Living in Washington DC

Washington DC
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Washington DC Lincoln
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Washington DC Housing, Demographics, State History and Leisure Activities

Welcome to our Washington DC Relocation Resource Center! We hope you'll find some interesting information about Washington's state history, tourist attractions and places to visit as well as housing and demographic statistics and visit our referral links to state and local government agencies.

State Buildings, Museums, National Monuments and Tours

If you're going to call Washington D.C. your new home, you'll want explore the many local museums, national monuments, state buildings, and the numerous fine dining establishments in the capital and perhaps arrange hotel accommodations at the historic Willard Hotel, whose guests includes past and present presidents and congressmen. At the top of the list of places to visit is the Three Houses of Government; the White House, Capitol Building and Supreme Court.

• The White House, home and office of the President, is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. To arrange a tour you must submit a request through one of your members of Congress. Group tours are scheduled one month in advance, Tuesdays through Saturdays. Without advance planning, you can still visit the White House Visitor Center and view a video describing White House architecture, furnishings, Presidents and their first families.  And, listen to musical performances by the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force military bands.

• The U.S. Capitol Building, located at the east end of the National Mall, is open to the public for guided tours only due to increased security. Visitors are issued free tickets at the Capitol Guide Service located near the intersection of First Street, S.W. and Independence Avenue. Tours are conducted Monday through Saturday.

• The U. S. Supreme Court, our highest judicial authority, is located at One 1st St., NE between E. C. Visitors are allowed to watch a case being argued in court but seating is limited so arrive early to ensure seating. When the court is not in session, you can tour the building and attend a free lecture about court proceedings and the building's architecture.

The National Mall is the central point of most sightseeing visits to Washington, DC. It is the area with Constitution Avenue to the north, Independence Avenue to the south, 3rd Street to the east and 14th Street to the west. The Washington Monument towers above the city on the north end of the Mall and the U. S. Capitol Building stands tall to the south. Nine of the museums of the Smithsonian Institution are also located on the National Mall.

The Library of Congress in Washington, DC, is the world's largest library containing more than 128 million books, manuscripts, films, photographs, sheet music and maps. The Library of Congress, created in 1800, was originally located in the U.S. Capitol Building on the National Mall; however, in August 1814, when invading British troops set fire to the Capitol building, the Capitol Building was burned to the ground and the library was destroyed. When the Library of Congress moved to its own location on Capitol Hill, Thomas Jefferson offered to donate his personal collection of books and Congress agreed to purchase them in 1897 and the building was renamed the Thomas Jefferson Building in honor of Jefferson's generosity. Today, the Library of Congress consists of two additional buildings, the John Adams and the James Madison Buildings, which were added to accommodate the library's growing collection of books. The library serves members of Congress, their staff and the general public.

The WWII Memorial Monument shown in the photograph at top, second from the right, opened to the public in 2004, to recognize the sacrifices made by the "Greatest Generation" of Americans during WWII.

State and Local Governments

For information on local government agencies, plus online service forms, license applications and forms for businesses, visit Washington, D.C.

Housing Data and Demographics

The 2005 U.S. Census Bureau data collected for the District of Columbia has estimated the population to be 550,521 and the number of housing units to be 277,775. From census bureau statistics collected in 2000, the homeownership rate was reported to be 40.8% as contrasted to 66.2% nationally and the median value of owner-occupied housing units to be $157,200 versus $119,600 nationwide.

For more Washington housing information, you may wish to contact one of these local real estate agents for assistance.