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class, and poor sections. Suburbs spread out from the city in all
directions. Washington faces problems common to all cities,
including crime, drug abuse, poverty, traffic jams, and a shortage
of good moderate-cost housing. Unlike most cities, Washington
has no large industrial areas. This is so because government, rather
than manufacturing or trade, has always been the city's main
business.
About 66 per cent of Washington's people are blacks. Among
major American cities, only Detroit has a larger percentage of
black people. In Washington's suburbs, whites make up about the
same percentage as blacks do in the city.
Washington lies in the southeastern United States, between
Maryland and Virginia. It is the only American city or town that is
not part of a state. Washington covers the entire area of the District
of Columbia, a section of land that is under the jurisdiction of the
federal government.
Washington is one of the few cities in the world that was
designed before it was built. President George Washington chose
the city's site in 1791. He hired Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a French
engineer, to draw up plans for city. Washington replaced
Philadelphia as the nation's capital in 1800. L'Enfant and other
members of a commission appointed to plan the city named it in
honor of George Washington. The D.C in the city's name stands
for District of Columbia.
Most of Washington's government buildings, famous
monuments and museums, and other tourist attractions are located
in the west-central part of the city. This area extends from Capitol
Hill, which rises near the centre of the city, west to the Potomac
River.

CAPITOL HILL

Capitol Hill rises 88 feet (26.8 meters) near the centre of
Washington. Several huge government buildings stand on the hill.
They include the United States Capitol, congressional office
buildings, the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court Building,
and the conservatory of the United States Botanic Garden. The
Folger Shakespeare Library, a private institution, is also located on
Capitol Hill.