Pentagon and FBI in Washington DC
Two US Government establishments which everyone must have heard of are the Pentagon and the FBI. The Pentagon is so called because of its shape (with 5 angles and 5 sides). It is the office of the Secretary of Defense, and the headquarters of the army, navy and air-force as well as the coast guards.
This is the world’s largest office building housing 23,000 employees in a 3.7 million square-foot area; its corridors measure 1.5miles. Visitors are allowed here only on Mondays and Fridays. And reservations have to be made 10 days in advance.
The FBI building is named after its famous chief J. Edgar Hoover. It was established in 1908 for solving the country’s interstate crimes and for counter-intelligence.
The visiting crowd comprises mostly children who go round seeing the weapons used by legendary gangsters with a glint of hero worship in their eyes.
They learn how keen investigators, with as little evidence as a single strand of hair, had been able to book a criminal. They also see photographs of the most wanted fugitives.
It is ironical that in a country where guns are freely available and a sort of gun-culture prevails, the FBI gives the children a live demonstration on how to use the most sophisticated weapons in its armory.
It may be paradoxical, if not just stupid, that the world’s most sophisticated crime fighting outfit with its vast computer room and huge laboratories is catching children young for training in crime. No wonder, children go home and start practicing on their weapons and eventually graduate as sharp shooters. Every third person in America allegedly owns a gun. Even middle school boys come to school with guns in their pockets.
Twenty four policemen were shot dead in one city alone in one year. Even though the crime rate has risen to alarming heights, proposals for introducing stricter gun-control laws are opposed. Obviously, a gun-lobby is working overtime to make a fast buck by promoting gun-culture.
The Supreme Court of the country is located close to the Capitol, on its eastern side. “Equal Justice Under Law” is inscribed on the main entrance of the Court building.
The court room can be visited only when the court is not sitting. However, one can view a short film showing the Supreme Court in session and listen to courtroom lectures also.
America has 4,400 museums and 29,500 libraries, big and small. It is neither possible nor necessary for a visitor like me to see all of them.
National Museum in Washington DC
But in the American National Museum of History there is a section which exhibits curious and interesting items like the first Star-Spangled Banner, The First Lady’s inaugural gown, Ford’s original modelTcar, George Washington’s Revolutionary War tent, Thomas Jefferson’s writing lap-desk, Benjamin Franklin’s printing press, Joe Louis’s boxing gloves, Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone, Samuel Morse’s telegraph equipment and so on.
The National Building Museum is a privately funded institution highlighting America’s achievements in the field of construction. It was formerly a pension office from where military pensions were disbursed. Here, there are 8 Corinthian columns, the biggest in the world, medieval in appearance and colossal in size.
The National Academy of Sciences, the workplace of America’s scientists is just another shrine for a layman like me. Six window panels depict the progress of science from ancient times to the present. In the domed Great Hall, there is the Foucault Pendulum that proves that the earth spins on its axis. It is a wonderland beyond comprehension, leave alone description.
Downtown Washington is known as America’s main street. Some call it the Avenue of Presidents. Anyway, it is Washington’s business centre with big shops, hotels, offices, conference halls, both stylish and conventional.
George Town is a study in contrast. Here, the new exists with the old. As one drives along, the area appears like a Victorian countryside.
And then, the 21st century section of the city that almost never sleeps.
Its shopping centers are jammed with people day and night. Private clubs, jazz and blue bars and restaurants keep busy till the early hours of the day. Crammed with world class hotels, the place is one of the most prestigious addresses in Washington and the costliest real estate in the world. It has a magnificent isolation thanks to the Potomac in the south and west and a sense of parks and gardens at the north and the Rock Creek ravine in the east.
George Town University, founded here in 1789, is the oldest Catholic College in the USA and is known for its academic excellence and champion basket ball teams.
Places to eat, drink, dance in Washington DC
The north-west suburb, known as Uptown, has the Woodley Park and Connecticut Avenue, again packed with places to eat, drink, dance, listen to music, shop or just loiter.
The Woodley Mansion had once served as a summer White House for Presidents. Across the Taft Bridge, one can see a huge mural of the famous cine star and pin-up girl Marilyn Monroe.
On the same avenue, there is the University of District Columbia. Two very famous hotels, Sheraton- Washington and Omni Shoreman are also here.
Only a few minutes drive away from the bureaucratic bastions, visitors can enjoy sitting back and watching the little rippling waves of river Potomac. This modern section of the city was once steeped in squalor, poverty, noxious fumes and a brisk tobacco trade, wharves handling shipping, packet boats and ferries.
Today, with accessibility to the Potomac, it has become a military area. A Navy Museum was opened here in 1963. One can see submarines and submarine-launched missiles and other underwater weapons. In the Marine Barracks, there is an impressive evening parade.
Another most enjoyable pastime is a boat cruise on the Spirit of Washington by moonlight. The city has more than 800 churches and temples of various denominations, Islamic mosques and Jewish synagogues, Mormon temple and so on. One can also visit the Washington Post, the biggest newspaper in town and Express India, the smallest.
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