreme Court is a relative "newcomer" to the city. It was completed in 1935. Before then, the Court used the Old Senate Chamber, as well as spaces in the basement of the Capitol and even Philadelphia’s Old City Hall.
15. While becoming a Supreme Court Justice is the dream of many lawyers, you don’t need to have a law degree to be on the court. In fact, a majority – 57 percent - didn’t have law degrees.
16. Talk about a resume! William Howard Taft is the only person who has served as both President and Chief Justice.
17. There’s a gym with a basketball court on the top floor – meaning that there’s a high court inside the Highest Court in the Land.
18. A fruit or a vegetable? Everyone knows that tomatoes are actually fruits – not vegetables – but that didn’t stop the Court from arguing the point in an 1893 case. The Court ultimately decided that tomatoes are vegetables because they are served during the salad or main course and not during dessert.
19. Across the street from the Supreme Court is the US Capitol, which is topped by a statue officially called the Statue of Freedom. She weighs in at 15,000 pounds.
20. Plans to bury George Washington in a crypt in the basement were scrapped. Visitors, however, can still see where the tomb was going to go and browse the gift shop.
21. While GW isn’t under the Capitol, its own subway system is.
22. The Capitol is literally strewn all over the Capital – original stone blocks litter Rock Creek Park and the original columns stand in the National Arboretum.
23. If you head west from the Capitol you will arrive at the National Mall. Before this National Park was dotted with Smithsonian museums a train ran down the strip of ground.
24. Trees have always been part of the Mall. Today there are over 9,000 of them.
25. The Mall continues to grow and change – with the Martin Luther King Jr. and World War II memorials being the most recent additions. A World War I, Disabled Veterans, and Eisenhower Memorials are all scheduled to open on the Mall in the near future.
26. While sometimes used synonymously, the Smithsonian and the Mall are two different things. The Smithsonian is a group of 19 museums only some of which are on the Mall.
27. Today's most visited museums almost didn't exist. The Smithsonian’s founder and namesake, James Smithson, never set foot in the United States and because of this Congress was skeptical of accepting Mr. Smithson’s gift.
28. The Smithsonian’s collection is HUGE! Remember those 19 museums? Together they display only about 1 percent of their Institute’s collection at any given time.
29. There are nearly 30 million visitors a year to the Smithsonian.
30. One of the most popular Smithsonian museums is the Museum of Natural History. Not only does the museum host roughly 8 million visitors a year, but it also employs close to 200 natural history scientists – the largest such group in the world. Even better, you can watch some of these scientists at work during a visit.
31. Aside from some of the most famous items in its collection – like the Hope diamond – the museum has unknown artifacts waiting to be discovered. One of these is a 20 million year old dolphin fossil that scientists only identified in 2016 because it looked “cute.”
32. Across the street from the Natural History Museum is another Smithsonian blockbuster: The Air and Space Museum. It is the most visited museum in the world!
33. While the glass façade looks solid, the East wing of the Air and Space Museum acts like a giant garage door opener that allows the museum’s artifacts to be brought in and out.
34. The museum has the largest collection of aviation artifacts in the world – ranging from the Wright Brothers’ flyer to a rock that was brought back from the moon (they also have the capsules that went to the moon).
35. The Air and Space Museum's artifacts are housed in not one, but two museums. The second campus, known as the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, is located in Dulles, VA.
36. While all Smithsonian museums are free, Udvar-Hazy charges for parking. You can score a free space after 4 p.m.
37. Though not on the Mall, the National Zoo is also part of the Smithsonian and is home to over 2,700 animals.
38. The zoo has been home to giant pandas since 1972, though they are officially “on loan” to the United States from China.
39. The zoo’s original location was behind the Smithsonian Castle on the National Mall.
40. Pandas aren’t the only famous bear residents. Smokey Bear – yes, THAT Smokey Bear – was a resident from the time he was saved from a forest fire in New Mexico.
41. Like The Air and Space Museum, the National Zoo also has two campuses. The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute is a 3,200 acre is located in Front Royal, VA. It is not open to the public.
42. The original plan for the Washington Monument called for it to have a flat roof. The pyramid on top wasn’t added until 1879.
43. Three future presidents – including Abraham Lincoln – were at the ceremonies at the start of construction of the Washington Monument in 1848.
44. When the Washington Monument opened on October 9, 1888, it was the tallest man made structure in the world. It only held the title for about five months until the Eiffel Tower opened the following March.
45. It is still the largest obelisk in the world.
46. If you look about a third of the way up the Washington Monument, there is a slight difference in color. That’s because construction was halted during the Civil War and had to get stone from a different quarry when construction started back up.
47. The Washington Monument might be made out of stone, but Washington’s home on the Potomac River, Mount Vernon is not. It is made out of wood that has been made to look like stone.
48. The home is approximately 10 times larger than the average home during the same period.
49. A weathervane with a bird of peace was commissioned by Washington for the mansion while he was presiding over the Constitutional Convention.
50. Despite what some movies say, there are no secret entrances out of Mount Vernon’s cellar.
51. The kitchen garden has been continuously growing herbs and vegetables since the 1760s.
52. George Washington never lived in the White House. The first to do so was John Adams, though it was still called the Executive Mansion then.
53.. The name wasn’t changed to The White House until President Theodore Roosevelt changed it in 1901.
54. The Oval Office wasn’t added until 1909.
55. The White House was burned by the British during the War of 1812. The White House almost collapsed a second time – in 1948 – when it was found that the wooden, load-bearing columns were rotted through.
56. The White House has been home to some unusual pets. Two presidents kept alligators at the people's house (Adams and Hoover).
57. Some other unique pets include a hyena (Roosevelt), bears (Roosevelt, Coolidge and Jefferson) and a zebra (Roosevelt).
58. Over 100 dogs have lived in the White House. President Joe Biden's dog, Major, was the first shelter rescue.
59. The White House has 412 doors, 147 windows, 132 rooms and 35 bathrooms.
60. None of The White House bathrooms are public. If you take a 45 minute tour, go before you go!
61. Washington is known for its cherry blossoms, but these trees aren’t a native species – they come from Japan and were first given as a sign of friendship between the two countries in 1912.
62. How seriously do Washingtonians take their 4,000 cherry trees? Very. It is considered vandalism of federal property to pick the flowers, so look but do not touch!
63. Originally, 3,020 trees were gifted. Most of the originals have died, but you can still visit the few remaining trees still stand near the John Paul Jones statues near 17th street.
64. While the average cherry blossom tree lives for 30 years, these gifted trees are now over 100 years old!
—Meghan Yudes Meyers and Chris McGurn
featured photo: Jared Short via Unsplash
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