Recreation:
The Washington region has many well-known
parks and recreational areas. The Mall
is Washington’s most prominent
park, and it hosts many special demonstrations
and events. Nearby East and West Potomac
parks, formed from reclaimed land along
the Potomac River, provide space for
a range of recreational activities, including
rugby, softball, volleyball, and polo.
The Ellipse, between the White House
and the Washington Monument, is a large
public park that contains the Zero Milestone,
from which distances are measured on
all national highways that pass through
Washington. Within the city, Rock Creek
Park, which stretches from downtown to
the Maryland border, is home to the National
Zoological Park. The National Arboretum
is in northeast Washington. Also, the
intersection of Washington’s broad
diagonal avenues with other streets laid
out on a straight grid provides a number
of small parks.
Professional sports are important in
Washington. For many years Griffith Stadium
in LeDroit Park hosted the national Negro
League’s Homestead Grays and the
American League’s Washington Senators.
Integration of the major leagues doomed
the Grays, and poor fan support resulted
in a franchise move for the Senators.
Another team that left the city was the
Washington Redskins professional football
team, which moved to Prince George’s
County, Maryland, in 1997. As that team
moved from city to suburb, however, the
region’s professional hockey team,
the Washington Capitals, and basketball
team, the Washington Wizards, returned
downtown after spending nearly a generation
in the Maryland suburbs. The Capitals
and the Wizards play in a new sports
and entertainment complex, the MCI Center,
which opened in December 1997. The Center
has helped to revitalize the downtown
area. The D.C. United soccer team, a
recent arrival to Washington, achieved
success quickly and became national champions
in 1996.
Museums
The most famous museum in Washington
is the Smithsonian Institution. With
help from a gift from Englishman James
Smithson, Congress chartered the Smithsonian
in 1846. The Smithsonian is a collection
of many different institutions that are
world-famous for their art, historical,
and scientific collections. The National
Museum of African Art was the first museum
in the United States devoted exclusively
to African art. The National Museum of
Natural History houses many of the world’s
most famous gems, and the National Museum
of American History traces the development
of the United States through scientific,
technological, and cultural exhibitions.
The National Air and Space Museum has
aeronautical exhibits that include the
original craft used by the Wright Brothers
and the Mercury capsule in which astronaut
John Glenn orbited the Earth.
The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
contains notable paintings and sculptures
by 19th- and 20th-century European and
American artists. The Arts and Industries
Building and the Freer Gallery of Art
house fine collections of American and
Asian art. Another major art collection,
the National Portrait Gallery, is in
a building with the Smithsonian American
Art Museum, which houses American paintings,
sculptures, graphics, folk art, and photographs
from the 18th century to the present.
Over time, the Smithsonian has evolved
from being the so-called nation’s
attic into a far-ranging and diverse
set of research and educational facilities.
Other important collections in Washington
include the National Gallery of Art,
one the nation’s chief art galleries,
with major collections of European and
American paintings; the Dumbarton Oaks
Museum, with a collection of pre-Columbian
and Byzantine art; the National Building
Museum, dedicated to American achievements
in architecture, construction, engineering,
and design; and the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum, which provides information
about the persecution and murder of Jews
in Europe during World War II. There
are also several venerable private institutions,
such as the Corcoran Gallery of Art,
launched in the 1880s through the bequest
of banker William W. Corcoran, and the
Phillips Collection, opened in 1921 near
DuPont Circle as the city’s first
modern-art museum. The Historical Society
of Washington, D.C., located in a 19th-century
mansion built by beer magnate Christian
Heurich, is the only institution dedicated
solely to the preservation and interpretation
of Washington’s rich local history.
Source: MSN
Encarta: Online Encyclopedia
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