Fun facts about Washington DC

Washington D.C. is a city full of history and culture, not to mention wonderful architecture. Not surprisingly, it is also one of the top tourist destinations in the U.S. Each year millions of visitors travel to the District of Columbia to take in the sites and explore all this dynamic city has to offer. I moved here more than a decade ago and am still discovering new things about the region all the time.

I thought the blue skies and puffy clouds looked stunning over the Capitol when I took this photo

Some fun facts about Washington D.C.

Did you know....

• Every year the National Cherry Festival is held in Washington D.C. In 1912 a gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo was given to the city of Washington, D.C. The festival lasts for two weeks (in recent years this has varied) and celebrates the friendship between the U.S. and Japan. 

The Cherry Blossom Festival is one of my favorite times of the year in this region

• George Washington never lived in the White House. President Washington oversaw the construction of the grand house, but John Adams was the first President to actually occupy the presidential residence.

• Ford's Theatre is the location where President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. It is run by the National Park Service and receives nearly 1 million visitors per year. Did you know it is also a working theatre? Every year it puts on several professional productions during its season.

• The Old Post Office was almost razed, not once, but twice. The Trump Organization purchased a 60-year lease and plans to transform this building into a luxury hotel sometime before 2016.

• Georgetown is D.C.'s oldest neighborhood and was in existence before Washington D.C. was built in 1751. Georgetown became a part of the District in 1791. 

• The World War II Memorial was dedicated in May 2004. It was built on the site formerly known as the "Rainbow Pool".

• Washington D.C. is home to six professional major sports teams, Nationals (baseball), Wizards (basketball), Mystics (women's basketball), Redskins (football) and Capitols (hockey) and DC United (soccer). Note: There are many other prominent teams in D.C. and surrounding suburbs but these six are on the "major league" pro level.

Go Nats! (I'm a baseball fan)

• In 2017, 693,972 people called Washington D.C. home.

• Washington D.C. houses much of the Smithsonian Institute, a network comprised of 19 museums including the National Zoo (some of the museums are located in New York City).

• Speaking of the National Zoo, a baby giant panda was born in Washington in 2013. Her name is Bao Bao.

• The National Museum of National History houses a cool Butterfly Pavilion (free on Tuesdays while tickets last!)

You can get "up close and personal" with the butterflies

• The area around the Jefferson Memorial on the Tidal Basin used to be a beach from 1917 to 1925.

These are only a few fun facts about Washington D.C. There is truly a lot to experience in this wonderful city.

Thanks for reading! If you'd like to learn more about this historic region and/or upcoming events, I invite you to sign up in the field to the right of this post to have new posts delivered right to your inbox (email addresses are never shared or sold). 

6Several areas of DC are said to be haunted, including the White House.